National Communication Association

What National Communication Association does

The National Communication Association (NCA) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) membership-based scholarly society founded in 1914 and headquartered in Washington, DC. It serves communication scholars, educators, students, departments, and practitioners, with core offerings centered on 12 peer-reviewed journals (hosted and distributed via Taylor & Francis), the Annual Convention (over 1,000 sessions per year, with the 112th edition scheduled for New Orleans, November 19–22, 2026), and a network of 50 interest group divisions, 7 sections, and 9 caucuses. The organization also operates two affiliated honor societies — Lambda Pi Eta (founded 1985, four-year institutions) and Sigma Chi Eta (founded 2000, two-year institutions) — along with an NCA Foundation supporting mission-related initiatives.

NCA generates revenue through five primary streams: tiered individual membership fees ($99–$375 annually, scaled by self-reported income), convention registration ($70–$735 with member discounts), departmental memberships ($225/year), publication/journal access, and event space rentals and sponsorships. The go-to-market motion is community-led, anchored by interest groups and the annual convention as flagship engagement and acquisition venues, and supplemented by direct sales via the natcom.org website. Technology infrastructure comprises Fonteva for the upcoming NCA Communities online collaboration platform (launching July 2026), X-CD for convention submission and program management, Taylor & Francis for journal hosting, and standard social/marketing channels (LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, X, Instagram, Bluesky, podcast, and email newsletters).

Distribution relies on direct website membership and convention registration, departmental partnerships at the institution level, and honor society chapters as recruitment channels into student membership. No APIs, mobile apps, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed; the technology posture is conventional community, event, and publishing infrastructure rather than a software product company.

Name

National Communication Association

Legal name

National Communication Association

Website

https://natcom.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1914

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

National Communication Association is a 501(c)(3) scholarly society founded in 1914 serving communication scholars, educators, students, and practitioners through 12 peer-reviewed journals, an annual convention with 1,000+ sessions, and 50+ interest groups, funded by tiered memberships and convention registration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees ranging from $99 (Tier 1 income) to $375 (Tier 11 income), with additional options for student ($75), retired (free), and life memberships ($4,500 one-time or 3x$1,600 installments).
2. Convention Registration: Annual convention generates revenue through registration fees ranging from $155 (student) to $735 (non-member regular rate), with early bird discounts available.
3. Department Memberships: College and university departments can purchase organizational memberships for $225 per year.
4. Publications and Journals: Members receive online access to NCA's 12 peer-reviewed journals and four additional Taylor & Francis Communication journals. Non-member journal access and print subscriptions also available.
5. Event Space and Sponsorships: Revenue from departmental event space rentals at conventions ($400-$550 per event/room/day) and exhibitor/sponsor fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The National Communication Association (NCA) operates as a not-for-profit membership-based scholarly society that provides individual and department memberships granting access to 12 peer-reviewed journals, an annual convention with over 1,000 sessions, networking through 50 divisions/7 sections/9 caucuses, awards, grants, and professional development programs for communication scholars, educators, and students.

Product overview

The National Communication Association (NCA) is a not-for-profit membership-based scholarly society offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and services for communication scholars, educators, and professionals. The core offerings include 12 peer-reviewed journals (hosted on Taylor & Francis), the Annual Convention (over 1,000 sessions), and Interest Groups (50 divisions, 7 sections, 9 caucuses). Additional services include two honor societies (Lambda Pi Eta and Sigma Chi Eta), the NCA Career Center job board, NCA Communities (a new online collaboration platform launching July 2026 powered by Fonteva), and various publications including Spectra Digital Magazine, Communication Currents, and COMMNotes. NCA also provides grants, a Doctoral Program Guide, Resource Library, Virtual Learning Opportunities, and an annual Awards Program. NCA Communities represents the organization's first major platform-based product, while journals, conventions, and honor societies form the traditional core membership benefits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NCA Communities: Online community platform powered by Fonteva, launching in 2026, designed to foster collaboration and engagement among NCA Interest Group members
• Camp NCA
• Lambda Pi Eta
• Sigma Chi Eta

Products and services

• Individual Membership Annual membership for individual communication scholars, educators, and practitioners with tiered pricing from $99 to $375 based on 11 income brackets, plus student ($75), retired (free with 25+ years of membership), and life membership ($4,500 one-time or 3x $1,600 installments) options. Multi-year options at one, two, or three years are available with discounted pricing. Members receive online access to 12 NCA peer-reviewed journals plus four Taylor & Francis Communication journals, discounted convention registration, networking through interest groups, award eligibility, and grants access.
• Department Membership Annual organizational membership for college and university communication departments priced at $225 per year. Provides departmental visibility, faculty benefits, networking, and Graduate School Open House booth opportunities at the annual convention.
• NCA Annual Convention Annual in-person gathering for communication scholars, educators, and practitioners featuring over 1,000 sessions of research presentations, panels, workshops, and networking events. Registration fees range from $155 (student Early Bird/Regular) to $735 (non-member Regular rate), with member rates at $335/$410, early bird discounts, and complimentary registrations for K-12 educators, retired/life members, and friends/family ($70). The 112th Annual Convention is scheduled for November 19-22, 2026 in New Orleans with a pre-conference day on November 18.
• NCA Peer-Reviewed Journals 12 peer-reviewed academic journals covering various areas of communication studies, hosted online through Taylor & Francis Online. Members receive free online access to current and archived issues; non-members and institutions can purchase print and online subscriptions.
• NCA Communities A secure, web-based online community platform powered by Fonteva, launching July 2026, designed to foster collaboration and engagement among members of NCA Interest Groups (50 Divisions, 7 Sections, and 9 Caucuses). The platform offers features including calls, messaging, document collaboration, event integration, and community announcements to enable specialized networking within the discipline's subfields.
• NCA Career Center Online job board and career resources platform connecting communication professionals with employment opportunities in academia and industry. Includes a Career Fair and CV consulting services at the annual convention.
• Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society Official honor society of NCA founded in 1985, recognizing outstanding academic achievement in communication at four-year institutions. Members receive benefits including scholarships, awards, leadership opportunities, and networking within honor society chapters.
• Sigma Chi Eta Honor Society Official honor society of NCA founded in 2000 for undergraduates in communication studies at two-year institutions. Recognizes academic excellence and fosters leadership and community service among members at community colleges and two-year programs.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Sociological Association (ASA): ASA is a comparable mid-sized U.S. scholarly society with a similar product mix (peer-reviewed journals, annual meeting, interest sections, awards). Its operating model and revenue structure closely mirror NCA's, making it a strong operational and financial benchmark.
• American Historical Association (AHA): AHA is a similarly structured humanities-adjacent scholarly society with peer-reviewed publications, an annual convention, interest sections, and award programs. Its member demographics (heavy faculty representation) closely parallel NCA's core segments.
• Modern Language Association (MLA): MLA is a comparable scholarly society in scale, structure, and operational model — membership tiers, multi-journal portfolio, annual convention with thousands of attendees, and humanities-adjacent academic base. It serves as a useful operational benchmark even though it operates in a different discipline.
• American Psychological Association (APA): APA is the dominant incumbent in its discipline and operates the same core playbook as NCA at much larger scale — membership tiers, a large journal portfolio, an annual convention, and accreditation influence. It illustrates the upper bound of what a discipline-specific scholarly society can become.
• American Economic Association (AEA): AEA is one of the largest and most operationally sophisticated scholarly societies in the social sciences, with a flagship journal portfolio (American Economic Review, etc.), annual meetings, and a strong digital platform. It represents the upper-quartile scale benchmark NCA could aspire to.
• National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE): NCTE is a comparable scholarly society in scale, discipline (English/language arts), and member base composition (heavy on educators). Its convention, journals, and K-12 educator engagement model parallel NCA's communication educator focus.
• American Political Science Association (APSA): APSA is a closely comparable scholarly society operating in a different social science discipline, with a similar portfolio of peer-reviewed journals, an annual meeting, and member segments spanning faculty, students, and practitioners.

Direct peers

• Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC): AEJMC is a direct peer — a U.S.-based scholarly society serving a closely adjacent subfield (mass communication/journalism) with similar membership tiers, peer-reviewed journals, and an annual conference competing for the same academic audiences.
• International Communication Association (ICA): ICA is the closest direct peer to NCA — both are scholarly societies serving communication researchers and educators, both publish multiple peer-reviewed journals, and both host major annual conventions. ICA competes directly for members, journal submissions, and convention attendance in the same discipline.

Emerging players

• Council for Exceptional Children (CEC): CEC is a smaller but structurally similar scholarly/professional society with tiered membership, peer-reviewed journals, an annual convention, and special interest divisions — a useful size benchmark for evaluating NCA's operational efficiency.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NatComm
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@NationalCommAssociation
• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalCommunicationAssociation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-communication-association/?viewAsMember=true
• Instagraminstagram.com/nationalcommunicationassoc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Communication Association