American Copy Editors Society

What American Copy Editors Society does

American Copy Editors Society (ACES), operating under the trade names "ACES Editors" and "ACES: The Society for Editing," is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) non-profit professional membership organization founded in 1997 and headquartered in Carpentersville, Illinois. The organization serves more than 4,000 editors working across journalism, publishing, corporate communications, and digital media, delivering a bundled platform of training, certification, career services, publications, peer recognition, and community events. Its core product surface includes ACES Academy (an on-demand training library of 120+ webcasts covering editing skills, AI, and ethics), the ACES-Poynter Certificate Program (a professional credential issued in partnership with The Poynter Institute), annual virtual and in-person conferences, a member-exclusive job board, an "Editors for Hire" freelance directory, the Tracking Changes Journal, and the Editors Corner newsletter, along with a suite of industry awards (Robinson Prize, Glamann Award, Henry Fuhrmann Mentor Award, Bill Connolly Rising Star Awards, Headline Contest, Richard S. Holden Diversity Fellowship, and ACES Scholarships).

The underlying technology is administrative rather than proprietary — ACES runs a standard membership portal (members.aceseditors.org), event management on the GrowthZone CMS platform, and a webcast/content library, with no disclosed AI/ML patents, APIs, or proprietary models. ACES monetizes primarily through recurring annual membership dues, supplemented by conference registration fees, certificate program tuition, and ancillary services such as job board postings and freelance directory listings; specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and operates a separately-incorporated ACES Education Fund with its own board, suggesting a two-entity structure separating operational and educational functions. With 1–10 employees, ACES relies on volunteer leadership and committees for program delivery, consistent with a lean professional-association operating model.

Name

American Copy Editors Society

Legal name

American Copy Editors Society

Website

https://copydesk.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

American Copy Editors Society (ACES) is a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit professional membership organization serving 4,000+ editors nationwide with training, certification, conferences, career services, publications, and industry awards across journalism, publishing, and corporate communications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Carpentersville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees that provide access to exclusive resources, job listings, networking opportunities, training materials, and member-only events. ACES is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The American Copy Editors Society (ACES) is a US-based 501(c)(3) professional membership organization serving more than 4,000 editors across journalism, publishing, corporate communications, and digital media. Its core offering is annual membership that bundles training (ACES Academy's 120+ on-demand webcasts), professional certification (the ACES-Poynter Certificate Program), networking through in-person and virtual conferences, career services (Job Board and Editors for Hire directory), publications (Tracking Changes Journal and Editors Corner Newsletter), and industry awards.

Product overview

ACES (The American Copy Editors Society) is a professional membership organization for editors, structured as a platform-plus-services model offering training, certification, networking, career services, publications, and awards. The core offerings include ACES Academy (120+ on-demand webcasts), the ACES-Poynter Certificate Program (professional certification), annual Virtual and In-Person Conferences, a Job Board and Editors for Hire directory, Tracking Changes Journal and Editors Corner Newsletter publications, an annual Awards Program, and membership with a network of 4,000+ editors. These products work together to serve the professional editing community across all career stages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ACES Academy: On-demand training platform with 120+ webcasts for professional development
• ACES-Poynter Certificate Program
• Tracking Changes Journal

Products and services

• ACES Membership Annual individual membership for professional editors providing access to member-exclusive resources, the 4,000+ editor network, member-only job listings, leadership and volunteer opportunities, and discounted or exclusive access to ACES programs.
• ACES Academy Online learning platform offering 120+ on-demand webcasts covering editing skills, AI, ethics, and craft of editing for editors at all career stages.
• ACES-Poynter Certificate Program Professional certification program in editing delivered in partnership with The Poynter Institute, providing editors with credentialed training recognized across the industry.
• ACES Virtual Conference (VCON) Annual online conference for editors featuring webcasts, sessions, and networking opportunities for remote participation.
• ACES In-Person Conference Annual face-to-face conference bringing together editors for networking, professional development sessions, and community building.
• ACES Job Board Member-exclusive job listing service providing career opportunities in editing across industries.
• Editors for Hire Directory connecting freelance and professional editors with clients and employers seeking editing services.
• ACES Awards Program Suite of industry awards and scholarships (Robinson Prize, Glamann Award, Henry Fuhrmann Mentor Award, Bill Connolly Rising Star Awards, Headline Contest, Richard S. Holden Diversity Fellowship, ACES Scholarships) recognizing excellence, mentorship, and diversity in editing.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• The Poynter InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACES partners with The Poynter Institute to offer the ACES-Poynter Certificate Program in Editing. This is a professional certification program that provides editors with credentials recognized in the industry, combining ACES's editing expertise with Poynter's journalism and media training legacy.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP): CLMP is a nonprofit membership organization serving independent literary publishers and editors. It is comparable to ACES as a small, mission-driven membership association in the publishing/editing space, but with a narrower indie-press focus.
• Copyediting (online community): Copyediting.com is an online training and community resource for editors offering courses, a newsletter, and conferences. It competes directly with ACES Academy for editor training dollars, but lacks ACES's nonprofit membership-society structure.

Direct peers

• Online News Association (ONA): ONA is a membership organization for digital journalism professionals offering annual conferences, training programs, and awards — a comparable community + events + training model serving an adjacent (digital) editor/journalist persona.
• The Poynter Institute: Poynter is a journalism and media training organization that co-develops the ACES-Poynter Certificate Program with ACES. It offers overlapping training, certification, and educational products for journalists and editors, making it the closest strategic partner and functional peer in media editing education.
• Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE): IRE is a nonprofit journalism membership organization offering training, conferences, and awards to investigative journalists and editors. It shares the same nonprofit, member-supported, training-and-conference-driven business model.
• Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ): SPJ is the largest U.S. journalism membership organization with a similar community-led GTM, regional events, awards, and training programs. While its scope is broader (all journalists vs. editors specifically), SPJ is a directly comparable professional association serving the same broader journalism ecosystem.
• Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA): The EFA is a membership organization for freelance editors and other publishing professionals, offering directories, training, and networking. It targets the same editor persona but with a freelance/self-employed focus, making it a directly comparable niche professional society.

Broad incumbents

• American Press Institute: API provides training, research, and resources for newsrooms and journalists, overlapping with ACES's training and educational mission. It serves a broader institutional newsroom audience but competes for the same training dollars and editorial improvement agenda.
• National Association of Broadcasters (NAB): NAB is a large broadcast industry trade association offering conferences (NAB Show), training, and advocacy. While focused on broadcasting rather than print/digital editing, it is a comparable professional association model at a much larger scale with similar community-plus-conference economics.
• News/Media Alliance: News/Media Alliance is a U.S. trade association representing news publishers, offering industry advocacy, training, and member services. It serves institutional (publisher) members rather than individual editors but operates in the same journalism/membership-association space at greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ACESEditors
• Facebookfacebook.com/aceseditors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aces-the-society-for-editing
• Instagraminstagram.com/ACESeditors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about American Copy Editors Society