ASIFA-South

What ASIFA-South does

ASIFA-South is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in Georgia and headquartered in Atlanta, operating as the official South Eastern US chapter of the UNESCO-chartered ASIFA International Animated Film Association. Founded as ASIFA-Atlanta and rebranded to ASIFA-South in 2022 to broaden regional scope, the organization functions as a community hub for animation professionals, studios, students, and educational institutions across the Southeastern US. Its core offerings center on an Airtable-backed Animator's Directory and Jobs platform (with public listings plus a closed directory for verified studios), the annual ASIFAC Festival and Conference hosted at Kennesaw State University, International Animation Day celebrations at LOOK Cinema Brookhaven, a Creative Incubator training initiative, and a portfolio of curated resource databases (animation festivals, networking events, Georgia studios locator, preparedness guides, and an upcoming Wage Database).

The organization operates a volunteer-led model under co-executive directors Jeffrey Yu and Casandra Brewton-Johnson, supported by Operations Director Ginger Marisa Tontaveetong and Programming Director Dominique Ebron. Revenue is sourced from individual donations, memberships, corporate sponsorships (Toon Boom, NEA, SCADFILM, Awesome Inc, Adobe Express, Fox RenderFarm, XP Pen, Fern, and others), and grants including the July 2025 Arts Education Program Grant from the Georgia Council for the Arts. The digital platform is built on consumer-grade SaaS (Wix, Airtable, Mailchimp, Slack, PayPal) rather than proprietary technology, and the go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: free or low-cost events, bi-weekly newsletters, multi-platform social media presence, and partner co-marketing drive engagement.

Strategic positioning is built on the exclusive UNESCO/ASIFA International affiliation and a two-sided community that aggregates talent-discovery, professional development, and cultural promotion of animation under one regional roof. Distribution is regional (Southeastern US), with no global footprint claims, and the organization earned the 2024 Presidential Volunteer Service Award for 2,500+ collective volunteer hours. Pricing is effectively freemium — free public access to events and resources, with membership unlocking additional content — making monetization dependent on donations, sponsorships, and grants rather than per-transaction revenue.

Name

ASIFA-South

Legal name

ASIFA-SOUTH, INC

Website

https://asifa-south.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ASIFA-South is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Atlanta, serving as the UNESCO-affiliated ASIFA International chapter for the Southeastern US. It runs an Animator's Directory, the ASIFAC Festival, International Animation Day, and training programs for animators, studios, and students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Animation Community Services

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional & Certification Expos Organizers (THAHABAD)

Keywords

• Animation community building
• Animation festival events
• Professional development workshops
• Animation directory services
• Arts nonprofit organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: ASIFA-South is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The organization accepts donations to fund events and keep them free or low-cost for the community. Membership provides access to additional resources and events.
2. Sponsorship and Partnership Revenue: Studios and organizations can sponsor events or partner with ASIFA-South for training opportunities, studio tours, and panel mentorships. The organization offers sponsorship decks and partnership opportunities to businesses.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ASIFA-South operates as a nonprofit animation community organization that runs signature events including the annual ASIFAC Festival & Conference at Kennesaw State University and the International Animation Day celebration, while maintaining the Animator's Directory & Jobs platform to connect animation professionals in the Southeastern US with studios. The organization also delivers the Creative Incubator training program, year-round workshops, portfolio reviews, and professional development sessions for the regional animation community.

Product overview

ASIFA-South is a nonprofit animation community organization (501(c)(3)) headquartered in Atlanta, GA, serving as the UNESCO-affiliated ASIFA chapter for the South-Eastern United States. It does not offer a commercial software product; instead, it delivers a portfolio of community-facing services centered around its Wix-hosted digital platform. The core offering is its Animator's Directory and Jobs platform, which is powered by Airtable and enables animators to get listed publicly and studios to source talent. Complementary services include the ASIFAC Festival & Conference (a multi-day animation festival with screenings, panels, workshops, and a VIP awards ceremony), International Animation Day celebrations, a Creative Incubator for training, and a year-round programming calendar of events, mixers, and workshops. The organization also maintains resource databases — an Animation Festivals Database, a Networking Events & Meetups database, and an Animation Studios in Georgia Locator — and publishes community resources including a Sustainability Report on animation wages, digital backup guides, and artist preparedness guides. Membership, volunteer committees, and donations constitute the primary engagement model.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ASIFAC Festival & Conference An annual multi-day animation festival and professional development conference held at Kennesaw State University, featuring film screening blocks, panels, workshops, portfolio reviews, exhibition booths, and a VIP Awards Ceremony. Designed for animation professionals, studios, students, and enthusiasts in the Southeastern US.
• International Animation Day Celebration An annual all-day screening event held at LOOK Cinema Brookhaven in Atlanta to celebrate International Animation Day on October 28. Features curated film blocks for different audiences (Kids, PG-13, R-rated global showcase) and a community mixer. Free and open to the public.
• Animator's Directory & Jobs A publicly accessible directory of animation professionals in Georgia and the Southeastern US, powered by Airtable. Animators create profiles to be discoverable by studios; qualified studios can access a closed directory of verified talent. The platform also aggregates curated animation job postings.
• Creative Incubator A training and mentorship initiative providing professional development opportunities and project support for emerging animators, often tied to industry partnerships and creative projects within the Southeastern US animation community.
• Professional Development Sessions Portfolio review sessions, industry Q&As, and mentorship sessions offered during the ASIFAC Festival, featuring professionals from studios such as Disney Animation, Bento Box, Awesome Inc, and Lionsgate as reviewers and panelists.
• WIP Showcase ASIFA-South's Work-in-Progress Showcase, presented at the July 2025 Creative Mixer as a platform for creatives to present unfinished animation and creative projects and receive community feedback.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Toon BoomcoreTechnology or IntegrationToon Boom Animation is a sponsor and partner of ASIFA-South's ASIFAC Festival and events. The partnership includes demo workshops on digital paper cut-out animation using Toon Boom software, with industry experts Jack Huang (Toon Boom rigger) and Thy Vo (Toon Boom Ambassador) leading sessions.
• National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerNEA is a sponsor of ASIFA-South events, supporting the organization's mission to promote animation arts and community building in the Southeastern US.
• SCADFILMcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSCADFILM sponsors ASIFA-South events and represents the Savannah College of Art and Design's film and animation program partnership.
• Awesome InccoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAwesome Inc is a major sponsor of ASIFAC Festival and a key animation studio partner in Atlanta's animation ecosystem.
• Kennesaw State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKSU serves as the host venue for ASIFAC Festival and Conference at their Social Science Building. University faculty and staff participate as industry guests and coordinators.
• Georgia State University - Creative Media Industry Institute (CMII)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGSU CMII is a sponsor and academic partner, with professors like Elizabeth Strickler participating in festival programming.
• XP PenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerXP Pen is a sponsor providing digital art equipment support for ASIFA-South events and festival.
• Georgia Council for the ArtscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGCA is both a funding partner (Arts Education Program Grant) and community partner supporting ASIFA-South's mission.
• ASIFA InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASIFA International is the parent organization chartered under UNESCO. ASIFA-South is the official South Eastern US chapter representing the international animation society at the regional level.
• Georgia Game Developers AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGGDA is a community partner collaborating on game development and animation crossover opportunities.
• BWA StudiosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBWA Studios is an animation studio partner with Head of Studio Fatimah Abdullah serving on ASIFA-South's Board of Directors.
• Silver Comet StudiosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSilver Comet Productions is a local animation studio sponsor and community partner.
• LOOK Cinema BrookhavenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLOOK Cinema Brookhaven serves as the venue partner for International Animation Day celebrations in Atlanta.
• FernminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFern is a sponsor supporting ASIFA-South events and community building efforts.
• Animation World NetworkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAWN is an industry media partner covering animation news and supporting ASIFA-South events.
• Animation MagazineminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnimation Magazine is an industry publication partner for ASIFA-South events.
• ACM SIGGRAPHminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSIGGRAPH is an academic and professional graphics community partner for ASIFA-South.
• Allied Global MarketingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAllied Global Marketing is a marketing and PR partner supporting ASIFA-South events.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Georgia Game Developers Association (GGDA): Georgia-based nonprofit serving the interactive/digital entertainment industry via events, networking, and education; a current ASIFA-South community partner and a near-perfect structural twin serving an adjacent creative industry in the same geography.
• ASIFA-Hollywood: ASIFA's Hollywood chapter and the body that administers the Annie Awards; most direct structural peer as another US ASIFA chapter running animation community events, professional recognition programs, and membership services, but at significantly larger scale and on the West Coast.
• Creative Talent Network (CTNX): Annual animation expo featuring portfolio reviews, panels, recruitment, and networking for animators and studios; the most direct US-format peer to ASIFA-South's ASIFAC Festival in terms of professional-development-and-talent-matching value proposition.

Regional players

• Atlanta Film Society: Atlanta-based nonprofit running film festivals, screenings, and educational programs; directly comparable as a regional film/media community organization in the same Atlanta market and operating with a similar nonprofit events-and-education model.

Broad incumbents

• The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839): The labor union representing animation professionals in Los Angeles; comparable as an animation-industry member-services organization (wage advocacy, professional development, community) but operating at national scale and as a union rather than a nonprofit association.
• ASIFA International: The parent UNESCO-chartered federation of which ASIFA-South is a chapter; sets global programming (e.g., International Animation Day), grants the regional mandate, and is the highest-authority peer in the same organizational ecosystem.
• ACM SIGGRAPH: Global professional society for computer graphics and interactive techniques with a similarly event-and-community-driven model (annual conference, local chapters, industry partnerships); ASIFA-South is already an ACM SIGGRAPH community partner.
• Annecy International Animation Film Festival: The world's largest animation film festival and a reference point for festival-format programming; comparable as an animation film festival organizer with screenings, awards, and industry market, though operating globally rather than regionally.

Emerging players

• Women in Animation: International nonprofit advancing women in the animation industry through chapters, mentorship, events, and advocacy; comparable in mission and community-building model, with partial overlap in member demographics and event programming.

Others

• Spelman College Animation / SCADFILM: SCAD's film and animation program is a core academic partner of ASIFA-South and runs its own student showcases, festivals, and industry mixers; comparable as a regional animation education and showcase organizer in the same talent pipeline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AsifaSouth
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCwuiRt8lD5R2QwlB-i6EQhQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/groups/asifasouth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/asifa-south/mycompany
• Instagraminstagram.com/asifasouth/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 ASIFA-South