Grand Avenue Business Association

Name

Grand Avenue Business Association

Legal name

Grand Avenue Business Association

Website

https://grandave.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Association and Community Event Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Downtown/Urban Flagship Traditional Department Stores (CRAGAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Anniversary & Milestone Celebration Services (HSACACAD)

Keywords

• Business association services
• Community event management
• Membership programs
• Commercial district promotion
• Festival organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Paul

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership dues from Grand Avenue businesses with tiered levels including Core Plus and Premier Members.
2. Event Sponsorships: Sponsorship revenue from Grand Old Day and other signature events, with various sponsorship tiers including Grand Stage, Parade, Entertainment, Glow Zone, and Booster sponsors.
3. Event Vendor Fees: Fees collected from vendor registrations at events such as Paws on Grand.
4. 21+ Wristbands and Pit Passes: Sale of wristbands for 21+ beverage purchases and Music Pit Passes for front-row access at Grand Old Day festival.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Grand Avenue Business Association is a nonprofit membership organization that promotes and supports businesses along the Grand Avenue commercial corridor in St. Paul, Minnesota. It delivers value through a portfolio of community events (Grand Old Day, Music on the Lawn, Live Music on Grand, Paws on Grand, Grand Meander) and member services including a tiered Business Membership Program, an online Member Directory, and the Grand Old Day mobile app.

Product overview

Grand Avenue Business Association operates as a local business improvement district organization managing a portfolio of community events and member services. The core offerings center on large-scale public events—Grand Old Day (annual flagship festival), Music on the Lawn (weekly summer concerts), Live Music on Grand (busker program), Paws on Grand (pet-friendly event), and Grand Meander (holiday shopping event)—alongside member services including a business directory and membership program. The association does not offer a technology product platform; instead it serves as a promotional and organizing entity for the Grand Avenue commercial corridor in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Grand Old Day: St. Paul's biggest annual festival featuring live music, parade, food vendors, and family entertainment
• Paws on Grand
• Live Music on Grand
• Grand Meander

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Pet EvolutionflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor of Paws on Grand event. Provides pet-related programming including adoptions, pet marketplace, and pet portraits. GABA Core Plus and Premier Members can host rescues for free as part of membership.
• The CurrentflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerGrand Stage sponsor and media partner for Grand Old Day. Powers the main music stage featuring indie, rock, and Twin Cities heavyweights. The Current is a prominent Minnesota radio station.
• Visit Saint PaulcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia sponsor for Grand Old Day, providing tourism and visitor promotion for the event.
• City of Saint Paul - Commercial Corridor Organization Assistance ProgramcoreOthersFunding source for the Live Music on Grand busking program, supporting musicians performing along Grand Avenue.
• Macalester CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venue for Music on the Lawn events. Located at Macalester College near Grand Avenue.
• Grand Old Day Event SponsorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMultiple sponsors including Coulee Bank, Velocity Public Affairs, Bay West, Emery's Playhouse, Old National Bank, Zimmerman's Dry Goods, and others supporting the event.
• Lot SponsorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVenue sponsors including Macalester College, Lunds and Byerly's, U.S. Bank, Walgreens, and others providing event lot space.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Selby Avenue Business Association: Smaller neighborhood-scale BID on Selby Avenue in St. Paul. Operates the same small-corridor nonprofit membership model that supports local businesses through events and promotion, providing a direct structural peer.
• Minneapolis Downtown Council: Twin Cities BID organization promoting downtown Minneapolis. Runs the comparable mix of member-driven advocacy, signature events, and downtown commercial-corridor promotion, making it the closest regional operational analog to Grand Avenue Business Association.
• Downtown Saint Paul Inc. A business improvement district organization serving downtown Saint Paul, just a few blocks from Grand Avenue. Operates with a comparable nonprofit BID model — membership dues, event production, placemaking — but for the downtown core rather than the Grand Avenue corridor.
• Macalester-Groveland Community Council: St. Paul neighborhood organization adjacent to Grand Avenue and host venue for Music on the Lawn. Engages in community programming, business support, and local advocacy for the same surrounding neighborhood as Grand Avenue Business Association.
• Highland Business Association: St. Paul neighborhood business association serving the Highland Village area along Ford Parkway. Comparable local BID structure focused on supporting member retailers and hosting community events in a defined commercial corridor.

Others

• National Main Street Center: National nonprofit that supports the Main Street Approach to commercial district revitalization. Sits adjacent to the BID model that Grand Avenue Business Association embodies, providing methodology, training, and a peer network of comparable district organizations.
• Visit Saint Paul: Official convention and visitors bureau for Saint Paul. Functions as both a marketing partner for Grand Old Day and a regional tourism promoter, operating as an enabling organization that drives visitor traffic to commercial corridors like Grand Avenue.

Broad incumbents

• Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce: Broader geographic and sectoral business membership organization serving the Saint Paul metro. Represents an incumbent chamber-of-commerce model that overlaps with the association's advocacy role but covers a larger territory and member base.
• Metro Cities (Association of Metropolitan Municipalities): Minnesota membership association for metropolitan municipalities. Operates as a broader advocacy organization whose member cities include St. Paul, and which engages with commercial corridor and BID-related policy that affects organizations like Grand Avenue Business Association.

Regional players

• Minneapolis Northwest Visitors & Convention Bureau: Regional tourism promotion organization covering the Twin Cities northwest corridor. Comparable in event sponsorship and tourism-marketing function to GABA's Visit Saint Paul partnership, but focused on a different regional geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Grand.Avenue.St.Paul
• Instagraminstagram.com/grandoldday
• Xx.com/grand_ave
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grand-ave

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Grand Avenue Business Association