National Association for the Self-Employed

What National Association for the Self-Employed does

The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), founded in 1981 and headquartered in Irving, Texas with a Washington, D.C. advocacy office, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership association serving self-employed individuals and micro-business owners (fewer than 10 employees) across the United States. It operates as the largest association of its kind in the country, with one source citing approximately 50,000+ dues-paying members representing roughly 150,000–200,000 micro-businesses nationwide. The organization is governed by a member Board of Directors, supported by a small staff of 11–50 employees, and runs an affiliated NASE Foundation that administers its philanthropic programs.

NASE delivers a portfolio of member services rather than a unified software product. Core offerings include: publications (SelfInformed monthly newsletter, Washington Watch weekly legislative brief, OutFront Weekly Brief, Self Made blog, NASE Minute video); financial programs (Growth Grants of up to $4,000 awarded quarterly, with nearly $1M awarded cumulatively, and the Dependent Scholarship/Future Entrepreneur Scholarship program with over $1.9M awarded since 1989); advisory services (Ask the Experts covering tax, finance, legal, marketing, IT, and 12 disciplines total); insurance and health-benefit access (NASE HRA 105 self-service builder, Health Savings Account, plus partner access to major medical, dental, vision, life, and critical illness coverage); legislative advocacy (Legislative Action Center, congressional testimony, advocacy on small-business policy); and a curated benefits stack with partner discounts on office supplies (Office Depot, up to 75% off), software (QuickBooks, up to 40% off), hardware (Dell), shipping (UPS), travel (Budget, Enterprise), insurance (MetLife, Hiscox, Careington, Farmers, GoodRx), legal (LegalZoom, Legal Club), payroll (ADP), and web services (UENI).

The business model is a recurring subscription-membership model with five tiers: Annual ($120/year), Monthly ($11.95/month), Gold ($45/month with bundled insurance), Veteran ($99/year, ~15% discount), and Student ($25/year). Revenue is generated almost entirely from membership dues, supplemented by modest ancillary streams. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer plus community-led, primarily through nase.org, content marketing, email newsletters, multi-platform social media, member testimonials, and channel partnerships with the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity. Technology is a conventional web-based membership platform with member portal (My NASE), digital content delivery, online application systems for grants and HRA plans, and partner integrations; there is no proprietary AI/ML component.

Name

National Association for the Self-Employed

Legal name

National Association for the Self-Employed, Inc.

Website

http://www.nase.org/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The National Association for the Self-Employed is a nonprofit membership association founded in 1981 that serves self-employed individuals and U.S. micro-businesses through recurring dues-based membership, offering expert advisory, insurance access, grants, scholarships, and a curated partner discount ecosystem, supported by legislative advocacy in Washington, D.C.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Annapolis Junction

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: NASE generates revenue primarily through membership dues. The organization offers multiple membership tiers including Annual ($120/year), Monthly ($11.95/month), Gold ($45/month), Veteran ($99/year), and Student ($25/year). These membership fees provide access to benefits, resources, expert advice, insurance options, grants, and advocacy representation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels14 records

Core offering

The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is a nonprofit membership association that sells annual, monthly, Gold, Veteran, and Student memberships giving self-employed individuals and micro-business owners access to expert advisory services (Ask the Experts), health insurance and benefits, business discounts through vendor partnerships, quarterly Growth Grants of up to $4,000, dependent scholarships, and legislative advocacy representation. The organization also distributes digital publications and educational content (SelfInformed newsletter, Washington Watch, Self Made blog) and operates online tools like the Legislative Action Center and NASE HRA 105 plan creator.

Product overview

The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) operates as a membership-based nonprofit organization offering a comprehensive package of benefits and resources for micro-businesses and self-employed entrepreneurs. Rather than a unified software platform, the organization provides a portfolio of member services including publications (SelfInformed newsletter, Washington Watch, OutFront Weekly Brief, Self Made Blog), financial programs (Growth Grants up to $4,000, Dependent Scholarship Program, NASE Succeed Scholarship), expert advisory services (Ask the Experts covering 12 business disciplines), insurance products (health, dental, life, disability access, NASE HRA 105, Health Savings Account), advocacy tools (Legislative Action Center), business development resources (Startup Kit, Tax Resource Center, Business Learning Center), and member tools (Small Business Locator directory, UENI website builder). The offering is structured as membership tiers (Annual, Monthly, Gold, Veteran, Student) providing access to a curated network of partner discounts on business services, insurance, travel, and technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SelfInformed: Monthly member e-newsletter providing latest news for micro-businesses including operations, marketing, and legislative updates
• Washington Watch
• Self Made
• NASE Minute
• OutFront Weekly Brief
• NASE Foundation

Products and services

• Annual Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly $2,000,000 awarded in dependent scholarships since program inception
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNASE connects members to Small Business Development Centers, providing additional resources and support for micro-business owners across the country.
• Association for Enterprise OpportunitycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNASE affiliates with the Association for Enterprise Opportunity to extend its reach to micro-business owners and underserved entrepreneurs, supporting the micro-business community.
• MetLifecoreOthersMetLife provides life insurance products to NASE members including $20,000 Term Life insurance and $5,000 Critical Illness insurance as part of Gold Membership benefits.
• HiscoxcoreOthersHiscox provides small business insurance to NASE members with over 500,000 businesses across the US trusting Hiscox for coverage.
• ADPcoreOthersADP provides payroll services to NASE members, helping self-employed individuals manage their workforce payroll needs.
• AT&T Business FiberminorOthersAT&T Business Fiber offers internet services to NASE members with business fiber connectivity solutions.
• Office DepotcoreOthersNASE members save up to 75% on office supplies at Office Depot Business Solutions through the partnership.
• DellcoreOthersNASE members in the US can take advantage of special member pricing on Dell's entire portfolio of products.
• QuickBooks (Intuit)coreOthersMembers save up to 40% on QuickBooks financial software through the partnership.
• Constant ContactminorOthersConstant Contact provides email and social media marketing services to NASE members.
• LegalZoomcoreOthersLegalZoom provides online legal document preparation services to help members start, grow, and run their businesses.
• Legal Club of AmericacoreOthersLegal Club provides access to a national network of attorneys in every field of law at no cost or reduced rates for NASE members.
• UPSminorOthersUPS offers flat rate pricing on shipping to NASE members through the UPS Savings Program.
• CareingtoncoreOthersCareington provides dental and vision savings plans to NASE members through discounted rates.
• Budget Rent a CarminorOthersNASE members save up to 25% off standard, daily or weekend rates at over 1,900 participating Budget locations.
• Enterprise/NationalminorOthersNASE members save up to 15% off Enterprise standard daily rates and up to 20% off National standard daily rates.
• Farmers InsuranceminorOthersFarmers Insurance Choice provides auto and home insurance savings to NASE members.
• Norton (Gen Digital)minorOthersNorton provides easy-to-use cybersecurity solutions to NASE members for business and personal protection.
• AARPminorOthersAARP provides small business resources to NASE members, particularly relevant for older entrepreneurs.
• UENIminorOthersUENI builds websites for NASE members for just $79, providing affordable web presence.
• Assist AmericaminorOthersAssist America provides emergency help for NASE members and their families when traveling more than 100 miles from home, included with membership.
• GoodRxminorOthersGoodRx provides prescription savings to NASE members, helping reduce healthcare costs with savings up to 80%.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce: The U.S. Chamber is the largest U.S. business federation, representing companies of all sizes. While it overlaps with NASE on advocacy and member benefits, it serves a much broader constituency and does not focus on the micro-business / self-employed niche that defines NASE.
• AARP: AARP is a large membership association offering benefits, advocacy, and resources to a specific demographic (50+ Americans). NASE lists AARP as a partner; AARP's membership-model mechanics (dues, partner discounts, advocacy) closely mirror NASE's structure.

Direct peers

• Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO): AEO is a national nonprofit trade association focused on micro-business development and under-served entrepreneurs. NASE lists AEO as a formal affiliate partner, and the two share an almost identical micro-business / underserved-entrepreneur mission.
• SCORE: SCORE is a nonprofit association providing free mentoring and education to small businesses, partially funded through an SBA partnership. NASE explicitly partners with SCORE-affiliated SBDCs to extend reach, making SCORE a directly comparable small-business support association.
• Main Street Alliance: Main Street Alliance is a national network of small-business owners focused on policy advocacy. Its member-driven advocacy model and small-business focus make it a close functional peer to NASE's advocacy and legislative-action capabilities.
• American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA): AMIBA is a nonprofit coalition that supports independent, locally owned businesses through local 'Buy Local' campaigns and advocacy. It is comparable to NASE in serving small/independent operators with a community- and policy-driven model.
• National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB): NFIB is the largest U.S. small-business advocacy association with a similar member-based model, federal lobbying focus, and benefits package. NFIB serves a broader business-size range than NASE but is the most directly comparable peer in mission and revenue model.
• Small Business Majority: Small Business Majority is an advocacy-driven small-business organization that conducts research and lobbies on federal policy affecting small businesses. It mirrors NASE's federal advocacy posture while serving a slightly broader small-business audience.

Emerging players

• FreshBooks: FreshBooks is a cloud accounting platform purpose-built for self-employed individuals and small service businesses. It competes for the same self-employed wallet share as NASE by addressing a specific pain point (invoicing/accounting) that NASE covers through partner discounts on QuickBooks.

Others

• Small Business Administration (SBA): The SBA is the U.S. federal agency supporting small businesses through loans, contracting, and counseling. While not a competing association, SBA resources (SBDCs, SCORE) directly overlap with NASE's small-business advisory offerings, making it the most relevant ecosystem counterparty.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nasetweets
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NASEview
• Facebookfacebook.com/NASEonFB
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/about
• Instagraminstagram.com/NASEonIG
• Pinterestpinterest.com/NASEpins

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Association for the Self-Employed