What National Assembly of State Arts Agencies does

The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership association founded in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., that serves as the designated national organization for the 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies in the United States. Its core function is to equip state arts agencies with research, advocacy, federal representation, and peer networking to strengthen their capacity to promote public funding for the arts. NASAA operates as a professional association rather than a commercial enterprise, with revenue derived from membership dues paid by state arts agencies and tax-deductible donations from public supporters. Membership is automatic for state arts agency staff and council/board members across all 56 jurisdictions, and 99% of NASAA's research and advocacy materials are freely accessible to the public.

NASAA's product portfolio centers on authoritative research publications and data tools, including the State Arts Agency Revenues Reports, the FY2027 Legislative Appropriations Preview, the Legislative Appropriations Explorer, the SAA Grant-Making Explorer, and the State Arts Agency Innovations Database (containing 543+ entries). The organization also operates programmatic initiatives, most prominently the Creative Aging portfolio — Creative Aging Creative Futures grants, States Leading Creative Aging, Leveraging State Investments in Creative Aging, and the Creative Aging Institute — co-funded with E.A. Michelson Philanthropy. Distribution channels include a member dashboard, the NASAA Notes monthly newsletter, social media presence across Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and YouTube, the annual NASAA Assembly, and the 2026 Learning Series for professional development.

NASAA's business model is a nonprofit association model: it functions as a membership collective with shared-service revenue mechanics rather than a transactional sales operation. The organization maintains a statutory federal-state partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, under which 40% of NEA grant funding flows to state arts agencies, generating more than 30,000 grants annually. With 11-50 employees and a single Washington, D.C. office, NASAA operates at a small scale relative to the $694.3 million in state legislative appropriations it tracks, providing centralized research, advocacy, and benchmarking services to its members.

Name

National Assembly of State Arts Agencies

Legal name

National Assembly of State Arts Agencies

Website

https://nasaa-arts.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NASAA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership association serving all 56 U.S. state and jurisdictional arts agencies with research, advocacy, and federal representation. Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., it operates authoritative data tools and programmatic initiatives, notably Creative Aging, with revenue from membership dues and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts Policy Nonprofit Membership Association

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

Keywords

• State arts agencies
• Arts funding research
• Arts policy advocacy
• Nonprofit association
• Professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: State arts agencies receive services through their agency's NASAA membership. The membership provides access to research resources, peer networks, benchmarking reports, and advocacy support.
2. Donations and Contributions: NASAA accepts one-time and monthly donations from public supporters. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with federal tax identification number 62-0913689. Donations are tax-deductible.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NASAA is a nonprofit membership association that delivers research, advocacy, peer networking, and professional development services to the 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies of the United States. Its core deliverables include authoritative reports and interactive data tools on state arts agency funding, federal reporting compliance resources, the Creative Aging programs portfolio, an annual Assembly, a Learning Series, and a monthly newsletter. Members access these offerings through the NASAA website, member dashboard, and direct NASAA staff support.

Product overview

NASAA operates as a nonprofit membership organization (not a technology product company) that provides research, advocacy, and professional development services to 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies. The organization offers a portfolio of research publications and data tools including State Arts Agency Revenues Reports, the Legislative Appropriations Explorer, and SAA Grant-Making Explorer. Its Creative Aging Programs encompass multiple initiatives including Creative Aging, Creative Futures grants, States Leading Creative Aging, and the Vital & Vibrant Creative Aging Toolkit. Additional offerings include the State Arts Agency Innovations Database, State Arts Agency Directory, Federal Reporting Tools, NASAA Notes Newsletter, NASAA Assembly annual event, and the NASAA 2026 Learning Series for professional development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Legislative Appropriations Explorer Interactive data visualization tool that allows users to explore state arts agency legislative appropriations data, supporting research and benchmarking across the 56 state and jurisdictional arts agencies.
• SAA Grant-Making Explorer Interactive dashboard providing aggregated state arts agency grant-making trend data from the past 40 years, broken down by institution, discipline, and key types of support, for researchers and state arts agency staff.
• State Arts Agency Innovations Database Searchable online archive containing hundreds of innovative state arts agency programs (543 articles as of the latest update), searchable by state, topic, and keywords, used by state arts agencies to learn from peer innovations.
• Creative Aging, Creative Futures Grants Funded grant program awarding $2,230,000 in creative aging grants to 28 state arts agencies in collaboration with E.A. Michelson Philanthropy, targeting older adults through creativity, learning, well-being, and social engagement programs.
• Vital & Vibrant Creative Aging Toolkit Comprehensive toolkit equipping state and jurisdictional arts agencies with resources to champion and implement creative aging in their communities, released in January 2025.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% of NEA grant funding flows to state arts agencies through the federal-state partnership, yielding more than 30,000 grants each year
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

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

One partnership is on record.

• National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe federal-state partnership between NEA and state arts agencies is a statutory requirement directing 40% of NEA grant funding to state and jurisdictional arts agencies and regional arts organizations. This partnership ensures federal arts funding reaches every congressional district and yields more than 30,000 grants annually through state arts agencies. NASAA represents state arts agencies in federal policy discussions and advocacy efforts.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Grantmakers in the Arts: Membership association for private and public arts funders, including state arts agencies. Highly comparable as a parallel membership and convening body in the arts funding ecosystem, with overlapping constituents and similar advocacy and research services.
• Association of Performing Arts Professionals: National service organization for the performing arts field, providing conferences, professional development, advocacy, and member services. Directly comparable to NASAA's NASAA Assembly and Learning Series model and its member-services orientation toward arts professionals.
• National Council of Nonprofits: National network of nonprofit organizations providing advocacy, research, and capacity-building services to state and regional nonprofit associations. Comparable to NASAA's role as a membership association representing sub-national member bodies and operating through dues plus policy advocacy.
• Americans for the Arts: National nonprofit that advocates for the arts and provides research, tools, and member services to arts organizations and leaders. Directly comparable to NASAA as a parallel arts-focused membership and advocacy body, though focused on the broader nonprofit arts field rather than state agencies specifically.
• Theatre Communications Group: National service organization for the American theatre, providing advocacy, grant programs, research, and professional development to member theatres. Comparable to NASAA as an arts service and advocacy membership organization with a defined sub-field constituency.

Broad incumbents

• American Alliance of Museums: National membership organization serving museums and museum professionals with advocacy, standards, and professional development. Operates in the same arts/cultural policy ecosystem as NASAA and serves a similar membership-association function, but for museums rather than state arts agencies.
• Independent Sector: National membership organization of nonprofits, foundations, and corporate giving programs focused on cross-sector advocacy and research. Comparable to NASAA in operating model (membership dues, policy advocacy, research) but at a broader nonprofit scope.
• National Endowment for the Arts: Federal agency that funds and supports arts activities across the U.S., including the statutory 40% pass-through to state arts agencies. Comparable as a federal-level counterpart in the arts policy ecosystem and a core strategic partner of NASAA.

Emerging players

• National Alliance for Music Education: Membership and advocacy organization promoting music education across the U.S. Comparable to NASAA as a membership-driven advocacy and professional-development body in an arts sub-field, with similar reliance on association dues and foundation partnerships.

Others

• National Assembly of State Arts Agencies: Self-reference excluded — placeholder note.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NASAA_Arts
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@nationalassemblyofstateart2952
• Facebookfacebook.com/NASAA.Arts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-assembly-of-state-arts-agencies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Assembly of State Arts Agencies