NPA
The Network Professional Association (NPA) is a nonprofit trade association founded in 1993 that serves IT and networking professionals through $40–$125/year memberships, offering the CNP certification, monthly webinars, peer networking, a job board, and the annual Awards for Professionalism program.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersSan Diego, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What NPA does
The Network Professional Association (NPA) is a nonprofit trade association founded in 1993 and headquartered in San Diego, California, that serves individual IT and networking professionals through a membership-based community organized around three pillars: Career Growth, Professional Development, and Ethical Integrity. NPA offers two membership tiers — Community Membership at $40/year and Professional Membership at $125/year — plus the Certified Network Professional (CNP) international designation, monthly public webinars, member-exclusive Advocator meetings, the NPA Career Center job board (powered by YM Careers), and the annual Awards for Professionalism program running since 2002. Its technology stack is a lightweight web-based membership platform built on Lucee (migrated from Cold Fusion in 2022), with Zoom used for global event delivery, YouTube/LinkedIn/Facebook for content distribution, and a library of 1000+ video expert interviews hosted on npa.org.
NPA generates revenue primarily through recurring membership dues, supplemented by event fees (e.g., $0–$25 for non-member access to virtual workshops), corporate sponsorships from named partners such as MindEdge Learning, KnowBE4, Alliant Credit Union, WiTS, and Agile IT, and promotional discounts on partner products and services. Its go-to-market is community-led: free public webinars and content marketing serve as top-of-funnel acquisition, converting attendees into paying members who gain access to bundled partner benefits, certification preparation, and peer networking. The customer base consists of individual IT/Networking professionals segmented into working professionals (primary), students, and military veterans transitioning into civilian IT careers.
The association is governed by a volunteer board led by Executive Director Jim Belasco (board member since 2000) and Chris Setz as President of the Advisory Board, with Richard Allan Kelley and Stephen Ibaraki as additional board members. NPA operates local chapters in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, Inland Empire, and Kennesaw alongside a global Online Global Chapter, and has formal partnerships with O*NET (U.S. Department of Labor), Phi Sigma Pi, and Interop (host of the Awards ceremony). No acquisitions, funding rounds, or material restructuring have been disclosed; the organization continues to operate as a going concern with a flat programmatic cadence.
NPA firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NPA
- Legal name
- Network Professional Association
- Website
- https://npa.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- The Network Professional Association (NPA) is a nonprofit trade association founded in 1993 that serves IT and networking professionals through $40–$125/year memberships, offering the CNP certification, monthly webinars, peer networking, a job board, and the annual Awards for Professionalism program.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where NPA is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Diego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
NPA business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Dues: Annual membership fees provide the primary revenue stream. Community Membership at $40/year and Professional Membership at $125/year. The association has operated since 1993 as a nonprofit trade association.
- Event Fees: Some events include nominal fees for non-members. The NPA Virtual Workshop on Building a Zero-Trust Lab charged $10-$25 for non-members while members received free or discounted access.
- Sponsorships and Partnerships: Corporate sponsors including Alliant Credit Union, MindEdge Learning, KnowBE4, and others provide sponsorship revenue and partner benefits. Partners receive visibility to the IT/Networking professional community.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Community Membership (Basic) — $40/year |
| Subscription | Annual | Professional Membership — $125/year |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | NPA Virtual Workshop (Zero-Trust Lab) — $0-$25 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
NPA product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NPA is a nonprofit trade association that sells annual memberships (Community at $40/year and Professional at $125/year) to IT and networking professionals, providing access to monthly Public Webinars, Member Advocator meetings, the Certified Network Professional (CNP) certification, an online Career Center job board, virtual workshops, and the annual Awards for Professionalism program. Revenue is supplemented by corporate sponsorships (e.g., MindEdge Learning, KnowBE4, Alliant Credit Union) and modest event fees for non-members.
Product overview
The Network Professional Association (NPA) is a nonprofit trade association for IT/Networking professionals founded in 1993. It offers a membership-based platform organized around three core pillars: Career Growth, Professional Development, and Ethical Integrity. The primary offerings include Community and Professional Membership tiers ($40 and $125/year respectively), providing access to the Certified Network Professional (CNP) certification, monthly Public Webinars and Member Advocator Meetings, the NPA Career Center job board, the Awards for Professionalism program, educational partnerships (MindEdge Learning with 10% member discount), and the NPA Code of Ethical Integrity framework. The association also provides video interviews with 1000+ industry experts, virtual workshops, and networking opportunities through the NPA Virtual Pub. Products and services are delivered through online platforms including Zoom for webinars and the NPA website.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Certified Network Professional (CNP): Professional certification designation for Network IT professionals offered by NPA.
- Awards for Professionalism
- NPA Advocator
Products and services
- Community Membership Annual basic membership tier for IT/Networking professionals at $40/year, providing access to NPA resources, webinars, career center, and professional networking community.
- Professional Membership Annual premium membership tier at $125/year providing full access to NPA benefits including free MindEdge Learning courses, KnowBE4 security training discounts, NPA Bookstore offers, member-exclusive events, and CNP continuing education.
- Certified Network Professional (CNP) Professional international network designation recognizing ethical IT/Networking professionals with demonstrated competencies; serves as NPA's flagship certification with continuing education requirements.
Quantifiable outcome
- 30+ years of operation as IT/Networking trade association
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use NPA
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
NPA technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
NPA partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered national partner, national sponsor, cooperative partner and strategic partner.
- Alliant Credit Unionnational partnerNPA has partnered with Alliant Credit Union to offer exclusive credit union membership to NPA members and their families. Benefits include checking, savings, credit, loan, insurance, and investment services with 19,000 surcharge-free ATMs.
- MindEdge Learningnational sponsorMindEdge Learning partnership offers NPA members full suite of online self-paced education courses covering IT and professional growth topics. Members receive 10% discount on all courses. Select courses may apply to CNP Continuing Education requirements.
- KnowBe4national sponsorKnowBe4 is the world's largest integrated platform for security awareness training combined with simulated phishing attacks. NPA members receive special discounts on security awareness training programs. KnowBe4 has been named a Leader in Forrester Wave for Security Awareness Training.
- Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternitycooperative partnerPhi Sigma Pi is a gender-inclusive National Honor Fraternity with over 6,000 undergraduate members at 140+ colleges. Partnership includes special offers for NPA members. Phi Sigma Pi's mission focuses on scholarship, leadership, and fellowship.
- WiTS (Wireless Training & Solutions)national partnerWiTS provides vendor-neutral wireless training including Wi-Fi surveys, design, troubleshooting, and professional services. NPA Professional members receive FREE access to How Wireless Works learning resource (valued at $700). WiTS Academy offers Wi-Fi practitioner certification.
- MR2 Solutionsnational partnerMR2 Solutions represents over 150 cloud providers, 1500+ colocation providers, and SDWAN, UCaaS, and security solutions. Helps IT professionals select best-of-breed technology solutions.
- Agile ITstrategic partnerAgile IT is a cloud-first managed services company and top 100 Cloud Computing Solutions Provider. Four-time Microsoft Cloud Partner of the Year. Provides technology consulting and cloud managed services to businesses.
- YM Careerscooperative partnerYM Careers powers the NPA Career Board (jobs.npa.org). Industry leader in career center platforms for associations, powering the largest association network job board in the world.
- O*NETcooperative partnerSponsored by U.S. Department of Labor, O*NET is the nation's most comprehensive source of occupational data. NPA provides input from IT profession experts to help ensure accurate occupation descriptions in the O*NET database.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
NPA competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GIAC (Global Information Assurance Certification): Cybersecurity certification body focused on information assurance, comparable in mission, scale, and credentialing-anchored structure to NPA's CNP program.
- ISACA: Global nonprofit association for IT governance, risk, audit, and cybersecurity professionals offering certifications (CISA, CISM, CGEIT, CRISC) with a member-driven chapter and conference model analogous to NPA.
- EC-Council: Cybersecurity certification body offering credentials such as CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) for IT security professionals — a credential-anchored direct peer to NPA's CNP for IT/Networking practitioners.
- BICSI: Professional association supporting the ICT community for cabling design and installation with credentials such as RCDD — the closest peer to NPA's networking-professional focus and credential-anchored mission.
- CompTIA: The Computing Technology Industry Association is the leading nonprofit trade association issuing IT certifications (A+, Network+, Security+) and serving the IT professional community globally — the most direct structural analog to NPA's mission and membership model.
- IEEE Computer Society: Largest global computing professional organization, providing certifications, conferences, publications, and educational resources for IT practitioners — overlapping structurally with NPA's three-pillar professional model.
- (ISC)²: International nonprofit membership association for cybersecurity professionals, anchored by the CISSP credential — a direct peer to NPA in mission: certifying and ethically framing IT/security practitioners.
- PMI: Global nonprofit professional association for project management practitioners, anchored by the PMP credential with a chapter-based community model that mirrors NPA's structural and revenue approach.
Broad incumbents
- SANS Institute: Largest source for information security training and penetration-testing certifications (GIAC) — broader in scope and budget than NPA but overlapping in cybersecurity training content for IT practitioners.
Others
- Skillsoft: Commercial online learning and IT certification platform serving corporate L&D buyers — thematically adjacent (IT professional upskilling) but a for-profit training vendor rather than a member-driven association.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
NPA social profiles
Digital presenceNPA financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NPA leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
NPA funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NPA M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NPA
What does NPA do?
NPA is a nonprofit trade association that sells annual memberships (Community at $40/year and Professional at $125/year) to IT and networking professionals, providing access to monthly Public Webinars, Member Advocator meetings, the Certified Network Professional (CNP) certification, an online Career Center job board, virtual workshops, and the annual Awards for Professionalism program. Revenue is supplemented by corporate sponsorships (e.g., MindEdge Learning, KnowBE4, Alliant Credit Union) and modest event fees for non-members.
Is NPA a public or private company?
NPA is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was NPA founded?
NPA was founded in 1993. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is NPA based?
NPA is headquartered in San Diego, United States, in the North America region.
How does NPA make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Membership Dues are the primary driver. The others are event Fees and sponsorships and Partnerships.
Who are NPA's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GIAC (Global Information Assurance Certification), ISACA, EC-Council, BICSI, CompTIA, IEEE Computer Society, (ISC)² and PMI. SANS Institute is listed as a broad incumbent. Skillsoft is listed as an others.
Does NPA have an API?
No public API is recorded for NPA.