American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare

What American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare does

The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW) is a nonprofit honorific society founded in 2010 that recognizes distinguished scholars and practitioners whose work has had considerable impact on social work and social welfare. Its core offering is the Fellowship membership program, supplemented by an Academy Mentoring Program that pairs early-career faculty with established Fellows, a Key Areas Initiative organized around Discovery, Practice Fields, and Policy, and the 21st Century Research Agenda co-developed with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Family Programs, and William T. Grant Foundation. The Academy's products are programs and events — annual induction ceremonies held during the Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) conference, policy briefs, webinars, and member communications — rather than technology products. The Academy does not operate a unified software platform; its technical footprint is limited to a public website and a member portal for dues payment and resource access.

The Academy operates with a small staff under volunteer governance by its Fellows and Board. As of 2026, the roster is reported at "more than 200 Fellows," with annual induction classes of 8–10 new members elected through a community-led nomination process. Revenue is generated from annual Fellow dues (amount not publicly disclosed) and donations solicited at tiers of $25 to $1,000, supplemented by foundation partnership funding through the 21st Century Research Agenda. The organization is administratively hosted c/o the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis (1 Brookings Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63130) but operates as a separate nonprofit entity with its own Board and governance.

Day-to-day leadership is provided by an elected Board headed by President Michael A. Lindsey (Dean and Paulette Goddard Professor at NYU Silver School of Social Work), Vice President Llewellyn J. Cornelius (University of Georgia), Secretary Charles E. Lewis Jr. (Founder and Director of CRISP), and Treasurer Anita P. Barbee (University of Louisville). Fellows are prominent scholars from top social work schools including NYU, UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Chicago, Washington University, University of Washington, and Case Western Reserve, among others. The Academy addresses the need for recognition of outstanding social work scholarship, bridges academic research and policy implementation, and advances social work education and practice through collaborative research initiatives.

Name

American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare

Legal name

American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare

Website

https://aaswsw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare is a nonprofit honorific society founded in 2010 that recognizes distinguished social work scholars and practitioners through a selective Fellowship program, mentoring, research initiatives, and policy advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association / Honorific Society

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHABAD

Social Sciences & Public Policy Research Universities

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Private Research Universities

Keywords

• Social work scholarship
• Professional fellowship
• Social welfare research
• Policy advocacy
• Academic recognition

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Fellows pay annual dues to maintain membership in the Academy. The specific dues amounts are not publicly disclosed on the website.
2. Donations and Contributions: The Academy solicits donations from supporters to fund programs, research initiatives, and general operations. Donation tiers range from $25 to $1,000+.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare is a nonprofit honorific society that recognizes distinguished scholars and practitioners in social work and social welfare through an election-based Fellowship program. It supports early-career faculty via a year-long Mentoring Program, advances a 21st Century Research Agenda on child welfare in partnership with foundations, and delivers policy briefs, webinars, and congressional engagement to bridge research and policy.

Product overview

The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare is a nonprofit honorific society of distinguished scholars and practitioners. It is not a technology company but rather an Academy that recognizes outstanding research, scholarship, and practice in social work. The organization's offerings consist of membership fellowship programs, a mentoring program for early-career faculty, research initiatives, policy advocacy, educational webinars, and annual fellowship induction ceremonies. The Academy does not offer a unified technology product or software platform; its primary offering is membership and professional recognition within the social work field.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fellowship Membership Program Honorific membership program recognizing distinguished scholars and practitioners in social work and social welfare; admission is through Fellow nomination and election. The Academy has over 200 Fellows.
• Academy Mentoring Program A year-long program connecting early-career faculty in social work education with established Fellows who mentor them in their academic careers, with matches made based on research topic area and methodology.
• 21st Century Research Agenda Collaborative research agenda co-designed with academics and people with lived experience, grounded in diversity, equity, and inclusion principles, focusing on child welfare system research.
• Policy Briefs and Webinars Policy statements, briefs, and webinars on key social work issues providing education and resources to policymakers, practitioners, and community leaders, including congressional briefings delivered through CRISP partnership.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 200 peer-reviewed publications authored by Fellows annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 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 major, core, strategic and supporting.

• The Brown School at Washington University in St. LouismajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024Host institution for Academy webinars on families in crisis, early childhood education, and child welfare. The Brown School is the Academy's institutional home location.
• Annie E. Casey FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partner in the 21st Century Research Agenda initiative focused on child welfare research. The foundation collaborates with the Academy on webinars and policy briefings addressing family homelessness, early childhood education, and child welfare transformation.
• Casey Family ProgramscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Co-developer of the 21st Century Research Agenda initiative spanning community-based family support, child protective services, out-of-home care, and post-permanency services. Co-sponsors webinars and policy events with the Academy.
• William T. Grant FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partner in the 21st Century Research Agenda initiative. Supports Academy webinar series on transformative research and practice in community collaboration, focusing on child welfare system improvements.
• Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy (CRISP)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on policy briefings and congressional engagement. CRISP is led by Fellow Charles Lewis, Jr. and provides policy research support.
• Clark-Fox Policy InstitutesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-sponsor of Academy webinar events on policy topics including family homelessness.
• Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual host of the Academy's Fellow induction ceremony during SSWR's annual conference. Major venue for recognizing new Academy Fellows.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW): A global professional body for social workers. Comparable as a leading social work organization, though international in scope and practitioner-focused rather than honoring scholarly distinction.
• National Association of Social Workers (NASW): The largest professional membership organization for social workers in the US with 100,000+ members. Comparable as a leading social work professional body, but broader in scope (practitioners, students) rather than an honorific scholarly society.
• Council on Social Work Education (CSWE): The national accrediting body for social work education programs in the US. Comparable as a leading social work education-focused organization with policy and research functions, though broader in mandate.
• National Academy of Medicine (formerly IOM): An honorific society and policy advisory body for health and medicine. Comparable as an elite scholarly society influencing federal health policy, though focused on health rather than social welfare.

Emerging players

• Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care: A membership organization for social workers in healthcare settings. Comparable as a specialized social work professional organization, though narrower in focus than the Academy's broad social welfare scope.
• National Association of Social Workers Foundation: The philanthropic arm of NASW supporting social work research and education. Comparable as a nonprofit advancing social work scholarship, though structurally tied to the larger NASW rather than independent.

Direct peers

• American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS): A Philadelphia-based honorific scholarly society promoting political and social science. Comparable as an academic honorific society structure (Fellows, policy publications) but in a different disciplinary focus.
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences: A prestigious honorific society recognizing distinguished scholars across disciplines. Comparable as a Fellow-based honorific society with policy influence, though far broader in disciplinary scope.
• Society for Social Work Research (SSWR): A scholarly research society for social work researchers that co-hosts the Academy's annual induction ceremony. Highly comparable as a research-focused social work organization with overlapping membership and conference presence.

Regional players

• Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (BPD): A US-based membership organization for undergraduate social work program directors. Comparable as a social work education-focused association, though focused on BSW program leadership rather than research excellence.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aaswsw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-academy-of-social-work-and-social-welfare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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