Neighborhood of the Arts Business Association

What Neighborhood of the Arts Business Association does

Neighborhood of the Arts Business Association (NOTABA) is a private, volunteer-governed business association serving Rochester, New York's Neighborhood of the Arts district, which spans the Monroe Avenue, University Avenue, and East Avenue corridors. The organization operates as a collective voice for the area's businesses, individual artists, and service organizations, providing a forum for networking, information sharing, and member promotion. Its core product surface consists of a WordPress-hosted online business directory organized into six categories (Arts & Culture, Community & Professional Services, Retail & Shopping, Food & Beverage, Health & Personal Services, and Hospitality & Real Estate), an event calendar, social media features across Instagram (@roc_notaba) and Facebook, and recurring in-person programming including monthly meetings, networking lunches, happy hours, and the annual NOTA Summer Social neighborhood-wide event. The association is governed by an elected volunteer board comprising a President (Chris Fanning), Vice President (Lauren Henry), Secretary (Helana Shumway), and Treasurer (Kathy Capierseho), with no full-time paid staff structure evidenced.

NOTABA generates revenue exclusively through annual membership dues structured in three tiers: Artist membership at $75/year ($68.75 pro-rated initial payment), Small Business membership at $125/year ($114.58 pro-rated), and Large Business membership at $200/year ($183.33 pro-rated). Membership dues fund neighborhood beautification, neighborhood-wide events, member-only events, and website upkeep. Member benefits include directory listings with backlinks to member sites, event calendar placement, social media features, access to networking programming, input in neighborhood initiatives, representation with Visit Rochester, and access to B.A.S.E. Perks (Business Association of the South East), an add-on program offering small business education seminars and inter-association networking. The customer base spans individual artists, local SMBs across retail, food and beverage, health services and hospitality, cultural nonprofits such as Writers & Books, George Eastman Museum, and Boa Editions, and select larger enterprises such as the Courtyard Marriott Downtown Rochester.

The organization has no proprietary technology, no external funding, no parent company, and no institutional ownership; it is funded entirely by membership dues and operates as an independent unincorporated association. Its technology footprint is limited to the WordPress-based notaba.org website, with no mobile applications, APIs, or third-party integrations disclosed. Strategic positioning is built around local community coordination rather than scalable platform economics, and growth is bounded by the geographic scope of the NOTA neighborhood and the volunteer capacity of its elected board.

Name

Neighborhood of the Arts Business Association

Legal name

Neighborhood of the Arts Business Association

Website

https://notaba.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NOTABA is a Rochester, NY volunteer-governed business association that serves artists, retailers, restaurants, and cultural institutions in the Neighborhood of the Arts district via a member directory, event programming, and recurring networking events, funded by $75–$200 annual membership dues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: NOTABA generates revenue through annual membership dues paid by businesses, artists, and service organizations located in Rochester's Neighborhood of the Arts. Membership fees fund neighborhood beautification, neighborhood-wide events, member-only events, and website maintenance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NOTABA is a membership-based business association that provides networking, information sharing, and business promotion services to businesses, individual artists, and service organizations in Rochester, New York's Neighborhood of the Arts district. Its core deliverable is a paid annual membership (Artist at $75/year, Small Business at $125/year, Large Business at $200/year) that grants members an online directory listing with backlinks, event calendar postings, social media features, networking events, and representation with Visit Rochester.

Product overview

Neighborhood of the Arts Business Association (NOTABA) operates as a collective voice for businesses, artists, and service organizations in Rochester's Neighborhood of the Arts. Rather than a unified software platform, NOTABA offers a membership-based service portfolio centered on business promotion and community building. The core offerings include an online Business Directory organized by industry categories, Event Calendar & Listings for member activities, Social Media Features for visibility, regular Networking Events (monthly meetings, lunches, happy hours), B.A.S.E. Perks for small business education, and neighborhood-wide events such as the annual Summer Social. Membership tiers (Artist at $75/year, Small Business at $125/year, and Large Business at $200/year) provide graduated access to directory listings, event postings, and member benefits including representation with Visit Rochester.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NOTABA Business Directory & Membership Paid annual membership providing businesses, artists, and service organizations in the NOTA district with an online directory listing (with backlinks to member websites), event calendar postings, social media features, networking opportunities, and representation with Visit Rochester. Membership is offered across three tiers (Artist, Small Business, Large Business) priced at $75, $125, and $200 per year respectively.
• NOTA Summer Social Annual neighborhood-wide community event celebrating local art, shopping, food, and community in the NOTA district. The event features local artists, businesses, and community organizations and serves as a major visitor-attraction and member-value deliverable.
• B.A.S.E. Perks Small business education and development seminars and networking events delivered through BASE (Business Associations of the South East), an ad hoc coalition of southeast-quadrant business associations. Provided to NOTABA members as a member benefit.

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Visit RochestercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNOTABA has representation with Visit Rochester as part of its membership benefits. Visit Rochester is the area's tourism promotion organization, and NOTABA collaborates with them to attract visitors to the Neighborhood of the Arts district.
• BASE (Business Associations of the South East)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNOTABA's President Chris Fanning is involved with BASE (Business Associations of the South East), an ad hoc group of board members from various Business and Merchant Associations in the SE Quadrant working collectively to enhance the area and break down silos between associations.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Visit Rochester: Rochester's official destination marketing organization. NOTABA already partners with Visit Rochester; while much larger and tourism-focused rather than member-driven, both share the goal of attracting visitors to Rochester districts and run overlapping events and promotions.
• Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce: Regional chamber serving the broader Rochester metro area. Comparable in mission (representing and supporting local businesses, advocacy, networking events) but operates at much larger geographic scope and with a paid professional staff.

Others

• Main Street America: National nonprofit supporting local business districts and downtown revitalization. Comparable in serving neighborhood-scale commerce ecosystems with a directory, events, and member support model — at national scale rather than single neighborhood.

Regional players

• Highland Park Neighborhood Association (Rochester): Another Rochester neighborhood association with similar volunteer-run, community-coordination model. Comparable as a peer neighborhood-level civic organization rather than a direct business-association competitor.

Direct peers

• Corn Hill Neighborhood Business Association: Rochester's Corn Hill district business association. Comparable community-led structure — small-staff, membership-funded organization running events and directory listings for neighborhood businesses.
• South Wedge Business Association: Rochester, NY neighborhood merchant association serving the South Wedge district. Direct peer to NOTABA — both are volunteer-run, membership-based business associations promoting a specific Rochester neighborhood through events, directory listings, and civic advocacy.
• Park Avenue Merchants Association: Rochester-area merchant association serving the Park Avenue neighborhood. Direct peer offering the same community-led, event-driven, membership-based business support model within a defined Rochester district.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NOTABA
• Instagraminstagram.com/roc_notaba

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Neighborhood of the Arts Business Association