National English Honor Society

What National English Honor Society does

The National English Honor Society (NEHS) is a nonprofit honor society founded in 2005 that serves high school students of English language arts through a school-based chapter model. It is sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta and hosted at Northern Illinois University's English Department, and is described as the world's largest discipline-specific honor society for high school English students. The organization operates through Chapter Advisors at member schools, who facilitate student recruitment, chapter events, and programming, supported by a stated headcount of 144.

NEHS's core products include individual memberships, chapter affiliations, scholarships, multiple award programs (journalism, creative writing, ELA Innovation, AI & Writing), and the UK Literary Tour run in partnership with Girton College at the University of Cambridge. Underlying technology is conventional and consists of the NEHS Connect member platform and the AwardSpring application processing system, which together handle membership management and scholarship applications. The organization runs a merchandise program and maintains co-branded awards and programming with The Harvard Crimson, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

NEHS generates revenue through chapter affiliation fees, individual membership fees, UK Literary Tour fees priced at $4,500 per participant, and merchandise sales. The organization also pursues partnership-driven ancillary revenue through Double Good and Little Free Library, and is extending into AI-related programming via the AI & Writing Challenge launching for the Spring 2027 cycle.

Name

National English Honor Society

Legal name

National English Honor Society

Website

https://nehs.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The National English Honor Society, founded in 2005 and hosted at Northern Illinois University, is the world's largest discipline-specific honor society for high school English students, serving student members and chapter advisors through school-based chapters, scholarships, awards, and the UK Literary Tour.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Honor society and educational membership services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Affairs Administration (Conduct, Wellbeing, Support Oversight) (EDADAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Study Habits & Homework Systems Workshops (EDAMAIAL), District Student Services Administration (Special Ed, Counseling, Health) (EDADABAJ)

Keywords

• Student honor society
• English language arts
• Academic recognition programs
• Educational membership services
• Scholarship administration

Headquarters

HQ city

DeKalb

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, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Chapter Affiliation Fees: High schools pay annual affiliation/registration fees to establish and maintain an NEHS chapter.
2. Individual Membership Fees: Student members pay membership fees distinct from chapter fees.
3. UK Literary Tour Fees: Students pay for the UK Literary Tour program ($4,500 per person plus taxes), covering travel, accommodation, academic programming, and select meals.
4. Merchandise Sales: NEHS sells graduation merchandise and chapter supplies through the NEHS Store (shopnehs.us).
5. Fundraising Commission (Double Good): Through the Double Good partnership, chapters raise funds with 50% of sales paid out to schools; NEHS receives no revenue from this arrangement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

NEHS is a nonprofit honor society that enrolls high school students and supports chapter advisors through school-based chapters, providing academic recognition, scholarships, creative challenges, literary awards, and educational travel programming. Its core services include chapter affiliation management via the NEHS Connect platform, an annual UK Literary Tour, the Annual Convention, the NEHS Triangle literary journal, and administration of scholarships, grants, and creative competitions through the AwardSpring platform.

Product overview

The National English Honor Society operates as a membership-based honor society rather than a software product company. Its core offerings consist of membership enrollment and chapter management through NEHS Connect, awards and grants administration via the AwardSpring platform, and a broad portfolio of student programs including the NEHS Museletter blog, the NEHS Triangle literary journal, the UK Literary Tour educational travel program, and the Annual Convention. The society also administers a suite of competitive awards and creative challenges including poetry, monologue, and AI & writing challenges; literary artwork awards; the Harvard Crimson Student Journalism Awards; and need/merit-based scholarships for higher education. These programs are supported by the Chapter Activities Guide and the NEHS Chapter Directory, which help coordinate local chapter activities and connect chapters globally. The offering is best characterized as a unified service platform for academic recognition, community engagement, and literary enrichment aimed at high school students and their educators worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NEHS Connect A web-based membership management platform for NEHS where students and educators sign up for accounts, enroll members, manage chapter rosters, and access membership certificates.
• NEHS Chapter Affiliation Annual school-based chapter affiliation for high schools, granting access to the NEHS chapter network, student enrollment, and chapter programming. Schools pay annual affiliation fees.
• UK Literary Tour An annual international educational travel program for NEHS student members, featuring a guided itinerary across London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Cambridge, and Windsor, including academic sessions at Girton College, University of Cambridge. Priced at $4,500 per person plus taxes.
• NEHS Scholarships Need and merit-based financial awards for student members planning to attend four-year universities or two-year colleges at any accredited institution worldwide and in any subject area.
• NEHS-NIU Scholarships Scholarships specifically sponsored by Northern Illinois University for NEHS senior members, part of the broader NEHS scholarship program.
• NEHS Creative Challenges Seasonal writing and performance competitions for student members, including the Poetry Writing & Performance Challenge (Fall), Monologue Writing & Performance Challenge (Winter), and AI & Writing Challenge (Spring).
• Literary Artwork Awards Visual arts competitions for student members, including the Banned Books Poster Award (Fall) and Graphic Short Story Award (Spring), celebrating creative interpretations of literature.
• NEHS-Harvard Crimson Student Journalism Awards A student journalism competition and award program co-branded with The Harvard Crimson, recognizing excellence in student reporting and journalistic writing.
• NEHS Triangle Journal The society's annual literary journal publishing student creative writing and artwork, open to submissions from all student members during the Spring award cycle.
• NEHS Annual Convention NEHS's annual in-person convention bringing together student members and advisors for presentations, literary activities, and community building.
• NEHS Store NEHS e-commerce storefront selling graduation merchandise and chapter supplies through shopnehs.us.
• NEHS AwardSpring Platform An online submission and awards management platform through which student members and Chapter Advisors apply for and track scholarships, grants, creative challenges, literary artwork awards, and other NEHS opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• If every registered member participates in 20 hours of community service annually, NEHS students would collectively contribute approximately 1.7 million hours to their communities.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sigma Tau DeltacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSigma Tau Delta is the founding and sponsoring organization of NEHS. NEHS was founded and is sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, the international honor society for college-level English studies. This is the core foundational relationship that gives NEHS its institutional backing and credibility in the academic community.
• Northern Illinois University (NIU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNEHS Central Office is hosted at Northern Illinois University's English Department. NIU provides administrative infrastructure and institutional support for NEHS operations, including hosting the NEHS Connect platform and the official email address ([email protected]). NEHS and NIU co-sponsor the NEHS-NIU Scholarship.
• Double GoodminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDouble Good is the official NEHS fundraising partner, providing an innovative digital popcorn fundraising platform. US-based NEHS chapters can use Double Good to raise funds for community service projects. Double Good pays out 50% of sales to participating schools. NEHS receives no revenue from this arrangement — it is a service to chapters.
• The Harvard CrimsoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Harvard Crimson co-sponsors the NEHS-Harvard Crimson Student Journalism Awards, recognizing outstanding student journalism. This partnership provides high-credibility recognition for NEHS student journalists.
• National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCTE co-sponsors the NCTE-NEHS ELA Innovation Award, recognizing innovative English Language Arts teaching practices. This partnership elevates the profile of NEHS educator awards.
• Smithsonian American Art MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Smithsonian American Art Museum co-sponsors the NEHS-SAAM Summer Institute Scholarships, enabling Chapter Advisors to attend the museum's summer professional development program.
• Little Free LibraryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNEHS partners with Little Free Library to support chapter social service projects. Chapters can create Little Free Library installations at their schools as a community literacy project.
• ELA Honor SocietyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNEHS collaborates with ELA Honor Society chapters for joint community service and literary projects, connecting secondary English students across different honor society networks.
• Girton College, University of CambridgecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGirton College, University of Cambridge hosts a full-day academic immersion program for NEHS UK Literary Tour participants. The college, known as the first residential college in England to provide university-level education to women, provides academic presentations, walking tours, and interactive study sessions for NEHS students.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Science National Honor Society: Discipline-specific high school science honor society with chapter-based membership and recognition programs. Parallel structure to NEHS in single-discipline K-12 honor society positioning.
• International Thespian Society: The EdTA-administered honor society for high school theatre students, also a discipline-specific K-12 chapter-based honor society. Directly comparable to NEHS in school chapter GTM and English-arts adjacent disciplines.
• Mu Alpha Theta (National Math Honor Society): A discipline-specific high school math honor society with chapter-based membership and academic recognition programs. Comparable to NEHS as a parallel K-12 discipline-specific honor society model.
• National Honor Society (NHS): The largest US high school honor society, operating school-based chapters with membership dues and recognition programs. Directly comparable to NEHS in distribution model (school chapters, educator advisors, annual affiliation fees) but broader in scope, making it NEHS's most direct substitute.
• National Art Honor Society (NAHS): The discipline-specific art counterpart to NEHS, also operated through school chapters with educator advisors and membership dues. Closely comparable in single-discipline, K-12 enrichment positioning.
• National Beta Club: A national honor society for K-12 students operating school chapters with annual affiliation fees and scholarship programs. Directly comparable to NEHS in chapter-based GTM, membership revenue model, and student-recognition positioning.
• Quill and Scroll International Honor Society: An honor society for high school journalists, also hosted at the University of Iowa. Closely comparable to NEHS in discipline specificity, university-hosted operating model, and journalism-adjacent positioning.

Others

• Scholarship America: A large nonprofit scholarship administrator serving students and families. Comparable to NEHS as an adjacent nonprofit operating scholarship and award administration infrastructure for K-12 and post-secondary students.

Broad incumbents

• Sigma Tau Delta: The international college-level English honor society that founded and sponsors NEHS. Comparable as the parent organization's college-level counterpart, with similar English-language-arts focus and similar awards/recognition programming.
• Cum Laude Society: A long-established, broader academic honor society for secondary schools that, like NEHS, confers recognition and scholarship opportunities. Comparable as a school-chapter honor society with a more selective, academic-prestige positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NEHSXPress
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SigmaTauDeltaEnglish
• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalEnglishHonorSociety
• Instagraminstagram.com/englishmatters
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-english-honor-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 English Honor Society