Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE)

Name

Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE)

Legal name

Southern Association of Colleges and Employers

Website

https://soace.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SoACE is a non-profit professional association connecting 1,600-1,900 career services and employer relations professionals across 15 southeastern US states, generating recurring revenue from membership dues, conferences, professional development programs, and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

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

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPACAPAD

Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS)

Business & Public Services/HR, Staffing & Recruitment Services/Human Capital Management (HCM) & HR Tech

SECONDARYEDABAOAH

Customer & Go-to-Market Onboarding (Sales/CS/Support)

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/Onboarding and New Hire Training

SECONDARYBPACAOAB

Group Outplacement Programs (Employer-Sponsored)

Business & Public Services/HR, Staffing & Recruitment Services/Outplacement, Career Transition & Workforce Redeployment

Keywords

• Professional association
• Career services network
• Membership organization
• Higher education networking
• Professional development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from individual and group members including colleges, universities, and employers throughout the southeast region. Membership year runs July 1 - June 30.
2. Conference and Event Revenue: Registration fees for annual conferences, Employer Relations Summit, workshops, and webinars. Includes sponsorship packages for organizations seeking visibility with members.
3. Professional Development Programs: Program fees for specialized training including the LEAD Program ($500) and Master Class Academy ($500), designed for career advancement and leadership development.
4. Annual Sponsorship: Year-round sponsorship packages and conference exhibits providing employers and service providers visibility through SoACE events, programs, and member community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

SoACE is a regional professional association that sells annual memberships to colleges, universities, and employers across 15 southeastern U.S. states, providing access to networking, knowledge groups, professional development programs (LEAD Program and Master Class Academy), an annual conference, an Employer Relations Summit, workshops and webinars, a job board, newsletters, and a member blog. It generates additional revenue through paid conference registrations, program fees, and year-round sponsorship packages sold to employers and service providers seeking visibility with the career-services community.

Product overview

SoACE is a 1,600+ member professional association connecting human resources, college relations, and career services professionals with employers and universities across the southeastern United States. The organization provides a platform of member services centered on professional development programming (including the LEAD Program and Master Class Academy), annual conferences and workshops, Knowledge Group communities, job postings, newsletters, and sponsorship opportunities. The association does not offer a software product but rather delivers services through event-based programming, a member portal powered by MemberClicks, and various career development resources. SoACE's core offerings include annual conferences, professional development workshops and webinars, leadership development programs (LEAD and Master Class Academy), Knowledge Group communities organized by specialty area, job board access, blog/thought leadership content, and member recognition programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers6 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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• IndeedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent sponsor providing visibility at SoACE conferences and events. Indeed sponsors the association's annual programming and member communications.
• VectorminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent sponsor supporting SoACE conferences and member programming.
• IEEE Computer & Communications Joint Society Chapter of Northwest FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded the Careers in Technology initiative. Collaborates with SoACE member universities including University of South Alabama and University of West Florida to deliver interactive programming that introduces students to tech career pathways. Supports programming globally with most engagement across the United States and Canada.
• University of South AlabamacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Careers in Technology initiative to pilot targeted, industry-specific events leveraging faculty relationships. Attracted 70+ students to career programming.
• University of West FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Careers in Technology initiative to extend services to satellite campus through strategic partnerships. Demonstrated scalable approach to career services delivery.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR): National association serving HR professionals in higher education, overlapping in member type with SoACE's university-side career services professionals; comparable membership dues, conference, and professional development revenue model.
• National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE): National-level parent-equivalent professional association serving college career services and employer relations professionals; SoACE functions as a regional affiliate network operating in the same category with overlapping member base and event programming.
• Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers (MPACE): Regional association covering the Mountain and Pacific U.S. with the same member constituency and annual conference + professional development model as SoACE.
• Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers (EACE): Regional counterpart covering the eastern U.S., operating the same membership/conference/professional development model for career services and employer relations professionals; highly comparable in structure, revenue mix, and offerings.
• Midwest Association of Colleges and Employers (MWACE): Regional professional association covering the Midwest with a near-identical mission, member base (career services and employer relations), and conference-driven model, making it a directly comparable regional peer.

Emerging players

• National Career Development Association (NCDA): Professional association for career development practitioners, including career counselors and advisors — closely aligned with SoACE's Career Advising & Counseling and Career Center Leaders Knowledge Groups.
• American College Personnel Association (ACPA): National association for student affairs professionals in higher education; adjacent rather than directly competing, but overlaps with SoACE's career services member base on the university side.
• Association for Student Employment (ASE): Smaller national association focused on student employment and on-campus recruiting, with partial overlap in member constituency and programming versus SoACE's career services and employer relations focus.

Others

• IEEE Computer Society: Existing strategic partner on the Careers in Technology initiative; adjacent rather than competitive, but a relevant ecosystem participant helping SoACE extend programming into tech career pathways.

Broad incumbents

• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM): Large national HR professional association whose employer-side HR/recruiting members overlap with SoACE's employer representatives; broader scope but competing for the same talent acquisition professionals' attention and dues.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/soace.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-association-of-colleges-and-employers
• Instagraminstagram.com/soaceorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE)