SACNAS

What SACNAS does

SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1973 during the Chicano and American Indian civil rights movements. The organization provides membership, programs, and events that support Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in pursuing advanced degrees, careers, and leadership positions in STEM. SACNAS serves STEM students (undergraduate, graduate, post-baccalaureate, community college), early- and mid-career STEM professionals, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and Native American/Indigenous individuals through a national network of 150+ chapters spanning the US, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

SACNAS's core offering centers on its flagship annual NDiSTEM (National Diversity in STEM) Conference, which draws 5,000+ attendees and combines research presentations, professional development, career expo, and cultural celebration. Surrounding the conference is a year-round portfolio of programs including the Linton-Poodry SACNAS Leadership Institute (LPSLI, 400+ alumni since 2009), Postdoc Leadership Institute (PLI), SACRED Mentoring Program, Travel Scholarships, Community College Day, NSF/SACNAS Grant Writing Workshops, the SACNAS Postdoc Community Program (SPCP) on Slack, a Career Center job board, and CareerCon talent matching. The Distinguished Awards Program has recognized 135+ scientists and educators since 1997. Technology infrastructure is conventional for a nonprofit: a MemberSuite-powered membership portal, HubSpot-hosted website, and Slack-based community spaces — not proprietary AI or platform technology.

The business model is a hybrid nonprofit revenue structure: tiered annual membership dues ($25 student to $150 upgraded professional) provide recurring subscription revenue; conference registration and exhibitor fees generate transactional revenue; corporate sponsorships and grants (Genentech, GM, HHMI, University of Hawaii, ETS) supply partnership and grant funding; and individual donations plus a "gift-a-membership" program contribute philanthropic revenue. Headcount is 11-50, and leadership is provided by Executive Director Juan Amador (FASAE, CAE, appointed October 2022) under a Board of Directors of no less than 13 members. The organization is incorporated in Maryland with a national office in San Francisco, California.

Name

SACNAS

Legal name

Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science, Inc.

Website

https://sacnas.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SACNAS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1973 that supports Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in STEM through a 9,000+-member network, 150+ university chapters, and programs including the annual NDiSTEM Conference, leadership institutes, mentoring, and a career center.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Cruz

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees ranging from $25 for students to $150 for upgraded professionals, providing recurring revenue with tiered access to programs and benefits.
2. Conference Revenue: Registration fees for the annual NDiSTEM Conference, with discounted rates for members, generating significant revenue from the flagship annual event.
3. Sponsorships and Partnerships: Corporate partnerships and sponsorships from organizations seeking to recruit diverse STEM talent from SACNAS's membership base.
4. Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations supporting STEM diversity initiatives, including gifting memberships for those who cannot afford dues.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SACNAS is a membership-based nonprofit that delivers the NDiSTEM Annual Conference (the largest multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM diversity conference with 5,000+ attendees), tiered annual memberships ($25-$150), leadership development institutes (LPSLI and PLI), mentoring programs (SACRED), student research presentations, travel scholarships, a Career Center job board, and CareerCon talent matching. Offerings are aimed at Chicano/Hispanic and Native American STEM students, postdocs, and professionals, supported by a national chapter network of 150+ chapters across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Guam.

Product overview

SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) offers a comprehensive suite of programs and services designed to foster the success of Chicano/Hispanic and Native American individuals in STEM. The core offering centers on the annual NDiSTEM Conference, which serves as the flagship event combining research presentations, professional development, career expo, and cultural celebrations. Membership provides year-round access to programs including student support (Research Presentations, Travel Scholarships, SACRED Mentoring, Community College Day), leadership development (Linton-Poodry SACNAS Leadership Institute, Postdoc Leadership Institute), professional programs (Grant Writing Workshop, Postdoc Community Program via Slack), Career Center and CareerCon talent matching, a network of 150+ Chapters, the Distinguished Awards Program, Native American Programs, and Webinars. The organization operates as a membership-based nonprofit with programs spanning education, career advancement, and community building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NDiSTEM Annual Conference (National Diversity in STEM Conference)

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of HawaiicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019University of Hawaii was presenting sponsor of the 2019 NDiSTEM Conference, partnering with SACNAS to help achieve true diversity in STEM.
• Educational Testing Service (ETS)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019SACNAS was added to the ETS GRE Fee Reduction Program list, allowing affiliated students to access reduced GRE testing fees.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner15 SACNAS members were awarded HHMI Gilliam Fellowships to support diversity and inclusion in science, providing significant fellowship funding to emerging STEM leaders.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society: Sigma Xi is a longstanding scientific research honor society with a comparable membership dues model and chapter network, providing useful comparison for governance, member-service infrastructure, and dues-based nonprofit economics.
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): AAAS is a much larger, established scientific society with broader membership, Science publication, and policy influence, representing a broad incumbent against which SACNAS competes for member attention and partner mindshare in the science professional organization space.

Emerging players

• American Indian College Fund: AICF supports Native American higher education including TCUs, aligning with SACNAS's Native American Programs and TCU Virtual Chapter work and providing complementary rather than directly overlapping programming and donor base.
• Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU): HACU represents Hispanic-Serving Institutions and shares overlapping mission alignment with Hispanic-serving STEM access, though its constituency is institutional rather than individual students and professionals.
• Code2040: Code2040 focuses on Black and Latinx tech talent through fellowships and career programs, representing a newer, more tech-vertical entrant in the URM STEM space with overlapping employer partnerships and a smaller scale than SACNAS.

Direct peers

• American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES): AISES is the Native American STEM counterpart to SACNAS, with comparable chapters, annual conference (AISES National Conference), K-20 student programs, and corporate partners serving a closely overlapping mission for Indigenous STEM populations.
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE): SHPE is the closest direct peer: a national Hispanic STEM membership organization with a chapter-based model, annual convention, leadership programs, and corporate partnership pipeline closely mirroring SACNAS's structure and mission.
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE): NSBE is a parallel underrepresented-minority STEM membership organization with a similar chapter-based model, large annual convention, and corporate partnership pipeline targeting diverse engineering talent.
• National GEM Consortium: GEM provides graduate fellowships and STEM career advancement for underrepresented minority students, with overlapping employer partnerships and a comparable talent-development mission for URM STEM professionals.
• National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME): NACME focuses specifically on increasing representation of underrepresented minorities in engineering education and careers through scholarships and industry partnerships, directly overlapping SACNAS's STEM diversity mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/sacnas
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SACNASvideo
• Facebookfacebook.com/SACNAS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sacnas
• Instagraminstagram.com/sacnas
• TikToktiktok.com/@sacnas_national

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 SACNAS