Paaia (public Affairs Alliance Of Iranian Americans)

What Paaia (public Affairs Alliance Of Iranian Americans) does

PAAIA (Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans) is a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 2008 that represents the interests of the Iranian American diaspora in U.S. policy and civic life. It serves approximately one million Iranian Americans through three mission pillars — Educate, Advocate, and Lead — and operates an interlocking suite of programs: the Young Leaders Initiative (YLI), Civic Leadership Program (CLP), Capitol Hill Internship Program (CHIP), Ansari Public Service Fellows, the IAVote voter-engagement campaign, the Iran Action Hub, the Iranian American Contributions Project (IACP), and the Bipartisan Congressional Scorecard.

The organization's core research asset is its National Public Opinion Survey of Iranian Americans, commissioned annually from nationally recognized pollsters since 2008 — a first-of-its-kind longitudinal dataset that is distributed to policymakers, journalists, and the public. The Scorecard and surveys together form the evidence base that underwrites PAAIA's advocacy on issues including civil liberties, family visitation (Temporary Family Visitation Act), Internet Freedom for Iranians, and the Women, Life, Freedom movement.

PAAIA's business model is that of a donor- and membership-supported nonprofit rather than a commercial enterprise. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. It is funded through individual donations, a membership program, and institutional grants — the only named institutional funder in the source data is the Rockefeller Brothers Fund for the 2024–2026 period. Distribution channels are limited to a single domestic geography (United States) and include a website (paaia.org), email newsletter, Facebook, Instagram, X, and in-person events such as Capitol Hill Days. There is no app, no public API, no headcount disclosed, and no AI/ML capability indicated in the available data.

Name

Paaia (public Affairs Alliance Of Iranian Americans)

Legal name

Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans

Website

https://paaia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PAAIA is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 2008 that educates, advocates, and develops leaders for the Iranian American community (~1M+ individuals) through polling, voter engagement, fellowships, and direct Congressional outreach.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Advocacy

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Civic Participation & Leadership Development (Voting, Advocacy, Community Leadership) (EDAAADAL)

Keywords

• Civic advocacy
• Community organizing
• Policy research
• Leadership development
• Voter engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

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

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

PAAIA is a nonprofit advocacy organization that educates, advocates, and develops leaders on behalf of the Iranian American community in the United States. It delivers national public opinion polls, a bipartisan Congressional Scorecard, voter engagement tools (IAVote), and leadership pipelines (Young Leaders Initiative, Civic Leadership Program, Capitol Hill Internship Program, Ansari Public Service Fellows) to influence U.S. policy and elevate Iranian American civic participation.

Product overview

PAAIA operates as a nonprofit advocacy organization with a platform of interconnected programs and initiatives focused on civic engagement, policy advocacy, and leadership development for the Iranian American community. The core offerings include National Public Opinion Surveys (since 2008), the Congressional Scorecard tracking legislator voting, and leadership programs (Young Leaders Initiative, Civic Leadership Program, CHIP internships, and Ansari Fellows). Voter engagement tools like IAVote and advocacy hubs on issues including Internet Freedom and Women, Life, Freedom support their mission to elevate community voices. These programs are not commercial software products but rather advocacy, research, and civic engagement initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Young Leaders Initiative (YLI): A national network of highly achieving Iranian Americans across various industries to empower Iranian American voices.
• Civic Leadership Program (CLP)
• Iranian Americans Vote (IAVote)
• Congressional Internship Program (CHIP)
• Iran Action Hub

Products and services

• National Public Opinion Surveys of Iranian Americans Annually commissioned surveys by nationally recognized pollsters since 2008 that measure Iranian American attitudes on domestic policy and foreign affairs, providing data to policymakers, journalists, and the public.
• Congressional Scorecard Bipartisan scorecard tracking how members of Congress vote and advocate on issues important to the Iranian American community.
• Young Leaders Initiative (YLI) A national network of highly achieving Iranian Americans across various industries designed to empower Iranian American voices and connect emerging leaders.
• Civic Leadership Program (CLP) Program that empowers Iranian American youth to make an impact through civic engagement and leadership development, including structured initiatives.
• Capitol Hill Internship Program (CHIP) Provides internship opportunities for Iranian American students in congressional offices, placing fellows with members of Congress such as Congressman Mike Levin and Congressman Jim Himes.
• Ansari Public Service Fellows Fellowship program supporting Iranian Americans pursuing public service, with the 2026 cohort of fellows announced by PAAIA.
• IAVote (Iranian Americans Vote) Campaign organizing the over one million members of the Iranian American community to become active and consistent participants in democracy, with resources for voter registration, mail-in ballots, and polling place location.
• Iran Action Hub Resource hub providing information on actions by the Biden Administration, U.S. Congress, and the international community in support of the Iranian people.
• Iranian American Contributions Project (IACP) Project highlighting and promoting the contributions of Iranian Americans across society.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• UnidosUS (formerly National Council of La Raza): National Hispanic civic engagement and advocacy nonprofit; analogous model combining voter mobilization, leadership development, and policy advocacy for a specific diaspora community.
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC): Leading AAPI civil rights and civic engagement organization operating on a much broader Asian American scope; offers overlapping advocacy, voting rights, and leadership programming at larger scale.
• NAACP: Premier African American civil rights organization with comparable civic engagement, voter mobilization, and policy advocacy programming — represents a larger-scale analog of the diaspora advocacy model.
• National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund: Nonpartisan organization focused on Latino civic leadership and political participation — comparable mission of growing a community's pipeline of leaders into public service and elected office.
• AJC (American Jewish Committee): Established global advocacy organization for the Jewish American community combining foreign policy advocacy, civil liberties protection, and leadership programming — analogous diaspora advocacy model at greater scale.

Direct peers

• Japanese American Citizens League (JACL): Long-standing Asian American civil rights and civic engagement organization; comparable mission to advocate for a specific diaspora community with policy and civic participation programming.
• Iranian American Political Action Committee (IAPAC): Iranian American PAC explicitly linked from PAAIA's website; operates adjacent political and advocacy programming for the same Iranian American community.
• Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR): Faith/diaspora-rooted civil rights and advocacy organization representing another American minority community; structurally similar model combining policy advocacy, civic engagement, and member services.
• Iranian American Bar Association (IABA): Membership-based Iranian American professional association providing networking, mentorship, and advocacy — competes for the same professional Iranian American demographic PAAIA targets through YLI and CHIP.
• National Iranian American Council (NIAC): National nonprofit advocacy organization for Iranian Americans focused on civil rights, foreign policy, and civic engagement — operates in the same advocacy niche as PAAIA and competes for overlapping donor and volunteer audiences.

Market position

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/paaia
• Facebookfacebook.com/PAAIAInc
• Instagraminstagram.com/paaia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/public-affairs-alliance-of-iranian-americans

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Paaia (public Affairs Alliance Of Iranian Americans)