Angel Capital Association

The Angel Capital Association is the trade and professional association for angel investors in the United States. It was formed in 2004 out of a series of Angel Organization Summits convened by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and operates from Overland Park, Kansas. ACA does not itself invest; it represents and connects seed-stage investors, sets professional standards through a member code of conduct, runs education through Angel University and a webinar archive, publishes industry data, and lobbies on public policy affecting angel investing and the accredited investor definition. Membership is open to individual angels, investor groups, accredited platforms, family offices investing predominantly in private equity, and ecosystem organisations such as incubators, accelerators, economic development agencies and universities. ACA publishes its dues: individual membership starts at USD 310 a year, investor groups and ecosystem builders start at USD 1,200, and online equity marketplace platforms pay USD 5,250. Members of ACA angel groups are automatically included at the individual level. Benefits include a members-only directory, ACA Advantage resources, peer syndication and deal nomination through AngelCatalyst. ACA holds an annual summit in a different city each year.

How it works

Individuals and organisations apply online, agree to the ACA Member Code of Conduct and pay annual dues. Individual members who belong to a member angel group are covered automatically by that group's membership. Members use a directory, education programmes, webinar archives, syndication channels and the AngelCatalyst deal nomination tool, and attend the annual summit and regional events. ACA also represents members in policy debates on accredited investor rules.

Typical member

Individual members are accredited angel investors, most of whom belong to one of ACA's member angel groups and are automatically included through that group's membership. Institutional members are angel networks, funds, family offices and platforms.

ACA is the infrastructure layer of US angel investing rather than a selective community, and it should be read that way: the bar is a code of conduct and a fee, not a wealth test or an invitation. That openness is the point, since the association's value lies in aggregating standards, data and a policy voice across hundreds of independent groups. For an individual investor, the practical route in is usually via an angel group that already holds membership, which makes the USD 310 individual rate largely relevant to unaffiliated angels. The published member figures have drifted between sources (12,000 and 200 groups in one listing, 15,000 and 250+ on ACA's own page), so the trend is upward but the precise count is soft. Anyone seeking a curated peer forum or deal access will find that at the member groups, not at ACA itself.

Editorial analysis by Peer Group Guide editors. It is separated from the record above and follows the editorial policy.