Angel Capital Association (ACA) is the official industry alliance of over 100 of the largest
angel investor
An angel investor (also known as a business angel, informal investor, angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) is an individual who provides capital to a business or businesses, including startups, usually in exchange for convertible de ...
groups in the United States. Since its founding in 2004, it has played a significant role in bringing together the previously separate angel and
venture capital
Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...
industries, in order to make networking, practices, and innovation in the field of investment easier.
ACA, which grew out of four Angel Organization Summits convened by the
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (Kauffman Foundation) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, private foundation based in Kansas City, Missouri. It was founded in 1966 by Ewing Marion Kauffman, who had previously founded the drug company Ma ...
in 2002 and 2003, sponsors an annual summit meeting in a different city each year at which the leaders of the major organized angel groups, together with government leaders, academics and venture capitalists, share best practices and build new ideas based on this knowledge. ACA has become the nationally recognized voice of the angel investment community in the US, mirroring the role that the National Venture Capital Association plays for the venture community. ACA is the official US representative member of the
World Business Angels Association
The World Business Angels Association (WBAA) was an international, not-for-profit organization whose mission was to stimulate the exchange of knowledge and best practices in the field of global angel capital financing for high-growth and innovati ...
.
Since ACA was formed with a charitable purpose of education and research in the field of angel investment, chairmembers and leaders of ACA are frequently involved in educational programs such as the Power of Angel Investing Seminars produced by ACA's affiliated foundation, the
Angel Capital Education Foundation. While individual angel investors and angel group leaders participate in ACA events, membership in the organization itself is only for organized groups of angel investors that meet ACA's requirements, and not for individual investors. ACA's website lists angel groups across the nation which bring together investors in local regions or specific industries.
The founding chairman of ACA was James Geshwiler of Common Angels in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, who was succeeded by
John May of the New Vantage Group in
Washington DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
. The current chairman of the organization is Tony Shipley of Queen City Angels of
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
.
ACA LEADERSHIP May 14, 2020
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References
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External links
Angel Capital Association Official site
Angel Resource Institute
Trade associations based in the United States
Angel investing