Q: What is ACT | The App Association?
A: The App Association is a global trade association for small and medium-sized technology companies. We work with and for our small business members to promote a policy environment that rewards and inspires innovation while providing resources that help them raise capital, create jobs, and continue to build incredible technology.

Q: Who are your members?
A: The App Association’s members are independent developers, innovators, and entrepreneurs within the global app ecosystem and across all industries and verticals. Our members are the companies creating the technology that plays a key role in powering the digital infrastructure of our lives.

Members are under the relevant North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) threshold for small businesses, or the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) threshold for small and medium-sized enterprises, whichever is greater for the relevant industry. For example, if a member is in the “custom computer programming services” industry, they must be under the NAICS threshold of $34 million per year in average annual receipts or the OECD threshold of 250 employees, whichever is greater. This means that a custom computer programming member can have $35 million in average annual revenue, if they have fewer than 250 employees.

Sponsors can also be members, but only if they are under the relevant small business size threshold described above. Larger businesses do not qualify for membership but may provide sponsorship.

Q: What does membership include?
A:  There are three pillars of membership: advocacy, community, and resources. You can get an in-depth explanation about how we work with and for our members on our membership page, but here’s some quick information about our pillars.

• Advocacy: Through letter-writing campaigns, petitions, and in-person meetings, we give our members an opportunity for their voice to be heard directly by the policymakers impacting their businesses.
• Community: We connect our members with one another at events, both virtual and in-person, in D.C., Brussels, and around the globe.
• Resources: Our team keeps members updated on pressing policy issues and global market trends through timely news bulletins, newsletters, social channels, and events.

Q: What are some of the organization’s key achievements?
A: The App Association has been instrumental in advocating for the interests of the app economy to policymakers. Our team of experts regularly engages with lawmakers via publishing analyses of legislation, writing letters and petitions, and testifying in hearings in the United States, EU, and UK. In addition to amplifying our members’ voices in policymaking fora, we provide opportunities for our members to connect directly with policymakers to advocate for the policies that matter most to them and their businesses.

For example, our members successfully championed the inclusion of increased broadband services in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our members virtually assembled to advance the broadband and workforce development provisions of the infrastructure bill across the finish line and into law. Over the course of a week, our members met with key congressional committee staff and Federal Communications Commission officials to talk about the critical role broadband and equitable access to broadband plays in the overall success of the app economy, growth of our workforce, and success of small businesses. Thanks to their advocacy, we saw Congress pass the infrastructure bill with those critical broadband provisions included.

Q: Why don’t you charge for membership?
A: We understand how valuable resources are, especially for startups and small businesses, so we work with our sponsors to keep membership cost-free.

Q: Do you publish a list of your members?
A: As outlined in our privacy policy, we never share our members’ personally identifiable information without their consent. This includes details like their company name, logo, or website address, especially since our members operate as small businesses. Our goal is to shield our members from potential unwanted attention or personal attacks by those who might oppose our policy stances. While we are eager to support and highlight our specific members’ perspectives, we do so only with permission.

Q: Where can I get a sampling of your members?
A: Our members are the entrepreneurs, innovators, and independent developers within the global app ecosystem that engage with verticals across every industry. They are the companies creating the technology that plays a key role in powering the digital infrastructure of our lives. In addition to this sampling of our members, the best way to learn about our member companies is to read the member spotlights, follow our member Twitter (X) and Instagram, or listen to TechSwamp.

Q: Who are your sponsors?
A: We’re proud to enjoy support from a variety of companies powering the global app economy, and you can learn more about who they are here. By accepting sponsorship from companies and organizations, we can keep membership from our small business members cost-free.

Q: What is the relationship between your members and sponsors?
A: Our members help to inform our policy priorities. We share our member priorities to sponsors and have an open line of communication with both members and sponsors to ensure that we’re representing the interests of the app economy in a way that drives innovation, jobs, and overall growth. Our sponsors are not our members, except that entities under the relevant small business size thresholds may be both sponsors and members.

Q: Do all your members agree on policy issues all the time? What about sponsors?
A: No, our members are not a monolith. There are plenty of times when a policy priority we’re focused on isn’t a passion point for each and every one of our members. That is OKAY. We don’t expect all our members to feel strongly and lend their time and advocacy to every issue. If that was the case, we’d have a lot more activists on the Hill and a lot fewer small businesses creating jobs and innovations. And of course, the same can be said for our sponsors.