In 2003, there were about 2,683 regional, national, and international organizations within the state.
The North Carolina Citizens Association serves as the voice of the state's business community. A teachers' organization, the North Carolina Association of Educators, is widely acknowledged as one of the most effective political pressure groups in the state, as is the North Carolina State Employees Association. Every major branch of industry has its own trade association; most are highly effective lobbying bodies. Carolina Action, the North Carolina Public Interest Research Group, the Kudzu Alliance, and the Brown Lung Association represent related consumer, environmental, antinuclear power, and public health concerns.
National organizations headquartered in the state include the American Board of Pediatrics, Association of Professors of Medicine, the American Senior Citizens Association, the Institute for Southern Studies, the Tobacco Association of the US, the US Power Squadrons, the Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the World Methodist Council, and the Center for Creative Leadership.
Cultural and educational organizations at the local and national levels include the American Dance Festival, the Appalachian Consortium, Art in the Public Interest, the Center for Urban and Regional Studies, the National Humanities Center, the National Institute of Statistical Sciences, the North Carolina Humanities Council, and Preservation North Carolina