Clowns of America International, Inc. (COAI) is a Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

-based nonprofit clown

Clown

Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...

 arts membership organization which aims "to share, educate, and act as a gathering place for serious minded amateurs, semiprofessionals, and professional clowns". It provides its members with resources to refine their characters as well as maintaining a strict code of ethics

Ethics

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

. In addition to the cooperative nature of the group and its annual conventions, it also provides several scholarship

Scholarship

A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...

 opportunities to young men and women.

Formerly Clowns of America, COAI was founded in its current form in 1984. It comprises numerous "alleys", local clown clubs which act as meeting places for members, and general membership is available to anyone 16 and over for $40 (renewed annually with $35 membership dues). Junior Joey membership is available for children from 8-15 for $30 (renewed annually for $25 Its regular publication, The New Calliope, functions as a means of communication and news updates.

Affiliates

• Mid Atlantic Clown Association
• Mid West Clown Association
• Southeast Clown Association
• Texas Clown Association

. South East Clown Association

External links

• Clowns of America International official homepage