As of 2023, the organization functioned as a non-circulating research library, preserving the history of the carriage era and serving as an authoritative resource about animal-drawn vehicles.

The CMA maintained a carriage collection of rare and unusual vehicles, preserved in original condition for research purposes, but which were not on display.

In 2022, the Carriage Association of America Foundation (CAAF) was created to be a 509(a)(3) supporting organization for CAA, and to receive the assets of the CMA.

[7] Mrs. Lilian Baker Carlisle, who worked with the carriage collection at Shelburne Museum, had contacted Ward Melville, a collector who started the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages about forming an organization for collectors and enthusiasts.

[8] The first CAA offices were in Maine, later at John Seabrook's farm in New Jersey, and in 2005 moved to the Kentucky Horse Park.