2021 Chamber Impact Highlights

February 18, 2022

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Your Chamber’s work can be broken down into three core tenets: Model Excellence, Foster Business Vitality, and Cultivate Talent. Each year, Chamber members, committee volunteers, and staff contribute to delivering meaningful work under those guideposts. In 2021, thanks to the many businesses who invest in such work, the Springfield Chamber delivered high-value, impactful work for our business community. Here’s a breakdown of the Springfield Chamber’s noteworthy outcomes in 2021:

Model Excellence

We MODEL EXCELLENCE through early adoption of innovative concepts, ideas, results, and solutions that advance entrepreneurial values and will integrate the value of Duty of Foresight as a core stewardship tenet.

NET PROMOTER SCORE (NPS)

Net Promoter Score®, or NPS®, measures customer experience and predicts business growth. The Springfield Chamber had an all-time high score in 2021 of 64, up 9 points from our previous year. For context, the industry standard score for “very good” is 55.

NPS scores are measured with a single question survey: How likely is it that you would recommend the Springfield Chamber to a friend or colleague? Respondents are asked to rate your company between 0 (not at all likely) and 10 (extremely likely). Based on their rating, customers are classified into 3 categories: promoters, passives, and detractors. The NPS is determined by tallying up responses and subtracting the percentage of “detractors” from the percentage of “promoters”. The score is a whole number that ranges from -100 to 100, and indicates customer happiness with your brand experience. Recommending your Chamber to another business is the best compliment members can give, and our members excelled in this regard in 2021.

CHAMBER FOUNDATION

The Springfield Area Chamber Foundation was officially established in late November 2021 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to resource local business development priorities. The 501(c)(3) status is recognized by the IRS as being tax-exempt by virtue of its charitable programs. Members can now make voluntary tax-deductible contributions directly to the Foundation, which will help scale up important, impactful work for our business community.

In the digital age, reaching members and our community through social media has become more important than every. The Chamber worked to promote the business of our members across many platforms, adding to the reach of our thriving local business community. The total number represented is the sum of followers across the Chamber’s active social media accounts of note, including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok.

Foster Business Vitality

We FOSTER BUSINESS VITALITY by creating and curating a full-featured and accessible suite of business resource offerings, including business, education, consultation, connection and navigation of all these components.

HOURS CALCULATIONS

Much of the Chamber’s high-value work is created and delivered through the outstanding work of our committees and live programs. Through a combination of virtual and in-person meetings, the Springfield Chamber continued to bring key information and top level experts to our members. The final volunteer hours logged by members number was the sum of all hours input by individual Chamber members who serve on our boards, committees, or through other volunteer time dedicated to understanding and elevating the Springfield Chamber efforts for the business community. Volunteer hours included Chamber members’ time spent in participating in the following:

Board, Executive Committee, Finance Committee, LES Steering, Summit Steering, Membership Committee, Education/WorkReady Committee, Economic Development Committee, and the Chamber Foundation.

The final leadership education delivered hours number was the sum of all hours of Chamber leadership programming multiplied by the number of participants in each program. Leadership programming included:

Leadership Eugene-Springfield (LES) and Leadership Summit programs.

The final business education delivered hours number was the sum of all hours of Chamber business education programming multiplied by the number of participants in each program. Business education programming included:

State of Business, Business Boot Camp, LunchVox, and special Greeters presentations.

Our virtual B2B networking hours was the was the sum of all hours of networking offered through our Greeters committee and through our Open House, multiplied by the average number of participants in each program.

LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY

The Springfield Chamber works hard to protect and represent healthy business legislation, and to keep members informed and engaged along the way. We advocate for business community interests through engaging with our elected officials, hosting special meetings and programs, issuing relevant and timely policy position statements, and providing an influential voice on key issues. We inform members on local, regional, and state issues of impact on business and community, namely through our Government Issues Committee.

Follow along at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce Advocacy Page HERE.

– BUSINESS RELIEF SAVINGS –

SB 137-2 would have forgiven PPP loan amounts in excess of $100,000 be added back as “taxable income” for Oregon businesses that used the program exactly the way it was intended. The unnecessary tax increase would have cost Oregon business 450-600 million. Thanks to the overwhelming pushback from Chambers and the business community, this bill died in committee.

WILDFIRE RELIEF GRANTS SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESS

$27,500 was distributed to 21 small businesses through our Wildfire Grant Recipients last year. We received and distributed 3 different buckets of money throughout the year:

$5,000 was distributed to Takodas, Ike’s Pizza, Obsidian Grill, McKenzie Station, Vida Café, and Mckenzie Mist.
$2,500 was distributed to Cascade Relief Team.
$20,000 was distributed to Indigo Café, Vida Café, Ethyria, Pixels and Pine, The Moore Group, Vida Mckenzie Community Center, George R Kruse Excavation, Orchid Health McKenzie River Clinic, Beaubien Rentals Vida McKenzie Neighborhood Watch, McKenzie River Gift Shop, Serendipity Coffee Company, Elk Creek Cabins, Sarah Aura Cleansing, and Onward Eugene.

PPE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

The City of Springfield and the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce collaborated to provide free Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the Springfield small businesses community, provided by Business Oregon. These efforts came at key times for local businesses during PPE shortage and shifting mask and COVID guidance. In 2021, over 382,000 units of PPE were distributed to small businesses:

Over 600 businesses served
Over 100,000 masks
Nearly 275,000 gloves
Over 750 gallons of sanitizer

Cultivate Talent

We CULTIVATE TALENT through building on strong existing #WORKREADY programs and partnerships through increased employer engagement, public-private collaboration, advocacy, and implementation of targeted strategies. We build on strong existing leadership programs to strengthen multi-generational mentorships and to cultivate diversity in the business and civic leadership pipeline.

CTE FUND

On behalf of our staff, board of directors and #WorkReady Impact Investors, the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce was delighted to contribute $5,000 from our #WorkReady Career and Technical Education Fund toward the purchase of a bench-top lathe and bench-top vertical mill for Springfield High School’s Metal Shop program.

The funds provided two new machines for students to learn important skills such as the best cutting angles, sheering techniques and threading. The bench-top models also facilitate the correct accommodation for wheelchair-bound students, providing them access to this CTE course they otherwise wouldn’t have. Everyone will have up-close and personal access to these machines, enabling all students to learn together.

CAREER HUB

The Springfield Chamber online Career Hub hosts a member job board and access to other employee development resources. The Springfield Chamber job board is managed by Performance Resources to provide members with access to ApplicantPool, an HR Suite of services which helps connect employers and job seekers. Business members of the Springfield Chamber continue to utilize our job board to attract & manage more qualified local applicants, and be directed to up to 20 additional job boards and social media sites. As a job seeker, the Career Hub connects you with local employers and provides access to a multitude of career resources.

The job board and other employee development resources can be found on our Career Hub online here.

For more information, contact
Max Molzahn, Business Advocacy & Communications Analyst
max@springfield-chamber.org