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Reenergize Volunteers
Best practices for boards and committees
The new board chair of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, Javan Grant, had a challenge for his fellow chamber members. After being named the 2019 Florida Chamber of the Year, the pandemic took a toll on both member businesses and chamber engagement. Grant encouraged members to get involved again. “Jump headfirst into that arena with us. Help us hit reset and relaunch the chamber for 2022. We need your passion. We need your engagement,” he said.
Many chambers are facing similar struggles that have emerged over the past two years. In fact, two-thirds of volunteers either decreased or completely stopped giving their time during the pandemic. Volunteers provide much-needed support to chambers through their service on boards and committees or as organizational ambassadors. As chambers capitalize on their increased relevance and stature, now might be the time to invest in reengaging and reenergizing chamber volunteers at all levels. Chamber professionals recently shared their best practices on how to do just that.
Board of Directors
Chamber boards of directors typically include a variety of local business leaders and partners from the community. Board composition and terms are explained by the organization’s bylaws. Volunteer leaders are instrumental in helping create and implement the chamber’s mission and initiatives. But struggles with engagement (or over-engagement!) can exist at any chamber.
Always be educating.
There isn’t a secret formula to building a board of directors. But Hope Kennedy, president & CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber, said combining high-quality members with board development is key. “I think the secret sauce is educating your board, taking them with you so they can see you in action,” she said. “They can see what it is that they’re working toward and how they fit in the whole puzzle.”
While the basics are important –like explaining the board’s role, fiduciary responsibilities and potential conflicts of interest – continual education provides space to go beyond fundamental governance.
Raoul Sada, president & CEO of the Surprise Regional Chamber of Commerce (Ariz.), said some of his board members couldn’t understand why the organization had financial losses during the pandemic when the stock market was flourishing. He used ACCE’s 2020 Economic Recovery Report to inform them about the chamber industry. “It shared with them the impact on our industry,” he said. “We have to be vigilant in looking for those opportunities to educate the board about things when the opportunity presents itself.” Sada keeps a web page ready and accessible to his board full of educational materials and resources, while continually looking for available data, reports or surveys to share.
Look outside the chamber industry for inspiration.
Before joining the chamber, Sada spent decades in the nonprofit sector. “I hear too often in the chamber community that chambers are different,” he said. “But the issues that we struggle with – empowering our board, board fiduciary responsibility – those things are universal within the entire not-for-profit world.” When searching for solutions or ideas, Sada looks at organizations much bigger than the Surprise Regional Chamber. “I want to compare myself to a gold standard that’s out there,” he said. He suggests taking ideas or concepts from those larger chambers and nonprofits and adapting them to a local level.
Share the mission, vision and expectations from the start.
Kennedy sets expectations with board members as soon as they join, sharing what their role is. Setting the tone early on – that the board isn’t involved in daily operations – is vital. “It’s all board management,” she said. “The onus is on the CEO to share the vision, share that leadership.” Kennedy also does an annual audit of the board, looking at traits like industry, age, race and geographic areas that are represented. During the open call for nominations, sectors the board is lacking in are listed to encourage recommendations in those areas. Kennedy also provides a sheet sharing what a board member is. “It sets the tone,” she said. “That has really been the changing dynamic."
Ambassadors
No matter what your chamber calls it, the group of movers and shakers that attend events, take on volunteer opportunities and act as extra sets of eyes and ears in the community can be a huge help to staff and provide an extra boost toward accomplishing a variety of goals. But when chambers hit the pause button, volunteers may lose the habit of being engaged and active. Two chambers with robust programs shared ideas on how to rev up involvement.
Competition is crucial.
Kelli Beam usually gets over 100 applications for the diplomat program at the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce. Beam, vice president of membership development, usually starts the calendar year with a group of 65 diplomats. This year, they range from 21 to 93 years old. The group is split into teams, each with its own color, led by a diplomat board member. “The whole team color thing, it just works,” Beam said. “They fight over the colors.” Each diplomat is encouraged to earn 20 points a month through various activities, which helps visualize their involvement.
The competition model works for the Mason City Chamber of Commerce ambassadors, too. The team with the most points wins Chamber Bucks, with special recognition for the highest performers. “The committee votes between the top three individual point-getters to choose the Ambassador of the Year,” said Vice President Colleen Frein.
Start small and dig deep.
If you’re starting a program from scratch, Beam suggests beginning with five to ten dedicated members and digging deep with that group. Ask them for questions, feedback and suggestions. “Don’t try to do everything. You really have to find that core,” Beam said.
Mason City limits its ambassador program to just 25, which Frein said has contributed to its success. The committee keeps all applications on hand in case an ambassador needs to step down. It allows the committee to prioritize applicants with diverse backgrounds or industries to fill the spot. If a team member falls below 75% of the committee’s average points, the captain and a chamber staff member reach out to see if they want to continue to be involved. “Generally speaking, when they fall below this level, we find they are overcommitted and are happy to have an excuse to gracefully bow out,” Frein said.
Investment can go both ways.
In Rutherford County, Beam brings in different speakers each month and provides access to local leaders from the public and private sectors. The group gets information from the chamber about economic development, workforce, tourism and more. Beam said she creates a space for the diplomats to learn what the community needs. “Knowledge is power,” she said. “My goal is always to invest in them.” Both Rutherford County and Mason City chambers ask for an investment in return – both charge dues for their programs to cover things like food, name tags, staff time and more. “This helps them have a little skin in the game,” Frein said.
Committees
Each chamber has a unique structure that can include a variety of committees. From Young Professionals to CEO Councils, industry groups and leads exchanges, chambers depend on volunteers to share expertise and connections while increasing capacity and capabilities of the organization. It’s not always easy to find a variety of interested volunteers to cover all the opportunities, but sometimes it’s as simple as extending an invitation.
You don’t know who might be interested if you don’t ask.
In front of a crowd of 600 at the McLean County Chamber’s annual meeting, President & CEO Charlie Moore, CCE, got up on the stage and made a request. “Calling anyone who wants to engage, there’s a seat at the table,” he said. “Do we have criteria? We absolutely do. But we need to know who you are first before we say yes or no.” The chamber keeps a volunteer form available on its website as an open line of communication for new or reengaged members to show interest. Moore said he’s cautiously optimistic that meaningful engagement with volunteers is back on the rise. He points out that extending a personalized invitation can go a long way. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get,” he said. “People want to know you care. I’m all about invitations right now. People appreciate that.”
Create a connection between the committee and the board.
Five current board members of the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce came up through its young professionals group, Catalyst. That’s not counting Executive Director Kari Puleo, who was also involved in Catalyst before she started working at the chamber. “We have a mentor from the board,” Puleo said. “The mentor comes to all the meetings and is really active.” The mentor provides guidance when it comes to following bylaws and Robert’s Rules of Order, but there’s also room for Catalyst leaders to have flexibility and creativity to guide group activities.
Start with grassroots efforts focused on community needs.
Catalyst began casually with meetups and trivia nights after it became noticeable that Utica was on the upswing again with young professionals. While more formal connections exist, like signature events, Puleo said empowering volunteers can create energy. “Giving them the power to do casual meetups as needed really helps create that organic momentum,” she said. “It takes the onus off the chamber staff for those kinds of things.”
Back at the McLean County Chamber, Moore was on the lookout for a driver to focus on economic opportunity for his area. The chamber’s CEO Council is a few years in the making, spurred by changes that caused local business leaders to informally connect and start the quest to fill economic gaps. When Mitsubishi left Bloomington-Normal in 2015, it left behind a large vacant facility and a void in employment. It hit the pause button on the area’s growth. Moore wanted to pull the private sector together to stand behind opportunities and issues, using their voices and resources to create growth and stability for the regional economy. Just a few years later, electric car company Rivian took over the empty plant and has since hired 4,000 employees and continues to grow. The CEO Council champions a high quality of life by looking for additional investments in the community, ultimately insulating and protecting their own business investments. Currently, the group has 20 members that are business leaders with decision-making authority, even if they aren’t necessarily CEOs. Just recently, the council became a dues-paying group. “The momentum is picking up because I think the grassroots is starting to create an awareness that this group is intending to flex its muscles a little bit to move things forward,” Moore said.
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