WCCE

Accounting Practices

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If you use automated accounting, what kind of paper logging do you use for AP or AR?

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Does your chamber have a charge account for use by executive director and committee chairs to charge purchases?

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Does your chamber have a policy on moving funds from bank to bank?

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Are you using a cash basis or accrual method?

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How many of you have a full audit each year and how many do only a compilation?

Big Box Stores

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Has your chamber been in a position to take a stand for or against Big Box development?

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Has anyone offered a seminar on How to Compete with Wal-Mart?

Board of Directors

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What are your thoughts on the following options for nominating board positions – 1) nominate active members only, 2) nominate members that can bring something to the table in ideas, professionalism and/or dollars (whether active or not), and 3) nominate members to provide a balance of each industry (whether active or not)?

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What do you do with mail addressed to board members?

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How do you choose your Board members? And, from the Board members how do you decide who becomes president? Does your VP automatically assume the presidency the following year?

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Are chamber board meetings "closed" meetings or can the board invite anyone to be at the meetings?

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My board is considering only having the exec board meet as needed, perhaps quarterly instead of monthly.

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Does your chamber have a Director and Officer policy? How much coverage per board member? Annual cost to insure?

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What is the term for your president; do your bylaws require your president-elect to advance to president; and what are the pros/cons of a one-year vs. two-year president’s term?

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What input do you have for increasing the size of your board?

Career Fairs

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Does your chamber assist in coordinating a career fair at one of your local schools and when/where is your career fair held?

Chamber Committees

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Our Chamber is looking at creating a government relations committee. If you have such a committee (focused on local, county, state and/or federal issues), could you give me the committee description?

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Do you have a retail committee or group? What is the mission? How often do you meet? How do you pick who is on this committee or are all retailers invited?

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I have a business person who wants to serve on a committee but is no longer a Chamber member. We do not have a written policy, but I am interested in knowing if you allow non members to serve on Chamber committees.

Chamber Events

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Can anyone share the wording used at events where photographs are taken and then used for future promotion?

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What are some of your after-hours events?

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Does your chamber handle your community’s 4th of July fireworks display, and what is the cost?

Chamber Merchandise

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Do any of you sell chamber merchandise in your chamber?

Chamber Staff Positions

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Do you have a full-time/part-time Economic Development person on staff? If so, are they full or part-time, hourly or salary, how many hours, size of Chamber/Community, and job description.

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How many of you have a staff position specifically for government affairs? Please note if the person is full-time, part-time or hourly/hours/week and, what the size of your community & chamber is.

Community Welcome Services

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What do you do to welcome new residents to your community?

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Who typically takes care of 'welcome' signs in your community (city, chamber, village)? Have any of you as Chambers taken on this expense? What was your cost and reason for doing so?

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Could you share info on your 24-hour visitor kiosks?

Downtown Revitalization

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Any suggestions for a small chamber facing a main street construction project?

Economic Development

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Our chamber is now ready to take real steps in economic development. Any structured format out there you can share? We believe our city has marketing material but does not recruit business. We wish to form a group that will develop a plan of action and recruit quality developers and major companies.

Education

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We are interested in finding out what the others chambers education committee's are working on right now?

Event Displays

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Do you display community events on your website/calendar? If so, how do you display them, what kinds of events do you allow on the calendar and who maintains or handles the calendar?

Event Invitations

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How many of you send a separate invitation to Chamber events (vs. an insert/announcement in the newsletter)?

Gift Certificates

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How do you run your gift certificate program? We have a small issue regarding the banks accepting certificates for deposit. The intent is to keep the money circulating among members in the retail market. Some believe they should only be redeemable for retail/service purchase, and some believe banks shouldn’t be excluded because they provide a service. Savings accounts don’t keep the money circulating. We manage our program in-house.

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Does the law require gift certificates to be numbered in sequence like checks?

Government Affairs

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Have any of your chambers taken an official position on a school referendum? Were there any noticeable repercussions (positive or negative)?

Healthcare

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Can you advise if you run a health insurance plan for your small businesses through your chamber? Familiar with Network Health?

Information Systems

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What do you use for backing up your systems?

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What software is being used by chambers?

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Does your chamber get free tech support for computer needs from a member or do you purchase it; by the hour or do you have an annual contract; is there a need for tech support?

Local Government

Q/A:

Do you know what your city/town/village requires for LED signs?

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What is your community’s form of government?

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If you received county or city funding for your Chamber, how much was the donation for, including in-kind, and the total cost of your building?

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Do you compensate police/fire departments and DPW employees for their time either in the form of monetary compensation or donations?

Member-to-Member Discounts

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Our Chamber is struggling with the question of how- or even if - we should offer a Member to Member discount program?

Membership

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Is everyone still doing a yearly print directory or do you use the online directory as a resource for members to find other members?

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Are there restrictions on your membership (i.e. less desirable business, out of state management)?

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What is your membership investment pricing for school districts?

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What percentage of businesses in your community belong to your Chamber?

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We are thinking about increasing our membership dues by 3%. Anyone else doing an increase? What percent? Do you include a few lines explaining the increase and if so what?

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I'm looking for examples of Chambers who have their city paying a true "membership" to the Chamber. Based on employee numbers would be the desired piece of the equation though some may ask for a government rate.

Q/A:

Does your chamber require local churches to purchase two memberships if they want their school listed also?

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Do any of you have an "associate" level membership?

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Do you allow individuals to join your chamber?

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How many of you still classify a telephone company as a utility when classifying them for membership investment? (In our investment schedule utilities are separate from industry, lodging, etc.)

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How do you handle individual membership dues for those that are leasing space from a business owner? For example, a salon owner that leases space to stylists. Do they each pay membership or does the owner cover this?

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What percentage of total businesses are chamber members in your community?

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Do your realtor members join as a firm or as individual realtors?

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Has anyone used any type of referral program to bring in new members? What did you give as an incentive to the existing member?

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What do you provide to your members to show their affiliation with the Chamber (i.e. plaque, sticker)? Do you mail or deliver them? Do you offer options on what is available?

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How do you structure out of town members dues?

Names of Chamber Newsletters

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What are the names of local chamber newsletters?

Policies and Procedures

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Do any of you have a policy/program for doing mass emails to members?

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Do you know what the recommended amount of reserves in one year’s operating expenses budget should be?

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What percentage of your budget is covered by member investments?

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How are complaints against chamber members handled in your organization?

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We are reviewing some policies including one on advertising in our Chamber newsletter. I am curious if anyone limits the number of ads/fliers? Currently we have a $50 flier insert fee for members and $100 for non-members with a deadline of approximately 2 weeks prior to the actual mailing.

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Chamber Newsletter Insert Policy and Mailing List

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Can you share your board attendance policies, including terms like excused and unexcused absences with definitions?

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As a chamber exec, do you have an employment contract?

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Do you log all incoming calls manually or have some type of system that does it for you?

Q/A:

Do you have a policy for map distribution (who gets how many, etc.)? Do you charge anyone for the maps, either the public or businesses?

Q/A:

Could you share your policy on the signing of Chamber checks? Do you require two signatures? Do you have staff or board members signing checks? Who signs payroll and expense checks?

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Can you share with me what policy you have in place for mileage reimbursement? How many of you have a chamber owned vehicle? And, are your daily short trips on chamber related business covered as well as out of town trips?

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Does anyone have a policy regarding email marketing to members? For example, allowing members to email other members, and use existing chamber database.

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What are your hours for the summer months, open evenings/weekends, extended hours?

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What is your policy on bad weather and closing the office?

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Does anyone have a written policy about not sharing email lists? Is there any type of privacy issue?

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Anyone have any experience with disgruntled members and/or non-members forming a separate business organization which essentially has the same mission as the Chamber?

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Do you recognize non-member businesses for anniversaries or other accomplishments in your newsletter?

Room Tax

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If your Chamber receives room tax monies, how much do you receive and what percentage is this of the total distributed?

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How many of you receive money from room tax dollars and what is the amount? Also, does your city control distribution of those dollars or do you?

Q/A:

Have hotels in your area had to decrease room prices after a room tax was implemented? Or, has hotel occupancy rates increased because of room tax funds and corresponding marketing?

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Could you please tell me what amount your city charges for Room Tax?

Scholarship Programs

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Can anyone share with me your scholarship program, the amounts you give and the criteria you use?

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How many high school graduating scholarships do you have and for what amount? What are the criteria? Who is your selection committee (i.e. board, counselors)? Where do the dollars come from?

Tourism

Q/A:

Does your Chamber serve as the tourism entity in your community as well as the Chamber regarding contracting with the city, how the room tax is handled if you are the tourism entity, and how a committee or board is handled if you are the tourism entity?