Business is slow these days, and so is membership among some business associations, according to local business community leaders. That means business groups must find ways to increase support for struggling members while operating on smaller budgets.
“What people need today is different than what they needed 18 months ago,” said Kim Capeloto, chief executive officer for the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce. “You have to get more value out of every dollar today than you did in the past.”
On the East side
For the East Vancouver Business Association, membership has increased enough to warrant hiring the organization’s first-ever employee. Judy McMorin started as a part-time executive director Feb. 1, focusing on member services and recruitment.
“It’s very, very exciting. Our little association is growing up,” said Kris Greene, who volunteered eight years as EVBA president.
The EVBA’s membership is up to 122 after starting 2008 with 89. Greene said that’s because more business members see the necessity of gaining community support in the slow economy.
“Getting out there, doing things together and sticking together as a community – especially in these severe economic times – that’s the only way to get through,” Greene said.
The association went from adding one new member per month to gaining three or four per month in late 2008. Many were sole proprietors in professional service industries, Greene said.
“It was the best year since I can remember with that many new members,” Greene said.
The organization operates on about $10,500 per year and gives away a near-equal amount in annual scholarships, Greene said. Scholarship contributions were up 10 percent in 2008.
In Vancouver
For the GVCC, business closures, consolidations and budget cuts have put revenues down with membership.
To keep existing members on board, GVCC staff began setting up dues payment plans and restructuring membership fees.
“Now’s not the time to alienate members that are having hard times,” Capeloto said.
The organization had a $750,000 budget in 2008 and has 10 employees, including a membership services director added in October.
To make do with a smaller budget than in years past, GVCC leaders reviewed services to determine their value to members. From that analysis, they decided to enhance the organization’s website, boost educational offerings and add more affordable options for small businesses to host after-hours events.
To bring some levity into the current situation, GVCC will host its first-ever No Business After Hours event in March.
“Don’t come expecting to close deals,” Capeloto said. “Everybody needs some down time.”
Battle Ground
Battle Ground may be a rarity in this economy, as the city’s business roster is growing along with chamber membership, said Diane Rivera, executive director of the Battle Ground Chamber of Commerce.
The organization has had a continual member increase since 2007, supporting about 40 percent of its budget. Membership has risen from 383 to 440 since early 2008, particularly with new businesses in the medical and hospitality sectors, Rivera said.
The slow economy did cause the cancellation of an annual chamber auction that brought in $20,000 in years past.
“There are so many other nonprofits here that can’t choose to cancel an auction and we want to support them,” Rivera said.
To make up for that loss, the chamber took on a Main Street fireworks stand in 2008 and Rivera hopes to generate more chamber activity in its new space at the Battle Ground Best Western Inn and Suites.
“We’re operating more as a visitors’ center as Battle Ground becomes more of a destination,” she said.
Woodland
In the small, tightly knit community of Woodland, chamber membership is down significantly, but activity of remaining members is strong, said Sharon Knight, executive director of the Woodland Chamber of Commerce.
With Knight, the organization employs two part-time workers. Funding for the organization, which includes a tourists’ gift shop, comes from fundraising events and lodging taxes. More than half of its budget comes from member fees.
But as of mid-February, membership renewals were at least 50 percent below early 2008, Knight said.
“Some have closed business and left,” she said. “Some have consolidated their offices (to other cities). I think a lot of people are just trying to ease their way into 2009 and figure out where they’re going to spend their money.”
Among builders
Membership at the Building Industry Association of Clark County dropped from 1,050 in 2008 to 960 this year, and the changes became noticeable in October, said Membership Director Caryn Nelson.
Nelson said she is glad the decline wasn’t large enough to make budget impacts.
“We’re pretty pleasantly surprised that we haven’t lost more,” she said. “People are being more exclusive about doing business with other members.”
That’s partly because they have more time for networking and volunteering these days, Nelson added. Attendance at monthly dinner meetings is up, along with activity among committee volunteers.
Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com.
