Membership Benefits & Dues

More Than Just Lunch

By joining a local chamber, the Northern Ohio Area Chambers of Commerce says businesses get the ability to collaborate, have a community voice and lower their operating costs.

If you think joining your local chamber is just about monthly luncheons, think again. True, chambers are known for networking and their ability to bring businesses of all sizes together, but there’s much more to the story.
“It’s important for small businesses to join their local chambers of commerce for three reasons: networking opportunities to grow their businesses, the chance to have a voice in the community regarding small-business needs and the ability to lower their operating costs,” says Wayne Lawrence, executive director of the Beachwood Chamber of Commerce and chairman of Northern Ohio Area Chambers of Commerce (NOACC).
Local chambers offer members multiple networking opportunities to give business leaders the chance to connect with other community members, whether it’s simply to find a mentor for educational purposes or to collaborate on future projects.
In addition, some chambers are involved in reviewing and recommending key pieces of legislation that can affect small-business needs. Therefore, through participation in their local chamber, business leaders can have a voice in the community and effect change. For example, if a property tax levy were to pass, it could have a major impact on a business’ bottom line.
“Many local chambers of commerce are very active in local community issues, whether on the city, state or national level,” says Lawrence. “And many communities turn to their local chambers to gauge the pulse of the business community on issues that affect commerce.”
But most importantly, a chamber has the ability to pass along savings to businesses through memberships such as NOACC. Incorporated in 1995, the organization was established to provide discounted benefits and services to the nearly 29,000 employer groups through the membership of local chambers of commerce in northern Ohio.
What started as a small, discrete group of chamber of commerce directors who met to discuss common chamber issues in the late ’80s is now the largest independent chamber association in the United States. Representing more than 127 local chambers, NOACC offers members savings on programs and services, including health insurance, workers’ compensation, credit card services, overnight delivery and payroll processing.
“If companies are able to lower costs of operating and increase revenue, it will drive more profit, meaning more money for expansion, capital improvements and even hiring,” says Lawrence. “The more profitable our businesses are, the more likely they’ll invest and hire additional employees and that’s true economic growth.”
With the goal to attract and keep members in the local chambers, NOACC has the ability to negotiate savings programs through the buying power that the chambers bring to the table.
“It’s really dollars to their bottom line,” says Vicky Hawke, NOACC’s executive director, offering the example where NOACC helped save a local city thousands of dollars on its health insurance. “It’s not about selling people things, it’s about helping the small businesses achieve savings that they couldn’t do on their own.”

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