After years of working together on projects, the board of directors for the Albany-Colonie Regional and Schenectady chambers of commerce have voted to create a joint task force to further combine resources.
The task force is the first step in the chambers creating a new umbrella organization, which would allow the two chambers to cover a larger portion of the Capital District.
“We realized that the Capital Region is really one economic marketplace,” said Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber President Mark Eagan. “We have a lot of members that have an interest in not just Albany or Schenectady, but all across the Capital Region.”
The chambers will not undergo a full merge, but maintain their separate identities within Albany and Schenectady. The task force will spend the next several months reviewing the logistics of creating the integrated organization, such as budgeting and finances.
“There’s lots of due diligence when creating a new organization,” said Charles Steiner, president and CEO of the Schenectady Chamber of Commerce. “Here’s the general model, now how does it work? Member services, what are we talking about? What will those services be? We have to look at budgets. You’ve got to look at what it means financially in creating a new organization.”
Already, the two chambers have about 220 shared business members and two shared staff members. The Schenectady Chamber staff has also had the option to received health insurance through the Albany-Colonie’s insurance brokerage since 2012.
The chambers have partnered in several member initiatives since 2006, including Leadership Tech Valley and the Tech Valley Young Professionals Network, but an umbrella organization will allow members, both current and new, to expand business.
With more than 80 percent of the chambers consisting of small businesses, Steiner said, a lot of the umbrella organization’s structure would go to helping business.
“There are a few key bullets that will be to the benefit of the organizations,” he said. “So we’re going to open up new market-ships for them. We can rightfully say, especially to our small businesses, we are going to open those doors for them. Building their business, driving their business from that regional piece… We’re going to have more resources to provide better programming in support and help.”
Current members of either chamber would automatically be covered under the umbrella structure, and dues would not change significantly.
The new organization would be run by a board of directors, which would govern the two chambers. The separate chamber committees and boards would still be in effect since the chambers would remain in Albany and Schenectady counties in order to maintain community and local ties.
Essentially, Eagan said, the two chambers will be creating a parent organization with a joint membership and shared staff and resources.
“In the model, there’s a commitment that there would be an office in Albany County and Schenectady County,” said Eagan.
Steiner anticipates that consumers would benefit from the new entity as well, as the expansion of business members and their influence in the Capital District would potentially create more opportunities for employment and boost the economy.
“The consumer would be, hopefully, better served from the fact that we can improve on our businesses. And making them more viable, that’s employment. And the vitality of the community is certain around it’s ability not only to develop new business, but to keep that business… It will benefit the community as a whole,” said Steiner.
Over the next several months, the joint task force will evaluate the plan for the umbrella organization. The goal is that the task force will make a decision by spring, which would then go to the separate chamber board members before going to members themselves for a vote.
“With the latest model, we believe it’s going to add value to all the business,” said Eagan. “The old expression, there’s a strength in numbers — there’s truth in that. This is all on the behalf of the continued growth on the Capital Region.”
