Why Education Initiatives Build Chambers and Communities
May 06 2016 admin Chambers, TRC, YGM 0 comments Tags: ACCE, education, Horizon Initiative, National Education Week, TRC, US Chamber of Commerce
If you can read this, you should thank a teacher. This has been National Teacher Appreciation Week, which is sponsored by the National Education Association. At YGM, we’re quite fond of teachers. We respect them, honor them, and deeply appreciate them. When I begin working with a Chamber and see that they have a strong Education program, I am encouraged by their commitment to the community. The US Chamber of Commerce  says, “A strong education system is crucial to preparing young people for good jobs and bright futures and sustaining a 21st century workforce that can compete in the global economy.” Their position is that few initiatives have a greater impact on the future of this country and its prosperity and competitive standing in the world than our educational system. According to recent statistics provided by the US Chamber of Commerce, approximately 70 percent of students in the United States aren’t proficient in reading or math on an international level.   If you aren’t sure how your state measures up or why this matters, Achieving Tomorrow has a map that can help. The interactive map of the country allows users to click each state and see educational demographics such as […]
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Why Businesses Sponsor – Three Key Reasons
April 29 2016 admin Sponsor development, TRC 0 comments
Whenever we begin to work with Chambers as new Total Resource Campaign (TRC) clients, we brainstorm possible sponsorship opportunities as well as member businesses that might be interested in various sponsorships. Inevitably, someone will ask why a member business would sponsor an event or unique opportunity. There are three really important reasons businesses sponsor Chamber opportunities. Before I tell new clients those reasons, though, I tell them a story. Play with the Big Boys I wasn’t always a consultant. When I was a Chamber executive myself, I was running a TRC and at an event, someone slipped me a signed contract. I was so excited that I had to pause the conversation I was involved in to quickly skim the contract. Imagine my delight when I saw that a member business had chosen to underwrite our largest sponsorship of our new event! When I saw who had signed the contract, my delight faded, however, as I knew this gentlemen and his business and knew he had simply checked the wrong box. I called out – loudly – across the small but crowded room and said, “Bill! You checked the Presenting Sponsor box!” He responded with the biggest grin on his […]
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After the Campaign
April 09 2016 admin Blog, Volunteers 0 comments Tags: sponsor development, TRC
Your Chamber staff and volunteers have completed your Total Resource Campaign (TRC) or sponsorship campaign and are pleased with the results. Thank you letters have been sent. Your upcoming year is looking good. Now What? After you’ve taken a moment to thank your staff for all of their hard work, you need to begin working on a new plan. This plan is far less rigid and organized than the plan you had for your TRC but in some ways, this plan is just as important. You need a plan to follow up with your sponsor members throughout the year. You want to remind those businesses that they are valuable to you all the time, not just at TRC time. Those businesses and what they mean to the community are why you wanted them to sponsor through the TRC. Following up with them throughout the year will reinforce that with them, so that next year when your volunteers ask them to sponsor again, they won’t feel like they are only important to you when you need a check. How Do You Make that Happen? In order to make your sponsors feel valued, you are going to want to use many of […]
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