Your question isn’tdo I want to join theELGIN AREA CHAMBER?

It’s Do I want myBUSINESS to SUCCEED?

Elgin Area Chamber31 S. Grove Elgin IL 60120 847-741-5660

wwwwww.ElginChamber.com www.ElginDeveloment.cominfo@elginchamber.com

The Elgin Area Chamber is a U.S. Chamber Accredited Chamber!

Accreditation validates a Chamber as having programs that benefittheir local economy and positively influence their community. The onlyprogram of its kind in the country, U.S. Chamber accreditationrecognizes excellence in chamber planning and performance. Toreceive accreditation, a chamber must demonstrate quality programs,clear organizational procedures, and effective communications bymeeting minimum standards in its operations and programs, includingareas of governance, government affairs, and technology. EAC isamong the top 3% of 7,000+ Chambers to receive this accreditation!

When you speak with one voice, people listen.Dear Future EAC Member…

I believe supporting the Chamber in its vision to improve our quality of lifeand economic vitality is paramount to sustaining Elgin’s competitiveadvantage. Because of my strong belief in the Chamber’s work, I amcurrently volunteering as Chair of the Board of Directors to help increase theChamber’s resources and encourage your involvement.

With a membership of more than 600 area businesses, the Elgin AreaChamber is the largest and most influential business organization in thearea. You’ll be joining an elite group of professionals who are whollycommitted to improving both the business climate and the quality of life. Bygetting involved, you’ll grow, your company will grow, and you’ll help thelocal business community grow, too!

Benefits you can expect from your membership include:Gain access. At Chamber events and programs, you meet existing and

prospective customers. You’ll meet other business and civic leaders – andforge both professional and personal relationships that can last a lifetime.

Build credibility. Participation increases your company’s visibility andenhances your credibility throughout the community.

Help your business grow. Chamber events, training programs and otherresources can help you solve your toughest challenges, from financing tomarketing and human resources.

Grow personally. Training seminars, volunteer work and other programsand events all help you build a strong networking base and learn more aboutthe issues and opportunities facing business today.

Through your Chamber membership, you contribute to the community in avery practical, effective way. The Elgin Area Chamber works for the businesscommunity on the most critical issues facing business today: education,transportation, healthcare, economic development, and many more.

Your business can be part of all of this and more. I encourage youto become a member today.

Tony SandersCEO, School District U-46Board Chair, Elgin Area Chamber Why join the Chamber?

The Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce is the area’s leading, membership-driven business organization. Our goal is simple – to help your business. Membership in the Chamber is a great way to get your company involved in one of the region’s most dynamic business communities.

Our networking, community involvement and business training programs are the best deal in town! Join today!

The Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce is the region’s largest businessadvocacy organization. Through our 600+ members, we bring together thecollective vision of our area businesses, community partners, electedofficials, young professionals, educators, non-profit organizations andengaged citizens to work cooperatively for the future of our community. Fromthe heart of Elgin and South Elgin to every corner of the region, we’reworking to create more successful businesses, work opportunities, and abetter life for our citizens.

It’s a team effort. By being a member of the Chamber, you are supportingALL of these many and varied support initiatives.

By becoming a Chamber member you have access to a network oforganizations that care about our community and want to see it thrive andgrow. The Chamber’s strength in the community rests solely on its membersand their investment in the viability of our local economy.

We encourage you to be involved and utilize the Chamber staff to makethe most of your membership. A return on your membership investment is atthe forefront of all we do.

Membership matters to our businessesand our communities

Our goal is to assist our members and help the community grow and be prosperous.

Everything we do is with our membership in mind.

EAC Advertising Opportunities

Put the Elgin Area Chamber to work for you!WEBSITE

Our award-winning website provides YOUR BUSINESS with its ownpage to maximize your online presence. You determine how often to

change the content. Link your social media to our social media.

BUSINESS CARD DISPLAYThe Chamber has a business card rack and a literature displayarea where you can insert your business literature and cards.Visitors to the area often browse this for info about businesseslocated in Elgin and surroundings.

BUSINESS REFERRALSThe Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce is one of the most widelyused referral and information sources for residents and visitorslooking for services and products.

OPEN HOUSES/SPECIAL EVENTS

The Chamber will help plan and promote your new business,relocation,anniversaryor remodel with a ribbon cuttingceremony.Chamber Ambassadors, Board Members, and staff attend.

CHAMBER EVENTSBe visible at our Chamber events, showcase your businessor organization, or network at any one of our events,including Annual Dinner, Golf Outing, Awards Luncheon andmuch more.

ELECTRONIC WEEKLY E-BLASTPromote your business event, news, or special promotion in ourEACWeekly sent out to over 1,800 contacts weekly on Tuesdays.

ELECTRONIC MONTHLY NEWSLETTERThe Business Connection, the Chamber’s monthly digital newsletter, is sent to over 1,800 contacts each month. Promote your businesswith a newsletter advertisement.

MARKETINGMarket your business or organization by taking advantage of our low-cost marketingopportunities, including newsletter, website,and special event sponsorships.

EAC hosts more than 75 programs and events each year. Theseinclude high-level speaking programs featuring our region’s foremostleaders, issues-based roundtables, open networking, educationalopportunities, and formal awards and recognition ceremonies.Our programs provide a platform for all our members to gain valuable

insight from prominent business and government leaders, exposure topertinent issues affecting the area’s leading industries, and theopportunity to build a valuable network of peers. Many programs are freeand some cover the cost of the meal.

What type of services does EAC offer?

Monthly Programs Business After Hours CEO Unplugged Business Connection Progressive Luncheons Member Orientation Chamber

Conversations Legislative Brews Seminars/Workshops Social Media Meetups

Committee ParticipationEAC Ambassadors Special Events Open ElginAdvocacy

Weekly Programs Ribbon CuttingsEARN Groups EACWeekly Job Postings eacWORKS News ReleasesMember2Member

Discounts Hot Deals Your Events

Your business will be listed in the Daily Herald newspaper andin EAC Business Directory on the Daily Herald website. EACMembers receive a free subscription to The Business Ledger.Exposure up 68,000 viewers!

Your business has the unique opportunity of been introducedand announced on WRMN 1410 AM during our “ChamberChat” monthly radio broadcast!

Your business will be listed under Category of Business andby alphabetical order in our yearly EAC Community Guide,which circulates over 5,500 copies mailed to ALLBUSINESSES in 60120, 60121, 60123, 60124 and 60177 anddistributed to 1,500+ Consumers. We also email a free digitaledition to our subscribers.

Your business will be listed in our Business Connectionmagazine, which circulates 1,500 to EAC Members monthly. Afree digital edition is emailed to our +1,700 subscribers andposted on our EAC website and all social media platforms.

You have the opportunity to mass communicate your HotDeals (your coupons, weekly/monthly specials, business-to-consumer deals) Member2Member Deals (special offersbetween EAC Members), your open job postings, upcomingevents and news releases in our EAC Weekly e-blast.

Your company has the option to post and share any updatesand we will circulate on our EAC social media platforms. Weinvite you to learn more about how to get grow your businessby attending our EAC & SBDC Social Media Meetups!

Receive access to Your Member Webpage through our EACWebsite. Our ACCE (Association of Chamber of CommerceExecutives) award-winning website features our membersoffering your services and products to consumers andbusinesses in the Greater Elgin Area. Our portal optimizesyour company’s visibility through all large stream searchengines. The more information you include in your MemberPage, the more search links will be created!

Think locally. Connect globally. Join EAC!Marketing Benefits

Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce

Community Development

Business Growth

Infrastructure/Roads/Rails/Bridges

FundingLocal/Regional/State/Federal

Families Businesses Schools Charities

Advocacy Leadership One Voice Support Relationships Relevance

No time to participate?You’re busy. You have more demands for your time than ever before, and you’renot always able to come to events, join a leads group, serve on a committee.However, that doesn’t mean you won’t benefit from your investment in theChamber. Events are such a small part of what we do. Our roles as advocatesand economic developers have us working on your behalf every single day,whether we have an event coming up or not. When we recruit a business tomove to here, you benefit. When we help an existing company expand, youbenefit. And when we advocate for something that will help the community grow,you benefit.

Keep that in mind. Without your support, we couldn’t do all those behind-the-scenes things that help build a stronger community for everyone, whether youshow up or not.

EAC is committed to supporting businesses. We partner with businessexperts to provide businesses with support and connect resources to yourneeds – right here in our Chamber offices. We’re just a phone call away!

Elgin Development Group (EDG) A one-stop-shop forElgin businesses providing solutions for your businesswith community resources and programs designed tohelp businesses of all sizes succeed.

The Elgin Area Small Business Academy (EASBA)provides small business fundamentals and assists inexpanding your network of business contacts.Separately targeted multi-meeting seminars focus ona unique, concise and relevant aspect of business andwill involve teaching, sharing, building relationships,identifying best practices and challenging/supportingeach other.

If you own a small business or are considering startingone, the Illinois Small Business Development Center(IL SBDC) at Harper College offers free and low-costconfidential counseling and business advising for newand growing companies to help you succeed.

Volunteer business people helping small businesspeople solve business problems. Volunteers givefreely of their time, energy and knowledge to helpothers through mentoring, workshops and education.

EIGERlab is northern Illinois’ comprehensive resourcewhere both new and existing entrepreneurs andinventors collaborate with pioneering leaders toincubate and accelerate businesses. EIGERlab tiestogether Innovation-Collaboration-Entrepreneurshipinto a centrally located, state of the art mixed-useincubator, serving the region with leading edgebusiness and engineering support services.

Connecting you to resources to SUCCEED Contacts * Referrals * Success

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BONUS: We emphasize Buy Local and Member to Member Discounts.

Top 10 Reasons to Join Elgin Area Chamber A Chamber membership is an investment in the success of YOUR business!

Which leads to companies opening or expanding in Elgin and South Elgin

Which provides more incomes and more dollars in circulation to purchase products and services

Which creates an environment of success and excitement for a prosperous community

And the process begins again!

Studies show that 80% of consumers are morelikely to buy products from a Chamber member! *

*Shapiro Group

The Chamber advocates on behalf of the community on local, state, and federal issues.

It’s the perfect way to build relationships in the community, promote your business, access business contacts, and improve your bottom line! Here’s an example of how our efforts on your behalf result in the ultimate SUCCESS OF YOUR BUSINESS.

Which means better paying jobs and professional opportunities

You’ll become amuch bigger partof the local BUSINESSCOMMUNITY.

You’ll have direct access to 600+ companies in ourmembership

The Chamber hostsGREAT EVENTS. There’s always something going on! We do the planning to bring people together.

There is no localorganization providinggreater businessCONTACTS than the EAC!

You’ll CREATEinvaluable businessdevelopmentopportunities andlearn about businessesyou may not even know exist!

You’ll EXPAND your company’svisibility. People do business with people they know and trust.

You’ll gain a voice locally, in Elgin, in Illinois and in WASHINGTON, DCYou’ll take a directrole in improving our region’s business climate.

It's not WHO you know, it's who knows YOU. NETWORKING is powerful!

You and your TEAM will grow through leadership programsfor all career fields.

You’ll learn meaningfulbest practices that will help PROPEL your business.

"EARN Too has proven to be very valuable to me – professionally and monetarily. As a newer member of the Elgin area community, the group facilitated personal introductions to business professionals within and outside of my own professional sphere of influence.“

Jonathan S. Pope, Esq.Bazos, Freeman, Schuster, & Pope, LLC

“The Elgin Area Chamber was instrumental in helping us reach members of the community.” Cathi Volante, MOD Pizza GM Elgin

Nothing makes us more excited at the Chamber than to see the enthusiasm offuture leaders starting their careers in our community. We see this investmentin the future as one of our most important initiatives.

That’s why we are continuously looking for ways to provide leadershipprograms and education. Within this framework we hope to ensure that thenext generation of business leaders is ready for the work that lies ahead. Yourmembership is an investment in the future.

EARN Groups(Elgin Area Referral Network)A lead referral group is a valuable resource toexpand your knowledge, learn from the success of others, attain new clientsand tell others about your business. Professional development, Strategicpartnerships, Social capital and Referrals are the main objective for thesegroups that meet regularly and are non-compete.“It’s difficult to make time for professional development when you're focused on making connections with fellow business professionals. The Chamber’s E.A.R.N Groups made it easy for me to accomplish both.” Mike Storey, Beckatt Solutions

Elgin Area Small Business AcademyThrough an interactive class, networking and sharingenvironment seeks to create a supportive communityof motivated entrepreneurs and small business ownersand managers who are interested in starting and/or takingtheir business to the next level.I learned so much about how to build my business from the ground up from businessowners who presented to EASBA, along with incredible networking Amanda Garcia,Principal, ColorWord Creative

Elgin Area Leadership AcademyEALA builds an understanding of community leadershipthrough exposure, enrichment, and engagement. The Academycrafts and delivers a curriculum specifically designed to assist individuals inbecoming active and engaged leaders in their community. This 10-monthprogram broadens the participants’ understanding of our community dynamicsand municipal issues.It's all about networking, listening, asking questions, strategizing with others, learningwhen to lead and when to be a team player. I am a better neighbor, friend, co-worker,and leader and I can thank EALA for its integral part of my development. - Rich Jacobs

True leaders don’t create followers. They create more leaders.