Getting Started with Chamber Foundations

Are you thinking about starting a Foundation?

The following blog is based on my notes from a recent seminar I attended at the ACCE Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, IN.

The presenters were Megan Lucas, Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance, Joe Venhuizen, Envision Greater Fond du Lac and Adrian Cain, Charleston Metro Chamber, and they were great.

I hope this helps you decide on whether to start a Foundation at your organization or reengage what you already have.

They started by saying 65% of chambers today have Foundations.  Some are dormant and some are re-thinking their role with the chamber structure.

They talked about how you can run your educational programming through your Foundation and not the parent.

It’s a great tool to have when a community initiative comes up and your Foundation will give you the capacity to fulfill that role.  Think of it as a different revenue stream for your chamber even though those dollars can come from existing members.

When creating a Foundation, it must be education, charitable or scientific focused.

Think workforce development.  It is important that your Foundation stay true or focused to your mission.  You can’t just create a Foundation to solve issues outside your program of work.  However, all your current educational program of work can be run through the Foundation since it is already mission focused.

Just a reminder, you have to say no to that funder who wants you to do something that is not part of your chambers mission.

When asking for money for your Foundation you need to be very focused and they recommended you give a very specific reason for why they should give you money for a very specific project.

For a great article on navigating the rules of a Foundation by a lawyer go HERE.

Building a Next Generation Association for a Next Generation Workforce

Seth Mattison, Chief Movement Officer, Luminate Labs gave a presentation at ASAE's Annual Meeting last year that I attended.

What a fascinating presentation and subject matter.

Below are my notes that I thought I'd share.  Change is inevitable.

Relevance - your individual relevance and your chamber's relevance.  You must think about this everyday!

We need to adapt and change from time to time to stay relevant.

What are the "best of the best" doing to stay relevant - future proof yourself and your chamber to bring relevance to our organizations.

Three Characteristics:

1. Past, present and the future;
2. Leaders are always thinking about this and understanding the value of what has made you successful without holding on too tight that you miss what's coming next; and
3. Leaders can keep their feet in the now and execute and continue to evolve to find out what's coming around the corner.

The future is being defined by two forces:

1. Hierarchies - how we grew up in the workforce; and
2. Networks - the current generation, no lines of authority, they grew up on the web, they don't know anything different.

Most of us grew up in the hierarchy, think staff organization charts.  No debate, no discussion.  You never go above your boss!

The future

Study generational shifts, study the youth, personal empowerment!

Are you moving away from hierarchies to a networked team-based organization?  Studies say that's the #1 thing in today's work moving forward.

Seth says you need both, you need balance.  You can't have winners and losers.  Hierarchy provides security and stability and clarity but very little freedom.

Networks allow for freedom but ambiguity and uncertainty as things move and change very fast.  Freedom brings responsibility and accountability.

What does the future-maker look like? The new leader leads from the center of the network.

Five key shifts I took from his presentation:

• Technology shift - you upgrade your tech tools.
• Process-shift - you need to change the process, think "that's the way we always do it."
• Experience-shift - it's about your members experience.  Do you remember the term the experience economy?
• Skills-shift - half your skills will be irrelevant in 5 years. How to future proof yourself, having the ability to collectively take input and be able to give a clear vision of the future for your chamber.  That's the skill every leader needs.
• Inner shift - the inner person of you must first change for your chamber to change.  Otherwise, your organization will not change/shift unless you and your staff do it internally first.

Technology has hijacked our minds.  Instagram has a one second delay before your notifications post.  They do it on purpose.

Be present in the moment with your staff and members at the chamber.

We are always competing for our members attention. That's why our experiences for them need to be the best!

Three employee experience shapers:

1. Culture;
2. Workspace design; and
3. Technology.

High performing jerks - they're toxic!  They are culture killers.  What values do you have in your organization?  Are they simple to understand?

Studies show that when values are known and understood employees are 39x more likely to be engaged.

Drivers of talent engagement:

• I have confidence in senior management;
• I can own and develop my work; and
• I have confidence in the future of my organization.

He ended with four things so we can future proof yourself:

1. The future is not fixed;
2. Contemplate where order/freedom can and should live in your chamber;
3. Commit to create remarkable experiences our customers and employees deeply value; and
4. Find your way back to yourself so that you can access your greatest source of wisdom - you!

Identifying Common Initiatives and Roles of Chambers in Workforce Development

A strong workforce equals a growing community.  That's been true for many years. 

That's nothing new!

What's new is what does your community have that is attracting that strong workforce?

I think we can all agree on what attracts businesses to your community:

• Infrastructure;
• An educated workforce; and
• A sense of community.

There are all kinds of jobs that need to be filled, not just lawyers and doctors but welders, plumbers, electricians and carpenters.

Does your community have a strong relationship between the high school, vocational school, junior college and the business community?

It’s essential that the three are tied together for success.

We need to get to a place where we do not stigmatize high school graduates, vocational school, or junior college graduates.

At the end of the day, it's the electricians, plumbers, and construction workers who work with the architects, engineers, and the financial industry to build the infrastructure of the 21st Century within our growing communities.

We need all levels of education to fill these key jobs to move our communities forward.

And let's not forget that many electritions and plumbers are making more money than the college graduate, without any college debt! 

Developing a Competitive Workforce

In my last post HERE, I talked about how a strong workforce is a key to a community and the chambers economic development initiatives.

Let’s dig a little deeper into your community’s workforce.

Is your chamber working with the local school system helping to identify the needs of your community’s workforce?

A strong public school system and a post-secondary option is key.

Also, don’t forget the vocations.  Yes, we need doctors, engineers, etc., but we also need electricians, plumbers and carpenters.

Businesses can’t thrive unless they have the employees.

How many books have we all read on leadership, management and to quote Jim Collins, “getting the right people on the bus,” from his breakout book Good to Great?

That’s just another way of saying you need all types of workers to develop a competitive workforce for your community.

Click HERE for resources on building a competitive workforce!