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Chamber Overview
Chamber Year in Review
The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce is the oldest and largest business organization in Nevada. Founded in 1911, the Chamber has been committed to promoting Nevada’s
pro-business climate and spirit of entrepreneurship for nearly 100 years. The Chamber is the third largest metropolitan chamber of commerce in the United States, representing nearly 7,000 businesses that employ more than 200,000 employees.
Businesses of all sizes are Chamber members because of the value of membership, however the Chamber is focused on the needs of small businesses. In fact, 85 percent of chamber members are the smallest of businesses with fewer than 25 employees. The Chamber has a heterogeneous membership consisting of businesses from almost every sector of the business community throughout Southern Nevada.
The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce is committed to the continual improvement of the business community, the economy and the quality of life by working to preserve the economic vitality and pro-business climate of Southern Nevada. The Chamber prides itself in serving large and small businesses as the ultimate business resource, offering its more than 7,000 members opportunities and benefits to help them grow and enhance their business.
Organization:
The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce is an organization of business leaders who work to improve their community and the area’s business climate. A volunteer board of trustees governs the Chamber. A professional staff of more than 60 runs the day-to-day operations. The Chamber is a private organization funded primarily by dues paid by member businesses.
It is not a government agency.
Vision:
To be the advocate for business in Nevada
Mission:
To strengthen, enhance and protect business
Values:
Leadership, excellence, integrity and innovation
Core Objectives:
• Promote a strong local economy
• Provide opportunities for relationship building
• Deliver programs to help businesses grow
• Represent and advocate on behalf of business
• Enhance commerce through community stewardship
Chamber Divisions
The Chamber has a staff of 60 employees to develop programs and serve the needs of members. The three main divisions of the Chamber responsible for delivering value and benefits to members are described below.
Membership & Community
Development Division
The goal of the Chamber’s Membership and Community Development Division is to develop programs and services that enhance the value of Chamber membership by giving members a strong return on their investment. Throughout the year, the Chamber hosts more than 75 events and meetings, including a number of signature events that provide members with information and connections to help them compete in the marketplace.
Signature events include:
• Business Expo
• Leadership Las Vegas
• Focus Las Vegas.
• Membership Luncheons
• Business After Hours
• Business Education Series
The Chamber offers many additional benefits to members under the umbrella of its Chamber Advantage program, including:
• Office supply discounts
• Affordable health insurance
• Member-to-Member Discounts
• Always Buy Chamber programs and referrals
In addition to these programs, the Chamber partners with other community organizations to effect positive change in the community. One such partnership is the Clark County Reads program in association with the Clark County Public Education Foundation. Clark County Reads provides books to Clark County schools and trains volunteers to assist struggling readers with the goal of promoting a literate and educated workforce. The Chamber is also a community partner with the Student to Teacher Enlistment Project (STEP) to encourage students to enter the teaching profession and increase teacher diversity.
Government Affairs Division
The Chamber has a rich history of actively working with legislators and policy makers to ensure Nevada is a place where business can grow and thrive without undue government regulation and taxation. The Government Affairs Division keeps members informed and up-to-date on current legislative issues so they can concentrate on running their day-to-day business operations. Chamber staff and professional lobbyists make sure the voice of business is heard in the halls of government. Other Chamber advocacy programs include:
• Grassroots Organization for Action and Leadership (GOAL)
• Center for Polling and Research
• BizPAC - raises money to help advocate on behalf of business community at the legislature and contribute to pro-business candidates
Marketing & Communications Division
Creating a strong sense of connection to the Chamber is the responsibility of the Chamber’s Marketing & Communications Department. As a member-driven
business organization, the Chamber regularly surveys its members to ascertain their current and projected business needs. Solutions for those needs are then created and delivered.
The principal forms of communication between the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and its members include The Business Voice monthly news magazine and the President’s Voice, a monthly electronic newsletter from the desk of Kara Kelley, president & CEO of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber’s web site, www.lvchamber.com, is a great source of information for members and consumers and gives out more than one million member referrals every month. The Members Only section of the web site also provides value to Chamber members. It contains several special services for members including:
Special publications focusing on:
• Communications Tool Kit (lots of great “how-to” advice for small business)
• Marketing Handbook (information about sales, marketing and customer service)
• Relationship-building tips
• Buy From a Member Program details
The Marketing and Communications Department also directs the annual economic forecasting event, Preview Las Vegas. The event features a panel of expert local and national speakers who deliver timely and relevant information on contemporary business issues.
Membership Benefits Special Events & Programs
The Chamber offers a variety of programs and benefits to help its members succeed in a competitive and rapidly growing market place. The benefits of membership include
Relationship Building and Signature Events
Establishing a successful, long-term and mutually beneficial relationship can be difficult, particularly in a community that has a large influx of new residents and businesses. The Chamber provides its members with more than 75 networking opportunities each year including:
Preview Las Vegas
Preview is the largest and most important business event of the year. Preview brings in national and regional business experts to share their insights and predictions to help executives prepare their business for the coming year. Preview also features a trade show with exhibits booths and unbeatable networking opportunities. www.previewlasvegas.com
Business Expo
Business Expo is the Chamber’s annual “show and tell” trade show and networking event that allows members and non-members from all over Southern Nevada to experience first-hand the products and services of Chamber members. Exhibiting at Expo is open exclusively to Chamber members. Expo is also an outstanding event to make new business connection in a relaxed social environment.
Business After Hours
Business After Hours, formerly Membership Mixers are opportunities to meet other business people and build new business relationships. Business After Hours is open to members and non-members.
Customer Service Excellence Awards
Reward your employees and encourage exemplary service through the Customer Service Excellence program. The program is a partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to recognize and award employees who demonstrate outstanding customer service. Any employee in Southern Nevada is eligible for nomination. Employees are honored at quarterly ceremonies and at the annual Customer Service luncheon in October.
Membership Luncheons
The Chamber presents several Membership Luncheons throughout the year featuring business and community leaders who share their expertise and insight. Luncheons are an excellent way to make new connections.
Government Advocacy
The Chamber is one of the most influential and respected voices in Nevada politics. The Chamber has a full-time government affairs staff and a team of lobbyists to ensure that the needs and concerns of business are fully represented in the halls of government. The Chamber researches issues, interviews and endorses candidates and keeps its members up-to-date on issues important to business.
Grassroots Organization for Action and Leadership (GOAL)
GOAL offers an opportunity to Chamber members to get involved in the political process and promote pro-business public policy. GOAL members receive special electronic newsletters updating them on anti-business legislation and political issues. GOAL members contact public officials and advocate on behalf of
the Chamber.
BizPAC
BizPAC is the fundraising arm of the Chamber’s political action efforts. BizPAC provides the financial resources to advocate on behalf of the business community at the legislature, to contribute to pro-business candidates and help defeat anti-business proposals.
The Center for Polling and Research
The Center for Polling and Research (CPR) is the Chamber’s research facility. The Chamber conducts polls to gauge public sentiment and to assist in setting a political advocacy agenda. CPR’s services are also available at a reduced rate to members to help them conduct research in order to effectively market their products and services.
Credibility
The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce has been a driving force in business development in Southern Nevada for nearly a century. Membership in the Chamber sends a message to customers and other businesses that your company is committed to the Las Vegas community and will be here for the long term.
Learning Opportunities
Chamber programs, seminars and learning opportunities are designed to give members the tools they need to operate their business in a fast paced economy. Executive enrichment programs offer opportunities to grow professionally and stay ahead in the marketplace.
Business Education Series
BES is a series of special seminars and workshops to help small business owners learn what they need to know about sales, marketing, advertising, customer service, financial and time management, technology and a variety of other important business skills.
Leadership Las Vegas and Focus Las Vegas
Leadership programs educate participants about the inner workings of the community and offer insight on what makes Las Vegas tick. These executive development programs prepare current and future community leaders for advancement. Learn more about
these prestigious programs at www.lvchamber.com/leadership.
Technology Business Alliance of Nevada (TBAN)
Recognizing the importance of technology to the future of small business, the Chamber has formed a partnership with the Technology Business Alliance of Nevada (TBAN). The partnership provides a free membership in TBAN to every member of the Chamber. TBAN can help keep small businesses up-to-date on the latest business technology and how to take advantage of it in the marketplace.
Toastmasters
The Chamber offers members two Toastmaster clubs to help members develop their communication skills in a self-paced environment that can be used in both professional and personal life. You must be a member of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and you must be the member’s main representative to participate in this outstanding enrichment program.
Benefits and Discounts
Membership in the Chamber provides you with a wide array of cost saving benefits, directly enhancing your bottom line. Chamber members enjoy discounted rates on group health insurance, office supplies, workers compensation insurance as well as affordable advertising and marketing opportunities. This package of benefits is called The Chamber Advantage. Two of the most popular member discounts are:
Group Health Insurance
Small businesses can have the same discounts on group health insurance as large businesses by pooling buying power through the Chamber’s group health discount plan. Members can offer their employees superior coverage and save money at the same time. The plan may be purchased through any licensed insurance agency in Southern Nevada that is a member of the Chamber.
Office Depot Savings Program
The Chamber’s Office Depot saving program provides members with the collective purchasing strength of the Chamber, saving members up to 60 percent on the 500 most commonly used business office products. Other features include online ordering, next day delivery and monthly reporting to help you monitor expenses.
Marketing and Public Relations
Sponsorship Opportunities
The Chamber has a menu of sponsorship options to help members market their businesses to other business professionals. Members can sponsor a single event or develop a sponsorship package that will market their brand throughout the year. Contact the Chamber’s Membership Development Department for more information.
Chamber Media
Chamber media offers powerful advertising choices including print and internet to reach businesses and consumers. Chamber Media are targeted, effective and affordable ways to get a company’s brand into the marketplace. Options include:
The Business Voice, online at www.lvchamber.com, mailing lists, relocation to Las Vegas packets, Buyer’s Guide and Membership Directory and the Relocation Guide.
Publicity
Chamber members can build name awareness through a variety of publicity opportunities that are exclusive and free to members. The Business Voice features Ribbon Cuttings and Member News. In addition, members can display their marketing materials in the Chamber’s Visitors Center and at Chamber events.
Referrals
Sending business to members is another great Chamber benefit. Every year the Chamber makes more than 50,000 telephone referrals to member businesses. Plus, each month Chamber members receive more than 1,000,000 referrals from the Chamber’s website www.lvchamber.com.
Always Buy Chamber
The Chamber encourages members to buy from fellow Chamber members for all of their purchasing needs. Member-to-Member discounts are an effective tool to attract new business. The Chamber’s Always Buy Chamber campaign encourages members to buy from one another. The Chamber’s Membership Directory and the online business directory make it easy to find practically any product or service.
Community Stewardship
The Chamber has a long history of leadership in Las Vegas to enhance our city and quality of life for all Southern Nevadans. Chamber representatives serve on task forces and community boards. The Chamber has a long history of commitment to quality education for all students in Clark County. A few of the community projects are:
Clark County Reads program
Clark County Reads program that recruits volunteers to work with children on a one-on-one basis to develop and improve reading skills.
We Care Program
The We Care program which is a partnership between the Chamber and the Clark County School District to help recruit teachers to Southern Nevada.
STEP
The Student to Teacher Enlistment Project (STEP) is a collaborative effort to increase teacher diversity by encouraging high school students to enter the teaching profession and increase teacher diversity. STEP is a partnership between the Chamber, the Clark County Education Association Foundation, the Clark County School District, the Community College of Nevada and the Nevada State College.
Open for Businesssm Initiative
The Open for Businesssm Initiative was launched to raise awareness and encourage businesses throughout Nevada to prepare them for any type of business interruption. Studies have shown that businesses with a continuity plan have a far greater chance of survival.
Business on Guard
In addition to issues of personal safety, homeland security is a business issue particularly important to a tourist-based economy like Las Vegas. Therefore, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce established the “Business on Guard” initiative to raise awareness, empower employers and employees alike to be the eyes and ears of the community. The intent was to have business owners engaged into making Nevada safer.
History of the Chamber and Recent Accomplishments
The story of Las Vegas is essentially the story of business in Southern Nevada. Our region is the embodiment of the entrepreneurial spirit; a testament to the perseverance, ingenuity and determination of those who arrived in the vast, vacant desert with little more than their dreams.
The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce has been an integral part of the community since almost the beginning. The Chamber was founded in 1911 by businesspeople in need of a central organization to address and represent the interests of businesses in the development of the community. These early pioneers understood the powerful impact that a concerted effort could have in the development of the resources necessary to attract new residents and business alike as a means to foster growth and drive an emerging economy.
Over the years, the Chamber has been at the forefront of the growth of Las Vegas. In the early years when Las Vegas was in its infancy, the Chamber was a key player in laying the foundation for a strong, vibrant community. Through the Chamber, the community developed its commerce and evolved as a desirable place to live, work and play.
In addition, the Chamber has a long history of representing the interests of business in public policy, and is the leading voice of business in fighting to preserve and protect Nevada’s pro business environment.
Recent Accomplishments
Successful Pro-business Government Advocacy
Skyrocketing land values throughout Nevada caused property tax relief to be the dominant policy issue at the 2005 legislative session. Many commercial properties expected a tax increase of 50 to 200 percent. Residential properties faced similar increases. The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce fought on behalf of the business community to pass an 8 percent cap on commercial properties, saving businesses from shouldering an excessive tax burden.To limit excessive government spending, the Chamber supported returning $300 million in state revenue surplus to taxpayers through a rebate. This rebate was successfully voted on and passed providing every Nevadan with a registered vehicle a rebate of between $75-$275. The Chamber fought to ensure that businesses with commercial vehicles received this rebate.
Assembly Bill 69, which was defeated in large part because of the Chamber’s efforts, was a union supported proposal that was a direct attack on Nevada’s Right-to-Work laws. In its original version, this legislation would have violated principles of free expression and choice by potentially forcing non-union employees to pay a union a “service fee” regardless of whether or not they were union members. Nevada’s right-to-work laws date back to the 1950s and protect the right of all Nevadans to choose whether to join or financially support a union.
Growth Task Force Participation
Clark County’s 17-member Growth Task Force was formed to create a comprehensive plan for development in the Las Vegas Valley. Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Chairman Steve Hill represented the Chamber on this advisory committee. The group assessed the overall needs of the valley from a number of perspectives related to growth, including growth management and related issues including:
• Available housing
• Transportation
• Air and water quality
Online Career Center
Finding qualified employees is consistently listed as one of the major concerns for businesses in Las Vegas. As a result, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce partnered with Recruiting Nevada to create the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Career Center. The Career Center is designed to help
attract local residents as well as recruit non-residents.
The Career Center is now a leading job board in Southern Nevada and is integrated with seven other job boards, including the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The Career Center is an effective and affordable way to reach out to inbound residents as well as secure local talent. Employers post job openings and accept resumes online. Job seekers can search current openings, research companies, manage their resumes and track job searches. This new affinity partnership has proven very successful as a new benefit of membership. www.lvchamber.com/careercenter
Open for Businesssm Initiative
The Open for Businesssm Initiative was launched to raise awareness and encourage businesses throughout Nevada to prepare them for any type of business interruption. Studies have shown that businesses with a continuity plan have a far greater chance of survival. The Chamber partnered with the Institute for Business & Home Safety to distribute the Open for Businesssm guide, a step-by-step, easy to follow resource to help a business develop a disaster plan. In addition, the Chamber hosted the Open for Businesssm workshop featuring national and regional experts. The workshop gave advice on how to effectively develop a continuity plan. The Open for Businesssm program is open to any business regardless of Chamber membership. Information and the Open for Businesssm guide can be found at www.lvchamber.com/open.
Business on Guard
In addition to issues of personal safety, homeland security is a business issue particularly important to a tourist-based economy like Las Vegas. Therefore, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce established the “Business on Guard” initiative to raise awareness, empower employees and employees alike to be the eyes and ears of the community. The intent was to have business owners engaged into making Nevada safer.
A poster called Ten Ways Business
Can Help Keep Southern Nevada Safe For Everyone was designed to assist employers and employees in recognizing potential threats and communicating them to law enforcement. Posters can be downloaded at www.lvchamber.com/businessonguard
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