Y-S Chamber looks to the future following successful year

The economic downturn saw the Yuba-sutter Chamber of Commerce’s membership decrease noticeably. After years of turnover with executive team members and some financial uncertainty, the head of the organization says the situation is back on course and improving.

Chamber CEO Marni Sanders said Fiscal Year 2018/19 was marked by accomplishments for the organization responsible for advocating on behalf of local businesses.

“We are doing really well and are on solid ground,” Sanders said. “In fact, last year we saw a 21 percent increase in our revenues, which is really spectacular. The progress we’ve made over the past two years has allowed us to hire a full-time staff person and bring back our Leadership YubaSutter program, which has been a big source of our increase in revenue. But in general, our business partners have really stepped up in a big way to support the chamber and see the value we bring to the business community.”

In the last fiscal year, the chamber hosted three events that raised approximately $75,000 in sponsorships. They welcomed 68 new members to the organization and implemented the Champion Circle Partnership Program – at $12,000 per membership, the chamber already has six members part of that program.

The organization is also building a workshop and training program known as Chamber University meant to inform and educate the business community on ways to grow and strengthen their businesses. They also revamped the Leadership program after a 10-year hiatus – the program had 18 participants in this year’s class.

In addition to the more than 500 members throughout the community currently working with the chamber, Sanders credited a strong Board of Directors for helping the organization rebound from its past struggles.

“We have a really strong board that is helping guide us into the future,” she said. “I also think we’ve become more focused on what is important to our businesses. We’ve asked them what they feel is important and we continue to work to drive that. We are trying to build our programs to be much more than network-focused, though that’s a really important aspect of our chamber. About 85 percent of our members are small busi

nesses, so there’s a great benefit to those networking opportunities.”

Another recent development is the chamber is working with the United Chamber Advocacy Network to help advocate on behalf of local businesses

as new law changes are considered in the state Legislature. Sanders said as part of the partnership, the chamber now has a lobbyist working in Sacramento on behalf of their members.

Sanders, who is the third CEO the chamber has had in the past six years, said she is hopeful to see the chamber’s con

tinued success well into the future.

“It’s really exciting. I feel like we have really built a lot of trust with our business community and garnered a whole lot more support than we’ve had in a long time,” she said. “I’m very optimistic on where the chamber is going. We will continue to grow, and as long as we

can show our value and relevancy, we are on the right track.”