If you’d like to host in 2022, or want more information, email Lisa.

A fun time was had by all at the Chamber's Holiday Party on December 15th! Thanks to our host Home Plate Bay Street Grill and to Mayor Shaunna O'Connell, State Representative Carol Doherty, and all our guests for making time to celebrate with us.

Thank you to everyone that generously provided donations for the Taunton Animal Shelter at the TACC Holiday Cocktail Party. A car-full of food, toys, detergent, and more were collected, along with over $700 in monetary donations!

Consider giving one of these loving pets a new home!

Get in the holiday spirit by donating to the Holiday Cheer Campaign! Again this year, all donations will be matched by our campaign sponsor Morton Hospital. Proceeds will support Cooperative Production, Inc. (CO-OP), New Hope, Inc. and Girls Incorporated of Taunton. Last year, thanks to the generosity of our TACC members and the Morton Hospital match, we were able to present three local organization with $1,000 each. Let’s make it happen again for these deserving organizations!

Click on the button below to donate.

Thank you to these generous donors:

TACC President, Kris Silva, joined other Chamber leaders from around the state to support shopping local this holiday season.

Sponsor a Chamber Chat in February for only $50! These virtual networking events are a great way to meet other members in a fun and informal setting with trivia and prizes! We will work with your schedule to find a day and time that works for you. More dates available for 2022. Email Lisa for more info.

Effective December 21, 2021: In response to the spread of the Delta variant and the emerging Omicron variant, the Department of Public Health now advises that all residents, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask or face covering when indoors (and not in your own home). The DPH particularly urges this recommendation if you have a weakened immune system, or if you are at increased risk for severe disease because of your age or an underlying medical condition, or if someone in your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease, or is unvaccinated. Updated Advisory Regarding Masks and Face Coverings December 21, 2021.

The Biden Administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for companies with 100 or more employees is back in place, though companies will have additional time to comply. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced Saturday that it was pushing back the date by which businesses must comply with the mandate. Read more here.

On January 1, 2022, the MA minimum wage will again increase.

• Minimum wage increase to $14.25 per hour (currently $13.50)

• Tipped wage increase to $6.15 per hour (currently $5.55)

• Retail Premium Pay mandate reduces to 1.1 times the employee’s regular hourly rate for work

The Retail Premium Pay mandate applies to most retail employees performing work on Sundays and certain holidays.  Click here for minimum wage and overtime information. Click here for information on working on Sundays and holidays.

There are still billions of dollars still available to help small businesses hard hit by the pandemic. You may be eligible to receive up to $15,000 in funding from SBA that does not need to be repaid. Apply here.

Intake Application Form Example (with translations) 

Last week, the SBA held a COVID EIDL Application Completion Office Hours webinar to help answer your questions. If you missed it, a recording of it is available here. SBA will hold another webinar TODAY, December 22, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. To join, click here.

The Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism has announced the FY22 Travel and Tourism Recovery (TTR) Grant Program. Funded at $4 million through the Tourism Trust Fund, the TTR Grant Program is the implementation of FY22 funding by the MA Legislature to strengthen the economy of Massachusetts through the development and enhancement of the state’s tourism industry. TTR Grants are dedicated to marketing campaigns and initiatives that increase consumer spending, support local businesses, and advance communities’ COVID-19 economic recovery efforts in Massachusetts. The grant will provide funding for creative marketing solutions that aid in the recovery and align with MOTT’s statewide My Local MA campaign.

Applications for this competitive funding grant will be accepted through MOTT’s online application portal from December 1, 2021 through January 19, 2022 at 5PM. Awards will be announced in March 2022.

For more information on the TTR Grant Program application process, guidelines, frequently asked questions, and to apply click here.

FY22 Grant Guideline and Information: https://www.mass.gov/doc/fy22-ttr-grant-application/download 

Join us for the next session of our Chamber Chat virtual networking series! Meet other members in this fun and informal setting with trivia and prizes! This session is Tuesday, January 11th at noon and is sponsored by one our new members KS Dance Studio. Register below.

You could sponsor a future session for just $50! Email kris@tauntonareachamber.org for sponsorship details.

Register below.

Town Administrator Michael Mullen, together with a number of Dighton town officials, is pleased to announce that the town has been awarded a Municipal Americans with Disability Act Grant from the Massachusetts Office of Disability to fund various accessibility improvements in the town. Read more here.

Bristol is offering a six hour Introduction to Microsoft Excel for Beginners. This training will help you develop a solid understanding of the Excel interface, review how to set up a basic spreadsheet, as well as keyboard shortcuts guaranteed to save you time and energy. Register here.

SEED Corporation has selected Eve Elliott, Vice President of the Business Banking Group at Rockland Trust, as the 2021 Banker of the Year. This award is presented annually to the lender who partners on the largest number of loan projects with SEED and exemplifies the spirit of small business services. Read the press release.

Let SCORE business advisors help you navigate the SBA Debt Relief Programs or the start-up and growth of your small business. All services are FREE and CONFIDENTIAL. If you are an existing SCORE client, please send an email to your SCORE counselor to schedule a phone call or Zoom conference. If you are new to SCORE, please complete the Request a Mentor form and someone from SCORE will contact you via email to schedule an appointment with an advisor. Sign up for SCORE webinars here. View upcoming webinars here.

Join veteran digital marketer Dale Shadbegian in this two-part series on tips to getting found in Google Search and analyzing your website traffic. We will focus on Google Keyword Planner, Google Analytics, and the Google Search Console. These free tools help website owners understand how their website is being found, and what visitors are doing once they have landed.

Part 1 will be take place on Tuesday, January 4th from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. and will focus mostly on Getting found in search results.

Part 2 will take place Thursday, January 6th from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. and will focus on more on the Analytics tools used to determine effectiveness of the website.

Key concepts discussed:

- How does organic google search and google maps work?

- What are strategies to find what people are searching for and how to get found?

- How can we track progress?

- Identify and analyze some basic KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) of how your website is delivering results for your organization.

Some of the KPIs that will be measured are:

-Total page visits

-Most popular pages

-Amount of time spent on individual pages

-Demographics such as location, gender, age and affinity

-What keywords you are being found for, determine if people are clicking to your site, or clicking to a competitor's site instead

Register here for Part 1. Register here for Part 2.

This year, during an unprecedented national health crisis, small businesses needed help more than ever before. In order to support these business owners when they needed it most, the SCORE Foundation provided funding for SCORE’s Small Business Resilience program. This platform allowed SCORE to pivot their mentoring and educational services onto virtual platforms, where clients could easily access the pandemic-related information, guidance and resources they needed to survive and thrive. Learn more here.

Veterans make up an important part of the small business community. They make up 8% of the population, but own 9.2% of all American businesses. Check out these resources specifically for veteran entrepreneurs. SCORE is here to help!

Are you looking for ways to help your small business community? Would you like to grow your network or develop professionally? As a SCORE volunteer, you get it all!

Join the SCORE network of 10,000 volunteers. SCORE relies on volunteers to help small business around the country thrive.

Interested? Visit the volunteer web page to find about the many benefits of volunteering and the right opportunity for you!

·    Blogging Tips

·    New Rules of Marketing in 2020

·    Digital Marketing Rules

·    Cash Management

tauntonareachamber.org