VACCE December 2023
E-Newsletter
The mission of VACCE is to equip Chamber of Commerce professionals with leadership skills and tools to build innovative Chambers.
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VACCE 2024 Conference Dates & Locations |
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Be sure to save the dates for our 2024 conferences:
2024 VACCE Spring Conference
Thursday & Friday, March 21 & 22, 2024
Hotel 24 South
Staunton, VA
2024 VACCE Executive Leadership Conference
Thursday & Friday, August 22 & 23, 2024
The Bristol Hotel
Bristol, VA
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Wednesday, December 6 - 10:00am
Grant Writing 101
Anissa Starnes, YGM Total Resource Campaigns
In this webinar, Anissa will provide you with the basic knowledge and understanding of how to find potential grants to apply for, how to reach out to build relationships with Grantmakers, and ultimately craft a grant application that will be successful in securing funding. We will walk through the basic best practices of these three steps in the grant life cycle: research, relationships, and writing. We hope this will help you feel more confident as you seek grant revenue for your chamber. During this webinar you will learn:
- The key elements of the grant life cycle;
- Why some grants do not receive funding;
- How to determine which Grantmakers are a strong fit for your organization;
- How to best tell “your story” on why you need the funding; and
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How to use your research and relationship efforts to customize your grant applications.
CLICK HERE to register for the hour-long session. The meeting will be recorded and shared with the full membership after the session if you aren't able to join us that day.
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Save the Date - 2024 Chamber Day & Old Dominion Assembly Legislative Reception
Wednesday, January 17 - Omni Richmond Hotel
Be on the lookout for more information soon!
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VACCE Associate Member Updates |
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1099 Self-Employed Tax Credit
Was your business affected by COVID-19? You may be eligible for a 1099 Self-Employed Tax Credit (SETC). To find out more, please click here.
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FREE WEBINAR
By all indications, the 2024 election will once again be a highly emotional, highly divisive event. As the voice for business in your community, your Chamber needs to encourage the business community to participate in elections, but you likely want to stay above the political fray. Lumin Strategies will be hosting a free webinar, “Navigating the 2024 election: 5 ways to cut through the divisiveness to improve your community.” According to a recent Edelman survey, the public trusts business more than non-profits, government or the media. We’ll discuss ways that your Chamber of Commerce can capitalize on that trust to educate your members and the public on important issues and offices as well as the role that you can play in building trust in our elections.
Date: December 13, 2023
Time: 10:00am EST
Via Zoom
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Benefits Your Members Can Offer
Finding, hiring, and retaining the best talent can be a burden to take on. When your members stay ahead of the curve by offering a competitive benefits package, they will be able to stand out in the community and to potential employees. So, what benefits are the most attractive to employees?
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PTO – Employees who have an adequate amount of time to rest, reset, relax, and even heal without the stress of taking the time off, are more likely to be happy when they are at work. Offering paid time off (sick time, vacation time, parental leave, etc.) will encourage and enable employees to be well and thrive.
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Healthcare – prioritizing healthcare will go hand in hand with paid time off. Being able to offer an affordable health insurance plan will not only help keep everyone healthy but also happier and less stressed.
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Retirement Package – When employees feel valued in their work, they will be more likely to put in their best effort on the job. Investing in the team’s future can help to encourage a strong work ethic.
While ChambersofVAHealthcare may not be able to tackle all these benefits, we certainly can help your members find an affordable healthcare plan, and ancillary coverage to meet their team’s needs.
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I wish you and your families and chamber teams a very Merry Christmas! I wanted to take a moment to just say thank you to those who have supported Starfish Partnerships in 2023. I really appreciate you. I am excited about the partnership with your association for 2024 – the “All Things Chamber” Program. This is a digital course which includes modules on Governance, Operations, Membership, Events and Programs, Community and then a final Extras module. This program is full of knowledge I wish I had when I began my chamber career almost 29 years ago and some of what will be included, took me years to figure out! I have packed as much content into each 1-hour module as possible. At only $195 per chamber, with $100 of each sale supporting your state association, this is truly a project of love for the chamber profession. This program is my way of giving back and saying thank you for what has been and continues to be a great chamber career for me. If you would like to schedule a time to chat to see if our programs and facilitation are a fit for your chamber, I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me easiest by email at teri@starfishpartnerships.com. Check out our website at http://www.starfishpartnerships.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Linked in – all @StarfishPartnerships. We will be posting our 2024 programs soon so stay tuned and be sure you are receiving our monthly e-newsletter – check your spam folder if you haven’t seen it! I share helpful content for you and your chamber as well as let you know about upcoming programs.
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Culpeper Chamber
The Chamber had a very successful 109th Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet on November 2. This event is the Chamber's largest and most prestigious, and it serves to present the year in review and set goals for the following year. The community's accomplishments at the banquet were celebrated, and guests enjoyed a wonderful ambiance, delicious food, and engaging entertainment. Additionally, the Chamber recognized the year's key achievements, presented awards to Culpeper businesses and individuals, and hosted a silent auction.
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Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber
The Chamber will be hosting a trip to Ireland in March 2024. For more information, please click here.
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Hampton Roads Chamber
We are finishing out the year strong with a celebration of leadership at BRAVO with special guest speaker, Governor Glenn Youngkin. Then it will be time to celebrate a great year for the chamber at our Annual Meeting on December 11 featuring Senator Mark Warner as keynote speaker. We are also looking forward to debuting our 2024 Hampton Roads Chamber Guide, our Legislative Priorities as well as our 2024-2025 Experience the 757 Magazine!
Looking ahead, it is off to Tampa Bay, Florida for our 2024 Leadership Exchange-Exploring Economies. We are looking forward to learning how Tampa Bay has rebranded themselves-now attracting more than 100 new people to this beautiful coastal town, every single day.
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Highland County Chamber
Highland County’s Wintertide will take place on December 2, 2023 with a visit from Santa, an arts & crafts vendor area, Christmas parade, and local shopping and dining specials! Check out all the offerings here to kick off the holiday season!
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Lexington-Rockbridge Chamber
The Chamber will host our annual Keep The Cheer Here toy drive in conjunction with our final Business After Hours get together of 2023. Please join us for some holiday cheer at CornerStone Bank, 719 N. Lee Highway in Lexington on Thursday, December 14 at 5:00 p.m. and bring a new unwrapped toy for a child in need.
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Luray-Page County Chamber
The Chamber wants you to Shop Small for the Holidays! Every time you shop or eat local this Holiday season, members can send receipts to the Chamber to be entered in for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree. Click here to learn more.
The Chamber will host their 8th Annual Chamber Holiday Festival on December 1 from 4-9pm. Click here for more information.
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Northern Virginia Black Chamber
The Chamber's Annual Meeting & Holiday Gala will be held Friday, December 8 at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center. The black tie event will feature a performance by Walker Redds Project.
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Top of Virginia Regional Chamber
The Chamber's PolicyMakers Series is scheduled for Tuesday, December 19 at the Winchester Country Club. Panelists include: Timmy French (Member-Elect, Virginia State Senate – District One), Bill Wiley (Delegate, Virginia House of Delegates – 32nd House District), and Delores Oates (Member-Elect, Virginia House of Delegates – 31st House District). The event includes networking and lunch. You can register here.
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Virginia Asian Chamber
The Chamber's HQ Office hosts "The 13th Annual Leadership Awards Gala." The theme is: “East Meets West” on Wednesday, December 6, at the Five Star Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. The stately signature AAPI leadership and Service Excellence and Student Leaderships Awards Gala. Speakers include Virginia’s head of state, AAPI leadership. Event features East Meets West artistic expression.
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Other Updates of Interest |
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ACCE
2024 Social Media Trends to Drive Organic Growth
In the ever-evolving world of social media, staying ahead of the curve is crucial for marketing professionals, especially those working with chambers of commerce, associations and economic development organizations. As we step into 2024, the social media landscape is poised for significant changes. For marketing professionals seeking organic growth, adapting to these trends will be essential. Click here to read the full article.
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IOM Blog
Are Your Grassroots Influence Tactics Working or Wilting?
Results from the 2023 Grassroots Influence Pulse (GRIP)
We created the GRIP research in 2013 to determine trends in grassroots influence tactics, and most important, what’s working (and not) regarding those tactics. This research is important because it provides the pulse of grassroots advocacy tactics —– what worked in 2016 may not be effective today. It’s also important because we know that you are evaluated in part on your advocacy results. It helps you educate your board, advocacy committee, or government relations committee on the most effective grassroots advocacy tactics, which allows you to then measure what matters. Click here to read the blog.
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