1. Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce
2014 Accomplishments
In addition to the below goals accomplished, in 2014 the chamber realized a planned profit for the first time since
2011; obtained its own ‘Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce’ phone numbers and phone equipment; added two
significant member benefits, increased member visibility, advocated for two successful voter issues, collaborated
with multiple diverse organizations and added morning and mid-day networking opportunities.
Financially, the Chamber performed well, increasing efficiency and adding membership value.
2014 2013 2012 2011
Dues Revenue 211,391.76 206,388.84 203,779.51 201,876.68
Non-Dues Revenue 124,267.98 92,374.80 101,853.58 118,117.53
Expenses 317,614.75 267,173.56* 312,584.59 278,812.25
Net Income 18,044.99 31,590.08* -6,951.50 41,181.97
*Approximately $33k EVP salary unpaid in 2013
In 2014, the Chamber’s plan of work had eight primary goals:
1. Align governance documents with operational structure
2. Meet accreditation standards for best practices in Chamber management and gain accreditation by US
Chamber
3. Increase non-dues revenue by 20%
4. Produce an annual regional publication for member visibility
5. Conduct an average of two business education events every month
6. Increase membership by 35%
7. Provide an active regional legislative program
8. Define and implement a tiered membership price structure
This was an extremely lofty list of goals for any organization, much less one with a new executive with less than 30
days on the job. I am happy to report that the leadership team of the Chamber has achieved all of those goals
with the exception of one
The Chamber’s Board modified the governance documents, aligned the organizational structure with those
documents, empowered the chamber’s board to have actual authority over the organization, implemented best
practices for chamber management in nine critical areas, and terminated or otherwise rectified all non-GAAPs.
These corrections resulted in the Cornerstone Chamber being awarded 4-Star Accreditation status by the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce.
Net non-dues income exceeded the goal and came in at over 140% of 2013 non-dues revenue even while the
2014 annual meeting continued to be a net expense. The annual golf outing and steak fry produced nearly three
times the previous year’s outing, netting nearly $21,000 in contrast to the $7,300 net income produced the
previous year. The non-dues revenue income increases were largely due to better resource management,
intentional event planning and additional revenue streams from new member benefits like the annual
publication--which brought in over $6,000 by itself. These additional non-dues revenue streams will replace the
disappearing revenue share plan the chamber has enjoyed with Blue Cross Blue Shield.

2. A publication that listed every chamber member with contact information (many members in multiple locations),
at no charge to the members, was on the streets and online in state-of-the-art digital format by May, before the
Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid and the summer season. This publication not only provides
high visibility for every member--second only to our website—but these publications are a recognized revenue-
sharing product utilized by most chambers.
The Chamber facilitated 18 business education seminars, 10 CEO Councils, conducted 3 Chamber 101s, 24
Chamber presentations, and hosted 1 Municipal leadership event plus a best-selling author, a total of 57
educational forums. The Chamber also organized one community clean-up effort along M139 prior to the Senior
PGA Championship and a collaborative ‘shop local for the holidays’ initiative involving St. Joseph Today, The
Orchards Mall and the Village of Stevensville and had a joint photo contest with the Cornerstone Alliance to
replenish our photo stocks for the website.
The Chamber took official positions on two issues, hosted press conferences, facilitated a ‘get out the vote’
initiative and was a key player in the Personal Property Tax ‘Prop 1’ effort. Both efforts were successful at the
ballot box.
The only goal not realized was the very optimistic 35% increase in membership goal; the Chamber’s membership
increased by 6%, a healthy growth but far below the goal. The member numbers were reduced by the board’s
decision to not give free or reciprocal memberships to any organizations other than local chambers of commerce,
but the overall paid memberships are up for 2014 and into first quarter 2015 as is dues revenue.
In addition, the chamber obtained its own primary phone number and three additional lines (the chamber had no
phone numbers of its own previously) while reducing the phone expense by 40%, created two new social media
venues, increased networking opportunities by 300% and improved member engagement by 135%. For the first
time on record, the 2015 annual meeting did not lose money and netted enough revenue to cover the expenses of
the meeting, and a legitimate, auditable vote according to the governing documents was held.
A tiered rate schedule was developed and published with a soft roll-out to eventually replace the arbitrary rates
charged previously that had no formula and were often based on unsupportable negotiations or favoritism in the
absence of any publicized rate schedule. This will also eliminate the roughly 25% of the membership that paid no
fee at all or significantly reduced fees far below the minimum membership rate of $225. This also allowed the
organization to come into alignment with their 61 year old Articles of Incorporation that had been largely ignored
with respect to membership rights, status and eligibility.
2015 offers the opportunity to continue the growth, not only in member numbers, but also in real benefits for our
members. We continue to collaborate with member organizations—so far in 2015, the chamber has partnered
with the Cornerstone Alliance, Kinexus and SHRM for events for the members, topped over 700 in members (44
new members joined in the first quarter of 2015 alone) and dues revenue received in the first quarter of 2015 has
already surpassed the entire year of 2014.