A merger of nonprofit organizations can bring benefits or headaches, but chambers of commerce in the Valley region have embraced the strategy.
Both the West Ventura County Business Alliance and the Antelope Valley Chambers of Commerce are the result of mergers.
The Antelope Valley Chambers. No. 12 on the Business Journal’s list, is the combination of the former Lancaster and Palmdale chambers that occurred last year in the thick of the pandemic. Both offices are still utilized by the consolidated chamber with the majority of operations carried out in the Lancaster office.
Antelope Valley Chambers of Commerce Chief Executive Mark Hemstreet said that a window of opportunity presented itself last year as the Lancaster and Palmdale chambers were working well together.
To Hemstreet, who was the Lancaster chamber’s chief executive, Lancaster and Palmdale are more or less one area. The close range of the two cities contributed to what Hemstreet called a “duplication of efforts” that saw staff conducting events such as seminars and training courses to the two neighboring cities, one right after the other.
“It’s better to just have one central organization supporting small business up here. The other thing is that a lot of the members were members of both chambers,” Hemstreet said. “We’re saving them one membership fee by combining the two chambers.”
The Camarillo and Oxnard chambers merged as a result of the Camarillo chamber experiencing a leadership vacancy after its previous chief executive retired, according to West Ventura County Business Alliance Chief Executive Nancy Lindholm. The question then became whether Camarillo would fill the vacancy or join forces with Oxnard, a move that was previously eyed by both chambers in 2020.
The merger occurred and with it, the transfer of the Camarillo Chamber’s assets to Oxnard. The Business Alliance has around 730 members and ranks No. 5 on the list.
“I think the days of city-based chambers of commerce are limited. Business certainly doesn’t know city boundaries at all. In fact, I don’t think it knows county or state boundaries either,” Lindholm said. “Obviously, with (how) easy it is to conduct business in new markets and everything today, I think it’s just a sign of a different trend in the industry.”
Legislative clout has been enhanced by the merger. With more businesses and people under one banner, the AV Chambers of Commerce and the WVC Business Alliance have a stronger voice with local politics.
“We have a really good working relationship with our congressman, our senator and assemblyman for the state, (our district) supervisor and then the city. When we write a letter, it’s nice to come out and say we represent over 650 businesses and organizations in the Antelope Valley versus 300,” Hemstreet said.
‘One big community’
The mechanics of combining two chambers went relatively smoothly in both cases, according to Lindholm and Hemstreet.
Lindholm said that everyone between the Oxnard and Camarillo chambers was kept employed during the merger.
Similar to Camarillo’s chamber, Palmdale’s chamber had a chief executive vacancy that opened the way for its transition into the AV Chambers. Palmdale was made a DBA of Antelope Valley Chambers and now the umbrella title is used as both chambers are still operating.
Again, no staffers lost their job as a result of the merger, according to Hemstreet. The merger brought the number of people on the board of directors to 36, as each organization brought around 18. Currently, the AV Chambers board has about 24 members.
“Many times, if chambers are considering (merging), it is accelerated by the vacancy of someone in a leadership position,” Lindholm said.
Members stand to benefit from the chambers’ decisions to merge.
In addition to saving the cost of being a member of two neighboring chambers, Hemstreet said members benefit from AV Chambers’ ability to spend funds on bigger speakers and training seminars that a smaller chamber would not have the depth to do. AV Chambers is a Grow with Google partner, which gives members access to business training.
When it comes to the WVC Business
Alliance, the membership dues structure has not changed.
“I think members are very optimistic to be involved with a larger organization that for some of them, increases their exposure to other businesses,” Lindholm said. “We have to make sure that we’re delivering programming that that suits their needs.”
A larger network for members to connect with is a draw also shared by members of the AV Chambers, according to Hemstreet.
“People just really like the idea that we’re one big community, let’s act like it,” he said. “Let’s not put a division between the two cities, let’s work together and really build our community.”