The Belleville Chamber of Commerce completely overhauled its membership procedures in 2019/2020, shifting to an annual membership renewal, instead of a rolling payment based on when a new member joins.
That was one of the highlights outlined during the BCC’s annual general meeting, which was held virtually on Wednesday afternoon.
Second VP Anthony Callaghan says that will make financial statements more accurate and lead to less guess work when it comes to setting the chamber’s annual budget.
The BCC’s membership at the end of the fiscal year was 442, with 21 new members approved at Wednesday’s meeting and Callaghan says they’re always looking to add new members.
The chamber saw a dip in event revenues over the 2019/2020 fiscal year, compared to 2018/2019.
Past President Jon Tuer delivered the BCC’s financial statements and says while their revenue from event contracts with the city was up about $20,000, money brought in from the events themselves was down.
The contract with the city last fiscal year is worth $215,000 and pays for the chamber to run various events including the Waterfront Festival, Santa Claus Parade, ArtFest and more.
The AGM also featured some discussion about the impacts of COVID-19 on chamber members and the greater business community in the city.
BCC President Greg Sudds says the chamber continues to provide information to its members through webinars and the regular Chamber Chat newsletter, but it’s important to support all local businesses right now.
Chamber CEO Jill Raycroft echoed Sudd’s sentiment and added that the chamber continues to be at the table for discussions with the provincial and national chamber bodies, to continue to support local businesses through the pandemic.
Raycroft also noted that the BCC welcomed some new staff members and held 10 successful chamber breakfast events last year, which were attended by close to 700 people.
