FAQ for In This Together Campaign

Why haven’t I heard about this before? You’re almost done and this is the first I’ve heard of it . . .

Our goal was to raise half of the $600,000 goal during the quiet phase of the campaign – through commitments from the people who have been most supportive of and supported by ACCE. People who have seen the benefits of expanding the economic development portfolio. Those who have been active on the board. Folks who had the chance for nearly free trips to China or Dubai or India. People who were especially vocal during the planning process about what they want in the way of public policy activity, networks and image building. Then, we went public by mail and web messages. From the beginning, our plan has been to reach out to the broader membership when we were sure we could promise that the campaign would succeed and our plan goals could be met.

Why $600,000? Where did that come from?

A lot of things went into that target number – First, of course, it can cover the big things that are called for in the strategic plan so we don’t have to wait three years to get them. That number is also about 50% of our annual dues. It is about 5% of the anticipated budget for the 3 years the plan and campaign will be fulfilled. It seemed ambitious enough to get the work done, but not out-of-line with ACCE’s other funding – so it won’t be the tail wagging the dog in a way that will be impossible to sustain after the campaign ends.

Is this campaign just trying to cover financial problems at ACCE?

Last year, the Board authorized the staff to spend up to $300,000 of reserves to ensure program stability during the financial slowdown. That was a scary time. Using cost cutting (staffing cuts, process changes) and successful non-dues fundraising, ACCE not only avoided dipping into reserves, but was six figures in the black a the end of the fiscal year. Cash from dues is coming in slowly from members, but renewal rates are strong and our other lines of business (like retirement plan) are stable or growing. Is there concern about money? If the staff of any non-profit says they aren’t worried about money, they’re foolish. Resources are adequate for maintaining what we’ve got, but not sufficient to allow us to move with any kind of haste to implement the bigger ideas in the new strategic plan.

Isn’t this the kind of time ACCE should be cutting dues, not asking for more?

This is not a dues increase. The board hasn’t approved a dues increase in years. This is a request of our more active members to invest a bit extra to increase the capacity of ACCE to serve the needs and desires we expressed during the planning process. Chambers are entering a new era -- ACCE must too. Individuals are learning and getting information in new ways – ACCE must help us with that. It will take extra resources.

Why does ACCE always seems to be in campaign mode?

The last broad appeal was in 2003 right after Mick came on board. Since then, the organization ran a limited funding drive to launch its Economic Development portfolio. That was three years ago. ACCE may ask for our annual investment, but exceptional funding campaigns are actually rare.

Have they looked at efficiency instead charging us more to do more things?

ACCE doubled its budget between 2001 and 2008, while only increasing staff by 10%. Mick has reorganized and re-prioritized 4 times since he took over in 2001 – including a major restructuring to reduce costs and focus on most valued programs a year ago. With 23 people, the organization can hardly get any leaner and most areas of emphasis are considered vital – helping us with making money, making an impact and managing effectively. Still, at the board’s request, the senior team is undergoing another deep dive to ensure that everything that should be on the “stop doing list” is captured and addressed.

Who’s In?

A lot of people have made commitments at significant levels. In all, more than 100 members are in, with a score of them at the highest two levels. Most of the large contributions are from larger chambers, but midsize organizations like Bellevue, Springfield, Lubbock and Rogers have also committed at the highest levels. We’re about 90% of the way right now to the full $600,000 goal.

What if I support the idea but don’t have any money now?

Not a problem. We’ll take a pledge to be fulfilled anytime over the next 30 months – that is nearly 3 years, we are hoping everyone can conclude payments by August of 2013. ACCE has enough cash right now to move forward on plan implementation if we have pledges. You can pay it all up front, or all in later years. ACCE doesn’t care, but the ideal schedule is to have members pay one-third of their pledge in each of the next three years.. Otherwise, staff is glad to work out a fulfillment schedule any member should be able to live with.

What the heck is ACCE spending money on?

There are items in the strategic plan priority list that simply require investment AND three are some areas of ACCE’s current menu that require immediate resources to crank them up to the level we are demanding. More money for the economic and community development work, more access to international opportunities, more rain-making support for all of our organizations, more policy management capacity. The 3 biggest investments in new stuff are the creation of a highly sophisticated real-time accessible information office; the creation of several on-line education courses to dramatically increase access to low-cost training for our people; and the costs related to bolstering our image as chambers and business representation entities.

MORE DETAIL BELOW AND BUSINESS MODELS FOR EACH ITEM AVAILABLE

What will ACCE do with the money? In simple bullet terms, the Plan calls for us to:

  • Build a modern Information Office, with trained people and state-of the art knowledge access tools. Make it deep, organized, accessible and responsive to member needs. Information – You’re dying for it and dying for lack of it. So are we. In trying to meet the customized, personalized, one-off requests for specific information, staff is stretched dangerously (quality control & stress) thin. There are critical new topic areas that we need to grow – economic development, demographics, public policies,
  • Craft the ACCE curriculum in a few key – as yet under-developed – areas of the Body of Knowledge. We need to build better platforms and partnerships to ensure the highest quality up-to-date coursework. Clearly, subject areas like community/economic development, operational excellence and financial resource development need to expand, but so does basic training for new entries to the profession at every level.
  • Modernize networks. If managed networks don’t succeed in bringing subgroups of members together in meaningful exchanges of ideas we drop them – five realigned or terminated in recent years. Still we have an array of highly valued peer groups in operation. These survive with stretched staff support, using antiquated systems rather than contemporary “community of interest” strategies.
  • Increase ACCE’s role as a thought leader on the issues and policies facing chambers and the business community across the nation. Provide more than a Policy Clearinghouse, which we already have. Move to become a clarifying force in defining the keys and obstacles to success for those who are charged with enhancing their economies.
  • Help you know each other better through sophisticated talent profiling of the profession. ACCE’s operations and salary research are respected and helpful. Just-in-time polling helps us and you stay more current on trends. Still, we don’t know much about the people who work in the business and what makes individuals and organizations succeedor fail.
  • Clearly, the members expect us to be strong, wired and responsive enough to find and maximize opportunities for THEM of all kinds. We don’t know what they will be, but we know they will come if we are positioned and strong. The next learning avenue like the Ford Fellowship . . . the next global exposure like China or Dubai. . . the next leadership guru . . . the next marketing partnership . . . the next compliance headache . . . the next government grant . . . the next consultant with a solution to your problem. Exceptional opportunities lead to revenue and/or leadership advancements for ACCE and its members, but operating as lean as we are now, the opportunities are slipping through our fingers.
  • After a decade of bad headlines, missteps and scandals, the reputation of corporate America is not strong. The image of chambers is inconsistent and the nature of the profession is misunderstood. This affects your ability to attract significant investment, membership and talent. Our members and your members need help to sustain and enhance our common and individual images. Enhancing the chamber image includes guidance and help in telling your story and selling your value.

That’s what we want to do with the money. We can make a dent in all of those areas without an influx of financial resources . . . but only a dent. If we follow through with rapid deliberation on the activities and goals of the strategic plan, we can make progress that will ensure that you make progress.