U.S. adults recognize the wide-sweeping impact of their local chamber, ACCE/Harris Poll survey finds

Results from a nationwide public opinion poll indicate chambers of commerce are vital to the prosperity of their communities. The Harris Poll survey, conducted on behalf of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), finds 81% of U.S. adults agree that their local chamber of commerce is a trusted resource and partner for businesses. Around nine in 10 feel that their local chamber has an impact on growing the local economy (90%) and addressing challenges within their community (88%).

“The poll’s findings assert the crucial role chambers of commerce play for businesses, economies and communities,” said Sheree Anne Kelly, ACCE president & CEO. “Chambers are trusted and innovative organizations. As a result, we are seeing tremendous momentum to bring even more bold leadership and lasting impact on the communities we serve.” 

Key findings of the poll include: 

• Chambers are Trusted: 81% of U.S. adults agree that their local chamber is a trusted resource and partner for businesses. 90% feel that their local chamber has an impact on growing the local economy. 
• Chamber Membership Strengthens a Business’s Reputation: 64% of adults who are familiar with their local chamber are more likely to purchase goods and services from a business that they know is a member of their local chamber. 63% of these adults are more likely to recommend that business to someone else.
• Chambers Serve Businesses and Communities: 76% of U.S. adults agree that local chambers are stewards of a strong local economy. 74% believe local chambers create jobs and promote local community development. 72% believe local chambers play a key role in addressing community challenges.  
• Business Owners See the Value: 65% of business owners see their local chamber as an advocate for initiatives and policies that are in the best interest of their business. 62% believe the chamber supports the growth and prosperity of their business. 
• People Want to Learn More About Their Local Chamber: 70% of U.S. adults wished they knew more about the work their local chamber does in the community. Specifically, they are most commonly interested in learning more about the type of impact local chambers have in their community (49%), more general information about chambers of commerce (43%), and which local businesses are members (42%).

Locally, the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce has been elevating the community through business since 1863. "The findings of this survey highlight what we prove each and every day -- that our chamber plays a leading role in Saginaw County's economic vitality. Our efforts to communicate, connect and influence not only support our Chamber members and their employees, but the community as a whole," said Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Eugene Seals, Jr. "We are grateful businesses and organizations in our region find value in the work we do on their behalf."

METHODOLOGY
This survey was conducted online within the United States between September 5-9, 2024 among 2,075 adults (aged 18 and over) including 141 respondents who are business owners (i.e., employed with a title of CEO, partner or owner) by The Harris Poll on behalf of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) via its Harris On Demand omnibus product. 

Data were weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income, [employment], and political party affiliation, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys.   The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval.  For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.  This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.  

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.

Additional insights can be found at acce.org/poll. Questions about the study may be directed to Jen Pruden, communications manager, resources and benchmarking, at ACCE.

ABOUT SAGINAW COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Since 1863, the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce has been a leading advocate and champion for business by facilitating important connections, advocating business friendly legislation, and supporting leadership and community issues that make Saginaw County a great place to live, work, learn and play. The Chamber and its members share a single purpose to elevate the community through business. www.SaginawChamber.org

ABOUT ACCE
ACCE is the professional society supporting the individuals who lead local, regional, statewide and international chambers of commerce and related business and economic development organizations. Its membership includes more than 1,600 business/civic organizations worldwide, representing more than 9,000 professionals. The association provides members with information resources, thought leadership, education programs, original research, benchmarking and access to a network of peers.

The Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce understands the critical nature of what a strike between the United Autoworkers (UAW) and General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford would affect. In our world, everything! This is why the Chamber has signed onto a coalition, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, urging the President to take steps to help prevent an auto industry strike.

By the numbers:
 
What does
Approximately 20,000 out of town visitors,
$9,117,741 in visitor expenditure,
Support for 90 local jobs,
$21,333,508 of overall economic activity in the region,
$4,215,626 of locally supported wages and salaries,
$8,595,192 total boost to the GDP, and
$3,710,320 in taxes across the country
mean?

Is all quiet on the Saginaw Chamber front?

​While you’re busy running your organizations, we are actively working on and supporting projects that will dramatically improve the Saginaw County Community.

Unlike the major news outlets, you may not get “breaking news” all the time from us.  But know that we are working behind the scenes on some pretty important things for our community!
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We have new faces on the local, state and federal levels of government and have already met with many of them.  We build relationships and actively educate our elected officials on community priorities.  

Midterm elections are here! And then they’re over.  Many of us welcome the end of the never-ceasing negative ads, and it seems that the message is always that “this is the most important election ever!”
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The statement might be overused, but Elections ARE important.  They are the chance for you to choose how you want to see government run; what policies are important to you and your family and who you think will best represent those values.

The Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce is committed to prioritizing legislative advocacy to influence and shape public policy helping to create a healthy, business-friendly community, region, and state. Part of that advocacy includes making endorsements for business-friendly candidates and ballot proposals. It is something the Chamber takes very seriously, so a careful vetting process helps ensure due diligence on the part of the Chamber Board of Directors.
 
The Process
As a policy, the Chamber does not endorse candidates in primaries believing that primaries are a function of the parties to select their own candidates. The only exception to this policy is if the primary will determine the winner of the position. In that case, the Chamber will consider candidates who request endorsement and have them follow the standard vetting process used for general election candidates.

On May 26, 2022, The Board of Directors of the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce voted to support the Term Limits for State Legislators and Financial Disclosure Ballot Proposal.
 
This will shorten the total length of time that a State Legislator can serve; it will now be 12 years total, down from the current 14 year total; however, it will allow all 12 years to be served in one chamber of the legislature or the other.  We believe that this will lend more stability to both chambers in terms of experience.
 
We are also supportive of the financial disclosure aspect of the proposal.  Michigan has been the state with the least amount of transparency in financial disclosure and, if passed, will give the public a better level of open reporting on where money comes from.

The men and women of Michigan are hardworking Americans who are trying to make smart financial decisions for their families, their businesses and their futures. They are careful with their money, and expect the government to be as well. That is why a new proposal in Congress to expand the Internal Revenue Service and give them even more control over your tax return is very troubling.

We all know that the IRS’s job is to collect taxes that are owed each year. When tax time comes around, many Michigan residents pour over the numbers or enlist the help of a local CPA or trained tax professional to make sure that they get things right.
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But now, some members of Congress are pushing a proposal that would give the IRS unprecedented authority to not only collect your taxes, but generate your tax return as well.

If you missed the news, two major expansions for Michigan companies announced their site locations.  Michigan lost.

The first expansion involved Michigan losing out on Ford’s $11.4 billion Electric Vehicle investment as well as the creation of 11,000 jobs.  It went to two states: Tennessee and Kentucky. 

If the sting of that loss wasn’t enough to open our eyes to the need for a comprehensive economic development strategy, we learned that another deal for expansion by Leprino Foods of Remus; the largest manufacturer of mozzarella cheese is going to Lubbock, Texas and it meant losing out on $870 million in investment and 600 jobs. The company had ample room to put the expansion in Michigan, but the state’s economic development tools didn’t even come close to competing.