Considering economic conditions, organization fares well

It's been a challenging year for everyone. Some industries have been beaten pretty severely by the nosedive in our economy. Very few have conducted business as usual – that certainly includes the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce. It seems as though membership in the Chamber was right behind the country club when businesses were cutting expenses.

After experiencing a fifty-five percent growth rate from 2004 through 2008, we have lost about fourteen percent of our members this year. Even though we changed gears from the growth-mode to a reduction in our customer base, the financial condition of the organization is strong. New member recruitment has been challenging in this economy, but we have seen an increase in new businesses in the past few months, which is quite encouraging.

Compiling a budget for 2009 was no easy task, as I'm sure it wasn't for most businesses. With the input from Chairman Tom Cady and Vice Chair of Finance Richard Mountan, we put together a conservative "guesstimate" of what we might be facing through a year of unknowns. I can't thank our Chairman's Club members enough for their continued support throughout the year. The Board of Directors also stepped up the plate early in the year and helped to make the Annual Installation Gala a successful fundraiser for the Chamber. Our event sponsors have made it possible to continue to deliver quality programs.

When one cannot count on income, one has to take a serious look at expenses. When we started off 2009, we took immediate steps to cut our ongoing expenses. For the first two months of the year, the Chamber office was closed on Fridays and our staff was gracious enough to take a twenty percent pay cut. We furloughed before "furlough" was a buzz word in 2009. It was a hardship, but I sincerely believe our staff members were happy to have a job. We have also been very careful with all other expenses.

The bottom line of the Chamber's financial condition reflects those actions that were taken early on in our new economy. While our numbers a quite small compared to many other businesses (annual budget for 2009 just over a half a million), we have weathered the storm of 2009 relatively well so far. Through the end of September, our net income was 532% ahead of budget. I thank the Board of Directors and our staff for working very hard to get us to this point. While the year and the recession are not over, we are in a much better position than expected.

I think chambers of commerce are often mistaken for charitable nonprofit organizations. While we do have a nonprofit status with the Internal Revenue Service, that is our tax status – not our business plan! We run the Chamber like any other small business. We are not a charitable organization, rather an association of business members.

According to Dr. Christopher Thornberg, who delivered the Oxnard Economic Forecast last month, we are going to see a very slow recovery. I was thrilled to hear that he wasn't predicting any further decline! It will be a while until the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce and many other businesses return to a growth-mode. Through whatever the economy deals us, rest assured that the Chamber will be here for our members. We will continue to make a advocacy for business a number one priority and focus our efforts on encouraging a strong local economy that will be ready for business when conditions improve.

In closing, I would like to sincerely thank all of our members for supporting the Oxnard Chamber. We are fortunate to have a number of very dedicated volunteers who serve on our working committees and the Board of Directors. - Nancy Lindholm, President/CEO