Novel partnership benefits Bangor chamber, Camden National Bank
For at least 11 local businesses, a 50% off deal is too good to pass up.
That's the number of new members the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce has signed up since Monday when it announced a novel campaign offering half-price memberships to any eligible business or nonprofit within its 21-town region. The campaign is financed through Camden National Bank, which is picking up the other half of the annual dues of new members.
"The hope is that we'll grow faster now with Camden National's help," says John Porter, the chamber's new president. When Porter took the job at the beginning of the year, membership stood at about 750. By the end of April, it was 821. "I think that within two or three years we could be up over 1,000."
Kelly Enberg, the chamber's interim director of membership development, says more inquiries have been pouring in. She has meetings set up through the next couple of weeks with prospects.
"We expect to sign many more," she says. "What we're finding is that a lot potential members who were interested in joining in the past, but didn't have the money and were on the fence, are now ready to do it with Camden National's help."
The idea for sponsoring new members arose from a conversation between Porter and Jay Muth, a Camden National commercial lending officer who has been deeply involved in the chamber and other Bangor area economic development groups for years.
"Jay knew that the chamber needed to grow to do the things we want to do, and that's where the conversation started," says Porter. The bank is prepared to cover half the cost of membership -- which ranges from $225 a year for a small one-or-two person company to $1,750 for a company with 500 or more employees -- until the end of the year, or until it exhausts the $10,000 allocation it set aside for the campaign.
Porter says he expects between 70 and 80 new members will join through the bank's generosity. Added to the 60 or so new members who've joined since the start of the year, the increase will give a significant boost to the membership rolls and operational budget.
"Less than half the budget is dues revenue, but the additional dues revenue helps us expand our programming and helps us grow," bringing more services and resources to Bangor's business community, says Porter. New members also give the group a stronger voice in the community and the opportunity for the chamber to tap more expertise and leaders within its ranks, he says.
The bank also benefits by making contacts with more business people, which could lead to new relationships and financing opportunities.
"It makes sense all around," says Porter. "They want to get better penetration in the commercial market here in the Bangor area and ... this is an opportunity for them to make better connections and signal to the business community that they are serious about that commitment."
Chance Farago, Camden National's spokesman, says the bank was drawn to the excitement generated by the chamber's new leadership team, which has steadied the organization after the fractious departure of its former President Candy Guerette. He says the sponsorship works as an investment in the Bangor business community and as outreach to potential commercial clients.
"It's a simple numbers game," he says. "This is one of the biggest markets in the state."
Porter would like the chamber membership to reflect that. He says a general rule of thumb for chambers of commerce is to have a membership comprised of about 32% of all eligible businesses. The Bangor chamber's penetration is about 25%. Porter says he spoke to the chamber's board of directors about suitable goals for growth when he first took the job.
"We agreed we should be up over 1,000," he says, noting there are roughly 3,600 eligible businesses in the chamber's region. "Having this program as a tool sets us up to make a huge difference in terms of what we can do as an organization."
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