Membership Growth Hits New Highs

While Columbus Business Services marked the 100th new member of the Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce in 2022, membership for the year didn’t stop growing there.

At final count, the Chamber welcomed in 114 new members in 2022, a big leap in previous years’ new member totals. Years vary, but even despite a pandemic membership total has continued to grow as a grand membership total currently in the mid-700s.

“We’ve been trending upward, but last year was the icing on the cake,” said Shawn Conrad, GCACC Executive Director.

Shawn shared her excitement that this growth also reflects engagement by businesses in the community Businesses are looking to be involved, but current member businesses are also spreading the word about what the Chamber has done for their business

Growth

It’s no secret Grove City is growing Business is growing The community as a whole is growing And Chamber membership is growing Shawn said she does believe all three growths are interwoven as the City grows

“I would like to tell everyone, everywhere if you haven’t been to Grove City in a while, you haven’t been to Grove City,” she said

Businesses who may have overlooked Grove City years or even a decade (or more!) ago are now taking a second look as just about everything needed and wanted is available. Businesses that previously had unchecked boxes when scouting Grove City are now seeing those boxes checked off.

But it’s not new businesses making up the membership growth. Shawn shared that, while in no particular order, the demographics of new members are in three sections. One section is made up of brand-new businesses. Another, an existing business who are now seeing value in Chamber membership. And a third section is businesses that have existed but are moving into the Grove City market, such as establishing a Grove City office, franchise, or other location.

Individual Members

In 2022, there was a noticeable growth in the number of individual members thanks in part to the Chamber Foundation benefits and scholarships and our university partners, Franklin University and Ohio Dominican The secret of individual membership and its benefits are out and Shawn hopes the word continues to spread

Members who register as an individual (no association with any business or other professional firm) are eligible for the educational benefits of the GCACC, such as scholarships from the Grove City Chamber Foundation, and education discounts with partners Franklin University and Ohio Dominican University.

Starting this year, individual members have another benefit available to them from AllyHealth in the Essential Health Plan. This telehealth-oriented benefit option is available to all members and is featured earlier in this issue.

Value

New and existing businesses alike are spotting the value a Chamber membership can bring to their business while existing members continue to see and even discover new value from their membership

With such diverse businesses and potential members, and a variety of values in membership, potential members aren’t left in the dark in sorting through opportunities Shawn said in the Chamber office they aim to share the opportunities a member has to be seen and which benefits align best with a prospective member so that they can be as invested and visible as they want to be

“Businesses are finding value in membership.”

Looking to add more value to your membership? In this issue, look for the two newest member benefits PartnerShip, a shipping benefit, and AllyHealth Essential Plan, a health-based benefit For all other benefits check out the benefits webpage www.gcchamber.org/member-benefits/ or give the office a call at 614-875-9762 and the Chamber team would love to chat about benefits with you.