ANNUAL REPORT 2 0 2 1
POLICY & ADVOCACY
Preventing an expansion of anti trust legislation that would have allowed for things like private right of action
Preventing implementation of a state run healthcare plan (single payer) that would cost $200 $300 billion and eliminate 60,000 Upstate jobs
Worked with the Department of Labor to secure benefits for nearly 50 individuals
Continued to work on securing unemployment and pandemic assistance for dozens of individuals and businesses
Hosted local, state, and national leaders to share information on the virus, the vaccine, and pandemic related policy Successfully advocated for small business pandemic relief by way of the $1 billion small business, arts, entertainment, and restaurant relief package to help businesses and other organizations recover from the impacts of the pandemic Greater Rochester Chamber was successful in advocating for This year, Greater Rochester Chamber: As the voice of business for the Greater Rochester/Finger Lakes region, Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce is a strong advocate for business interests at the local, state and federal levels Indeed, it is one of the main reasons our organization was formed some 140 years ago, and continues to be a core component of our mission. Though 2021 presented many challenges for business, Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce never stopped working on your behalf. We are proud to have achieved a number of advocacy wins and successes on behalf of the Greater Rochester/Finger Lakes business community.
Assistance for small businesses who are having difficulty complying with burdensome and complex regulations imposed by NYS; Removing requirements that food be purchased when purchasing alcohol for on premises consumption; Granting permanent permission to hold formal corporate meetings virtually; and Allowing for electronic notaries
Working with our incredible events team, we held 12 events in this series which included over 2,500 unique attendees in 2021. Presenters included United States Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Congressman Joe Morelle, New York State Budget Director Robert Mujica, New York State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, New York State Assemblyman Josh Jensen, Executive VP at Empire State Development Jerome Duval, New York State Senator Jeremy Cooney, and several other state and local officials
This past year we amplified our COVID 19 advocacy while also delivering on the mission to branch out We helped dozens of members: achieve MWBE certification, procure liquor licenses through the SLA, obtain permits through the City of Rochester, the Department of State, and the Department of Transportation, and win various service contracts. We successfully advocated against implementation of S. 6275A which would require utility companies, water companies, telephone companies, and broadband companies to establish arrears resolution programs for residential and small business customers We leaned in with strong support for federal policy like the US Innovation and Competition Act and the America COMPETES Act.
CLIMB (Chamber Leadership Initiative: Mentoring for Business) young professional leadership program
Impactful give back community drive through the backpack & thanksgiving drive
Recognition events honoring women leaders, growing businesses, and young professionals
We hosted 84 webinars, trainings, and in person events with over 8000 views/attendees, including: Professional development strategies on finding happiness in the workplace, mental resilience, while continuing growth
We all have gone through this ordeal in the year 2020, which has been termed as the Year of Pandemic.
Greater Rochester Chamber's Events Department will continue to bring current and informative events to a diverse membership demographic at no additional cost largely thanks to our very generous sponsors who support our general events. 2021 recorded a 5% increase in sponsor support.
COVID 19 has caused havoc and forced us to change the way we live and work However, we all have learned some lessons from these turbulent and unanticipated times that has helped us create new ways to do business and foster connections. Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce Events Department quickly adapted a new way of hosting events by incorporating lessons learned from 2020 when planning for 2021 Assessing events that could continue to be delivered virtually without losing its essence by transitioning social and signature events back to being in person, to help foster growth by networking face to face beyond a computer screen, as well as in person recognition awards program by putting all safety protocols in place set by NYS The Events Department paved the way with bold moves by hosting all 2021 social and signature events events in person.
EVENTS, TRAINING & AFFILIATES
Regulatory/Legislative/COVID 19 next steps
Legal insights into COVID vaccines, NY Hero Act, OSHA Vax or Test Mandate and more Exclusive conversations with top leaders and officials Workforce training in emotional intelligence, leadership and supervisory skills, and human resource management
Allowing Greater Rochester Chamber to be that change agent in our region to help bring back our community to where we once were one strategic event at a time
Informational sessions on the growing Cannabis industry legalized in NY Social events at different member restaurants and golf tournaments
ATHENA International Awards honoring Rochester's women leaders our first hybrid (virtual and in person) with over 200 in attendance.
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Greater Rochester Chamber Affiliates: the Small Business Council, Women's Council, and Greater Rochester Quality Council add more event options for our combined membership, including impactful community initiatives like the annual Backpack and Thanksgiving Drives, which raised close to $30K 2021 in cash donations, and over $6K in funds for filling backpacks for City school kids A golf tournament helped participating members get out and network while generating proceeds close to $2500 from ticket sales, which went to Make a Wish Foundation, as well as the annual Young Women of Distinction Scholarship program that raised close to $15K in funds to support high school girls in our community 23% increase was 2021 contact Director of Events, & Susan.George@GreaterRochesterChamber.com call (585) 802 9555 and up date our events webinar visit us at GreaterRochesterChamber.com.
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Addressing the racial disparity and unrest our nation went through in 2020, we continued to focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programming under our "Colors of Success" event series that was designed to foster educating, inspiring, and encouraging organizations to improve workplace equity in their existing or new DEI journey. We also started to have conversations with our Canadian neighbors to gather information and lessons learned on the impact of the growing the Cannabis industry, especially since NY legalized the industry in 2021.
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Greater Rochester Chamber IGNITE honoring young professionals in person for the leadership and community involvement with over 200 in attendance. Greater Rochester Chamber Top 100 honoring growing businesses in person with over 1000 in attendance Business Person of the Year honoring a business leader in our region in an hybrid event with over 500 in attendance in person and virtually Signature Events:
HUMAN RESOURCE SERVICES
In 2021, Helpline staff continued to respond to COVID 19 related inquiries and fielded over 700 requests from members and other employers in the community. This is in addition to the 1,000+ HR Helpline calls on other topics. This assistance helped ensure businesses were able to promptly respond to COVID 19 cases in the workplace, provide appropriate federal or state COVID pay to affected employees, obtain tax credits, and prepare for new NYS and federal COVID 19 related mandates that were introduced in 2021 such as the NY HERO Act, vax or mask mandates, etc
“Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce has been an incredible resource for New York Kitchen In addition to other HR services, we ’ ve been utilizing their on demand access to virtual training opportunities for our team, including important topics like Overcoming Unconscious Bias in the Workplace and Sexual Harassment Prevention, all from the Chamber’s Mineral HR Portal."
Alyssa Belasco Executive Director, New York Kitchen TESTIMONIAL
MEMBER
Friday HR Virtual Briefings 2021 was our second year offering virtual vs. in person meetings. We held 11 meetings in 2021 with a focus on HR topics that would be most beneficial to members. Over 700 people registered for one or more Friday HR Briefings and close to 500 people attended at least one meeting. Being virtual continued to present opportunities for more individuals to attend who have not traditionally been able to in the past. Sharing the presentation and recording enabled registrants with conflicts to still benefit from the valuable information shared. Highest Friday HR Virtual Briefing attendance 97 member contacts attended the Annual Employment Law Update meeting in January 2021. HR Networking Forums 105 different member companies participated across all 4 HR forums; 135 member individuals participated across all 4 forums (some individuals participate in more than one forum and some companies have representatives in the same or multiple forums) HR Wage & Benefits Benchmarking Surveys 270 unique members participated in one or more of the 11 annual wage and benefits surveys conducted in 2021. THE YEAR AT A GLANCE
RBA Staffing & Screening is a full service employment agency working with Greater Rochester-area top employers and job seekers. Hiring services include: Traditional Staffing Services, Direct Hiring, On-Site Staffing, Payroll Services, and Onboarding and Recruitment Managed Services. 2,728 TOTAL JOB SEEKERS PLACED 500 CHECKS ISSUED WEEKLY TO LOCAL EMPLOYEES 2021 STAFFING STATS:
BACKGROUND SCREENING 2021 SCREENING STATS: 21K TOTAL BACKGROUND CHECKS 94K TOTAL SCREENING SERVICES 35 NEW CUSTOMERS IN 2021
CampusROC Active and engaging social media campaign on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, CampusROC.org CollegeFEST held in September, 2021 in downtown Rochester 500 student attendees and 100+ sponsors/employers Series of events on college campuses and/or designed for students GreaterROC Careers Launched website, which now has 1000+ job seekers, 320 employers, and 64,998 job views to date Veterans Connect On going effort focused on linking transitioning soldiers to employment, housing, and related services in Greater Rochester through a sustained effort that emphasizes employer engagement connectivity, relocation support, and family assistance. Greater ROC Remote 300+ applicants to receive financial incentive to relocate to Greater Rochester WORKFORCE & TALENT STRATEGY In 2019, five local economic development agencies came together to form a collaborative initiative called ROC2025, which is designed to implement a coordinated capacity building strategy focused on our region's growth. As the lead organization for workforce and talent strategy, 2021 was a key year for strengthening our talent initiatives, which are focused on retaining more regional college graduates, developing a consolidated regional career portal to connect talent to employers, expanding tech career pathways for underrepresented groups, and recruiting veterans and remote workers to the region.
Higher than anticipated membership rene Background screening success Staffing shift to direct hire placements as post COVID work environment Top 100 first full in person event of 2021 Conservative spending and more efficient practices internally to provide the same to service to members and customers Budgeted Operating Net Income $101K Actual Operating Net Income (includes insura scholarship contributions) $839K Actual Operating Net Income (excludes insura scholarship contributions) $396K Budget 2021 Jan Feb Mar Ap r May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
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