Vermont Chamber Of Commerce

Events: the chamber hosts several events throughout the year, generating revenue from sponsorships, exhibition booth sales and general admission. The largest events include the vermont economic conference, the manufacturing summit and the citizen of the year awards. Expenses related to events are related to event management and support personnel, as well as facility rental, catering and promotional costs.

Membership: the chamber's membership base is comprised of roughly 1,000 vermont businesses that pay dues annually in an amount based on the size of the business. Membership program expenses consist primarily of those relating to sales personnel and member recruitment and retention.

Governmental affairs: there are four lobbyists employed by the chamber who advocate on behalf of vermont businesses on issues identified as important to members. This is viewed as a significant benefit of membership in the chamber and does not generate direct revenue. Expenses are primarily personnel-related, and also include any outside consulting fees paid. Vace: the chamber was the administrator for the vace insurance program, a group dental and vision insurance association plan. The vace association plan covered nearly 1,000 small businesses in vermont. All premium billing, enrollments and customer service were handled by the chamber staff. Revenue to the chamber was in the form of monthly administrative contract fees based on the number of subscribers at the end of each month. Expenses relate to salaries, benefits and postage.