2. About MACE
2
Founded in 1972, serves five-state region
Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
Purpose is three-fold
• Provide continuing education opportunities
• Facilitate connection with industry peers
• Develop a regional ethic among chambers of commerce
Expanded Product Line
• Annual Conference
• Compensation & Benefits Survey
• Membership Satisfaction Survey
• Newsline
• Chamber Insight Webinars
3. State Participation
3
WI 20%
IA 31%
MN 23%NE 10%
ND 5%
SD 12%
Methodology
Self reporting, sampling,
corrupt data
Who was surveyed
• Iowa, Nebraska,
Minnesota, North Dakota,
South Dakota, Wisconsin
• Small vs. Large
Chambers
4. Survey Categories
4
• Organizational Structure and
Function
• Governance
• Membership
• Communications
• Staffing & Continuing Education
• Events
• Public Policy and Political Action
• Financials
5. Organizational Structure & Function
5
Lost a Major Function
8%
40% of those are no longer the
primary economic development
organization
Have an adopted
strategic plan
78%
U.S. Chamber Member
57%
11. Public Policy & Political Action
11
None
Local
State
Federal
At what levels do you advocate on behalf of members?
14%
70%
60%
30%
6%Have a PAC
46%Have a Public
Policy
Committee
12. Financials
12
2008 2010 2012
77% 55% 71%
2013
72%
40Non-Dues
Revenue
47%
Dues
Revenue
53%Non-Dues
Revenue
Average
dues vs. non-dues
Revenue
13. Conclusion
2012
24
Sept
Full survey report will be posted on the
MACE website September 24th
Chambers who participated will receive a
code for a complimentary copy. Those
who did not participate can purchase the
report for $45
Chambers desiring custom reports or
specific data requests should be directed to:
Carrie Kirkpatrick, Dowell Management
carrie@dowellmgmt.com | 651-221-0850
13
Pleased and honoredDSA 2008, 2010 and 2012 comp surveyChose to add Operations survey to address needs of membersThe need for industry benchmarksThanks to ICCE for helping to fund this important research
2010: 1552012: 213Wisconsin and Illinoisadded and has a positive impact on averages such as executive compensationIn Compensation Survey, more participation from small chambers – the opposite is true for the Operations Survey.
8% of chambers lost a major function in the last yearOf those who lost a major function, 40% are no longer the primary economic development organization78% of chambers have a strategic plan that has been adopted by their Board of directors57% of participant chambers are members of the U.S. Chamber
Average Board Size of chambers of various sizesBelow $50k – 7 voting, 1 non-voting, 3 committee$200k-$300k – 14 voting, 2 non-voting, 6 committees$750-$1m – 20 voting, 3 non-voting, 6 committees>$1m – 30 voting, 6 non-voting, 16 committees
Membership metrics obviously vary drastically with budget size. In general, Iowa Chambers have slightly lower dues amounts than their counterparts in other states.
How do chambers distribute their newsletters?Printed – 41%Email – 69%PDF attached to an email – 23%Posted to a website – 45%Local paper – 12%
In 2012, Average FTE=4.25. In 2013, no drastic change – FTE=4.0There has been a staffing change, however.Full-time management staff has remainded steady, while full-time non-management positions have fallen. Part-time positions have spiked.Average employee tenure is 6.5 years. Surprisingly, this figure does not change among revenue categories.
The average chamber puts on 34 events per year. On average, 7 of those are community events (parades, festivals, etc.), 16 are free membership events, and 11 are paid membership events.78% of chambers charge more for non-members to attend their events than members. Of those who do, the average non-member premium is 35%.
We asked, at what levels do you advocate on behalf of members?None – 14% (50% of these were chambers with revenue less than $100k)Local – 70%State – 60%Federal – 30%However, only 46% of respondents have a public policy committee.6% reported having a PAC.
The piggy banks across show chamber profitability over time.2008 – 77%of chambers profitable2010 – 55% of chambers profitable2012 – 71%2013 – 72% (even with more bigger chambers in the mix)Average dues revenue percentage – 47%Average non-dues revenue percentage – 53%
