Village Profile® Home Page | About our Company | Sales Opportunities | Community eStore | vpmobile.us®

Your Business & the Chamber

The Fremont Chamber of Commerce is an association of more than 1,000 businesses who employ over 40,000 people. The businesses that join the Chamber of Commerce discover they’re making one of their smartest marketing, advertising and training investments while buying access to a whole array of benefits for their business and employees. They also can take pride in knowing that their investment has a direct impact on the quality of life here in Fremont, because the Chamber collaborates with government, education, private industry and a host of other agencies and organizations in the quest for constant community betterment.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? HERE’S WHAT!

DEVELOPING NEW MARKETS AND BUSINESS CONTACTS:

The Chamber can put you in touch with hundreds of contacts who could become new clients, customers or patients. Here’s how:

Mixers: Twice a month a Chamber member hosts an after-hours open house at their business, inviting attendees to a first-hand view of their facilities and products. With over 100 people attending each mixer, this is the perfect “business to business” networking opportunity to establish new relationships and business contacts.

Special Events: The Public Policy Forum series, the State of the City Luncheon and the election year candidate debates bring members together to network their business, as well as learn about what is happening in the community in which they live and work.

Connection Clubs: Open only to Chamber members, Connection Clubs meet at various times to exchange business leads and assist each other in growing their businesses. One Connection Club cheerfully reported over $1 million in new business generated within the group over the course of one year. The Fremont Chamber’s Connection Clubs are so successful that they have served as the model for similar leads-generating groups in chambers all over the state.

Committees: Joining a committee is the best way to be involved with the Fremont Chamber of Commerce and the business community. Not only will you meet other Chamber members, but you gain a better understanding of the Chamber and how it works.

The Finance Committee is responsible for reviewing the finances of the Chamber of Commerce including financial controls, reporting formatting and developing the budget.

The Governmental Affairs Committee monitors and acts on local, state and federal legislation. It works with local officials to ensure the business community is represented.

The Communications Committee reviews and develops the marketing plan for the Chamber and develops marketing opportunities for the members.

The Membership Services Committee reviews and evaluates benefits and services offered to Chamber members.

The Ambassadors Club serves as a public relations arm of the Chamber. They attend all mixers and events to help ensure they are successful. Ambassadors welcome new members to the Chamber and introduce them to current members.

The Nomination Committee selects nominees for regular elections to the Board of Directors when vacancies occur.

The Leadership Steering Committee guides and executes Leadership Fremont. This is a nine-month intensive training program designed to identify, nurture and develop emerging leaders within our community.

The Fremont Festival of the Arts Committee works year round to produce the largest outdoor festival in California.

EXPOSURE AND PUBLICITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS:

There is no more effective way to get your firm’s name before the public and business community than through Chamber membership. Here’s how:

Your presence on the World Wide Web: The Chamber’s Web site, www.fremontbusiness.com, includes a listing of our entire membership, and “smart search” functions, so individuals from around the world can locate your business. On average, there are over 10,000 visits per month to the Chamber Web site alone. Also, if you have a Web site, we will provide a direct link to your page from ours — at no cost.

Membership Directory Listings: All members receive free listings in this annual Membership Directory, alphabetical and categorical. Additional listings may be purchased at a nominal fee to help increase your company’s visibility.

Newsletter Publicity: The monthly Fremont Business Review lists your firm shortly upon joining, and then offers free publicity in the Members News section to members announcing new products, services, promotions and advancements. The weekly Top of the Week report is an electronic newsletter that provides the business community with crucial and timely news that affects business.

Annual Trade Show: This premier trade show gives businesses, large and small, the chance to capture new customers and clients in this regional market.

Referrals: The Chamber receives thousands of requests each year for recommendations on goods or services to be purchased in the Tri-City area. We refer only our Chamber members to newcomers, visitors and area residents by using our membership database and our Membership Directory.

Direct Mail Promotion: The Chamber’s mailing labels, available for purchase, can give you direct access to a prime audience of business prospects. This list is also available in electronic format.

FCCTV: A weekly television program, FCCTV spotlights Fremont Chamber members. Each month we focus on a theme, interview our Chamber member guests, and highlight other Fremont Chamber members related to the show’s theme. Reaching over 640,000 homes, the program can be seen in Fremont, Newark, Union City, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Hayward, Castro Valley and Alameda.

Advertising Opportunities: Send your message via the Web site at www.fremontbusiness.com, Fremont Business Review, Top of the Week, the Membership Directory and Community Guide, our Fremont City Map, a ChamberPak insert, displaying your brochures in our lobby or through several exciting sponsorship opportunities.

Special Events Assistance: Members enjoy free advice and assistance from our Ambassadors in staging grand openings, ribbon cuttings, groundbreakings and other events.

Credibility: What’s the easiest thing you can do to establish credibility with a customer? Customers like to do business with firms that have a stake in the community that supports them. Your Chamber of Commerce membership plaque on your wall tells everyone you mean business and you care.

REPRESENTATION AND GOVERNMENTAL ADVOCACY:

The Chamber tracks local, state and federal issues that affect members. Our job is to advocate the business viewpoint to all levels of government so that public policy decisions lead to a healthy business climate and better quality of life.

Our Chamber’s membership and active participation with the United States and California Chambers of Commerce buys you the information and lobbying strength of both of these powerful organizations. Regionally, we represent you on the Alameda County Economic Development Alliance for Business (EDAB). The Chamber, instrumental in the development of the City’s Economic Development Advisory Commission (EDAC), has a designated seat on that board. We also represent you on the city’s Retail Network, the Southern Alameda County Transportation Task Force, and other regional committees.

Through Chamber publications and special candidate and issue forums, we keep you abreast of the information you need to know. To strengthen our ability to support issues and candidates sensitive to business and economic issues, our Business for Good Government political action committee provides the fundraising arm to support these activities.

GROUP BENEFITS:

Chamber members participate in all the benefits of credit union membership through Patelco. Members always receive discounted pricing on all the publications available at the Chamber, and in advertising offered. New “member-only” benefits are always under consideration to add value to your membership.

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

Member Briefings: Each quarter the Chamber presents a Member Briefing open to both new and long-time members. Attendees meet the Chamber President/CEO, staff and other key volunteer leaders and leave with a much deeper understanding of the organization, the benefits membership provides, and how they can increase the value of their membership through active participation.

Business Building Forums: The Fremont Chamber believes in continual educational opportunities for their members. The chamber produces a series of educational seminars for members entitled “Business Building Forums.” The sessions range on a variety of business topics to help members understand how to overcome challenges and/or seek new ways of handling business issues. The Business Building Forums are designed to fit perfectly into a busy schedule and your budget.Leadership Development: Leadership Fremont is an intensive nine-month training program designed to identify, nurture and develop emerging leaders within our community. The quality of the participants is the primary strength of the program, their diversity, leadership potential, commitment to the community, and commitment to learning. Through individual skill development, hands-on activities and presentation of a wealth of information from private and public sector leaders—future leaders develop the skills and knowledge base to make informed decisions and lead effectively. The curriculum is comprised of three components: Community Issues, Personal Leadership Skill Set, and Teamwork Project.

GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING:

If a particular problem has you stumped, or if you need someone to point you in the right direction, each member on staff is here to help. Additionally, SCORE (the Service Corps of Retired Executives) is on-site to provide no-cost counseling to business people. To supplement this one-on-one counseling, the Chamber has available for purchase the California Labor Law Digest and employment posters. All are excellent resources to help keep you and your company well informed.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:

The Chamber co-sponsors a variety of educational programs with the public schools and the community college each year, such as job fairs, the Mentor Program and Sign on for Literacy.

Annual Fremont Festival of the Arts: On the first weekend of August, nearly 400,000 people turn out for the Annual Fremont Festival of the Arts, which is THE premier festival for music and art in the Bay Area. The largest outdoor free festival in all of California, and possibly the United States, the Fremont Festival of the Arts covers four walking miles of closed-off city streets in central Fremont, transforming the area into a city within a city. The 2009 festival will be celebrated August 1 and 2. Enjoy the work of 700 quality artisans, 30 delicious food booths, fine wine and specialty beer booths, an interactive children’s activity area, and professional sound stages featuring well-known celebrity entertainers and popular local entertainers. Other features include Business Alley and Gourmet Marketplace. In Business Alley, Fremont Chamber of Commerce members show the community the products and services they offer. Business Alley vendors offer free product samples, The Gourmet Marketplace is an area of the festival dedicated to offering high-end gourmet specialties for the most discriminating tastes. In the Gourmet Marketplace, vendors can offer samples for tasting and pre-packaged products for sale. The festival is free, it’s fun, and it’s for the whole family! It brings thousands of visitors to Fremont, AND the money raised stays in the Tri-City area, benefiting various nonprofit organizations.