tele-town hall meetings over the phone, allowing members to gather information and ask questions of the participants regarding plans to assist in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Speakers for the series included Senators James Lankford and Jim Inhofe along with congressional representatives Tom Cole and Kendra Horn. All gave briefings on legislation aimed to address the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects. Other speakers included Dr. Patrick McGough, executive director of the Oklahoma City-County Health Department; Paul Ross and Josh Solberg of McAfee Taft; Roger Beverage of the Oklahoma Bankers Association; Dottie Ovall, Small Business Administration; Cameron Brewer, vice president of commercial capital at BancFirst and David Holt, Oklahoma City mayor. These speakers on the front line of the COVID-19 response allowed Chamber members to have almost instant access to the latest updates that could help their businesses navigate an unprecedented time.
MEMBERSHIP BY THE NUMBERS
◊ 150-250 individual daily outreaches to members ◊ 10,000 COVID-19 calls
provided through the Zoom breakout room function showed organizations looking to connect with Chamber members that there continues to be value in joining the Chamber even when meetings and events are taking place online. In terms of content, the Chamber’s events in 2020 were also at their most prolific. Chamber members who attended events were exposed to more than 165 speakers at 70+ events throughout the year. CELEBRATING COMMUNITY MILESTONES In the era of online-only events, Grand Openings and Ribbon Cuttings also went virtual. Ambassadors and other Chamber members showed up to support other businesses at ribbon cuttings almost every Friday beginning in August at 11 a.m. via Zoom. These celebrations averaged around 20 attendees each week, with over 200 in attendance for the grand opening of the Heartland corporate headquarters. Taking a tried-and-true chamber of commerce activity like cutting a ribbon with a pair of giant scissors and making it meaningful in an online setting is just one example of the creative solutions that the Chamber found to make sure that members are celebrated and valued in the midst of a global pandemic. ◊ 90% membership retention rate ◊ 92% membership retention rate for Leadership Investors ◊ 165 speakers featured ◊ 70+ events hosted
M E M B E R E N G A G E M E N T The Chamber’s membership opportunities allow businesses to network, have a voice in issues important to them and engage in work to make Greater Oklahoma City a stronger community.
to educational Enlighten sessions and more. The Chamber also acted with sensitivity to members’ financial situations and extended flexible payment options when needed. Membership managers and the member engagement team also launched a new weekly email newsletter highlighting the Chamber’s most current work and valuable resources to help members stay updated on important news within the community. This also provided an outreach opportunity to former members and prospective members to make sure that they also had information on resources that were available to them. Although unable to meet with members in person for the majority of the year, these efforts to foster connection allowed the business community to continue to be engaged in the work and exposed to the resources of the Chamber. This helped secure high membership retention percentages for the year. Despite the economic uncertainty, 90% of all Chamber members and 92% of Chamber lead investors renewed their financial commitment to the Chamber in 2020. FINDING NEW WAYS FOR CONNECTION While the pandemic prevented the Chamber from hosting its normal slate of events in person, the organization quickly pivoted to provide information in socially distant formats. First, the Chamber began by hosting a series of specially designed
DEEPENING RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEMBERS Many Chamber members entered 2020 well on their way to achieving their goals or embarking on new ideas for the new decade. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, existing plans quickly altered as organizations switched to a crisis response mode and grappled with the uncertainty about the future. The Chamber membership team stepped forward to serve and represent the business community in its hour of greatest need. The membership team acted as an all-day, everyday partner to Chamber members, with an average of 150-250 outreaches to members each day. By having open communication, the membership team was able to identify needs and connect people with resources while maintaining a sense of community. In total, the membership division recorded around 10,000 instances of individual outreach surrounding the COVID-19 crisis. This outreach encouraged people to access the Chamber’s COVID-19 resources web page, distributed breaking updates on reopening guidelines and access to PPE, shared invitations
Enlighten, a monthly lunch-and-learn event hosted in person for the first three months of the year, went online and became free of charge in April. Rather than limiting the event to members only, Enlighten became an Oklahoma City-wide business resource that covered not only COVID-19 resources but also practical tips to benefit any business. The result was a valuable program that reached far more people online than it ever did in person. Other Chamber events followed suit in transitioning to a fully virtual presentation, from the Chamber’s signature events like Annual Meeting and State of the Schools to smaller networking opportunities like Member Orientation, Ambassadors Meetings and Board of Advisors Small Group Meetings. The Chamber’s strong program of virtual meetings and events and the meaty networking component
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G R E A T E R O K L A H O M A C I T Y C H A M B E R
G R E A T E R O K L A H O M A C I T Y C H A M B E R
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