Doing Good Business
Bloomington has a robust nonprofit sector that fills a wide range of important community needs, including emergency services, education, public health, historic preservation, supporting the arts, protecting the environment, and others. Without critical charitable support from for-profit businesses, these services would struggle to exist.
Philanthropy takes many forms, and includes much more than just outright monetary donations. Most nonprofits depend on businesses to sponsor events, purchase tickets, and provide volunteers. Businesses also bring valuable perspectives and leadership to nonprofit boards and commissions. In addition, hiring people in supported employment – for example, persons with developmental disabilities – provides benefits to businesses, but also satisfies crucial community needs.
The Chamber’s new Mosaic Initiative aims to tell the story of private sector philanthropy in Monroe County, and highlight the positive contributions that the for-profit sector makes in our community. Upcoming articles and online discussions will explore topics such as:
- Handling multiple charitable requests
- Differences and similarities between for-profits and nonprofits
- Employee voluntarism
- Leadership on nonprofit boards
We’ll solicit insights from our Chamber members who give back, highlighting their involvement and sharing their various philanthropic approaches. We’ll also feature a few of our many nonprofit Chamber members to hear their perspectives on how private businesses help them fulfill their mission. Future projects may include member surveys, guidebooks, and research on local giving. All this will be available on a new area dedicated to the Mosaic Initiative on our Chamber website .
For now, we want to hear from you about how you handle multiple charitable requests. What do you consider before you write a check, volunteer, or join a board? Check out our new Mosaic discussion group on LinkedIn, and stay tuned to our website for valuable resources, as well as opportunities to tell the story of your own community involvement.
DOING GOOD BUSINESS – THE CHAMBER’S NEW MOSAIC INITIATIVE
Bloomington has a robust nonprofit sector that fills a wide range of important community needs, including emergency services, education, public health, historic preservation, supporting the arts, protecting the environment, and others. Without critical charitable support from for-profit businesses, these services would struggle to exist.
Philanthropy takes many forms, and includes much more than just outright monetary donations. Most nonprofits depend on businesses to sponsor events, purchase tickets, and provide volunteers. Businesses also bring valuable perspectives and leadership to nonprofit boards and commissions. In addition, hiring people in supported employment – for example, persons with developmental disabilities – provides benefits to businesses, but also satisfies crucial community needs.
The Chamber’s new Mosaic Initiative aims to tell the story of private sector philanthropy in Monroe County, and highlight the positive contributions that the for-profit sector makes in our community. Upcoming articles and online discussions will explore topics such as:
• Handling multiple charitable requests
• Differences and similarities between for-profits and nonprofits
• Employee voluntarism
• Leadership on nonprofit boards
We’ll solicit insights from our Chamber members who give back, highlighting their involvement and sharing their various philanthropic approaches. We’ll also feature a few of our many nonprofit Chamber members to hear their perspectives on how private businesses help them fulfill their mission. Future projects may include member surveys, guidebooks, and research on local giving. All this will be available on a new area dedicated to the Mosaic Initiative on our Chamber website at www.chamberbloomington.org.
For now, we want to hear from you about how you handle multiple charitable requests. What do you consider before you write a check, volunteer, or join a board? Check out our new Mosaic group on LinkedIn, and stay tuned to our website for valuable resources, as well as opportunities to tell the story of your own community involvement.
DOING GOOD BUSINESS – THE CHAMBER’S NEW MOSAIC INITIATIVE
New Year’s Resolutions in a Digital World
With the new year come New Year’s resolutions. People tell themselves that this will be the year they go to the gym three times a week, or this will be the year they stop smoking. As with many things in our world, resolutions have changed with the times, and now many of the resolutions I’ve been hearing about relate to the internet and social media. Whether it is a pledge to not check Facebook during work, or to learn how to use Twitter, the internet has altered what we place importance on and what we want to change about ourselves. This fad has rubbed off on me, and I too am making a resolution that I wish I could take credit for thinking of, but in fact WordPress proposed. I am going to do my best to write a new blog post at least once a week. Anyone else want to join me?
So what will I write about? For the most part, your guess is as good as mine. Since this is Chamber INsider, basically everything I write will be related to Bloomington, The Chamber, or a business issue. My goal is to give readers a peek into how things work here at The Chamber, what we are focusing on, and how what we do can help your business. When what’s going on in the office isn’t very exciting I’ll spice up the blog with some posts about great things going on in Bloomington, and occasionally I’ll discuss a new website or piece of technology that I think will have a profound effect on how people do business.
Want to join me in my weekly blogging? Have a suggestion for topics? Any questions about The Chamber that you always wanted to ask? Let me know in the comments below or e-mail me at drose@chamberbloomington.org and I’ll be happy to discuss anything and everything (within reason of course).
10 Reasons to Use Evidence-Based Programs
Many youth service providers feel they need to invent their own unique program. Not so. Plenty of proven, off-the-shelf models and programs are out there just waiting for the right application. Odds are, some of them are designed to produce the exact outcomes you are looking for.
Here are 10 reasons to check them out and find one that works for your clientele.
- They Work. ‘Evidence-Based’ means it’s based on research. In addition, there has usually been some kind of quasi-experimentation involving pre- and post-testing and comparisons with control groups.
- They’re Fundable. Over the past ten years, funding agencies, especially federal funders, have increasingly called for evidence based programs. Sometimes they even provide a shopping list of programs that they are willing to fund.
- Just Add Water. There’s no need to spend time developing procedures, creating forms, and designing programs. All these have already been developed, probably by someone who knows more about what works than you do.
- Instructions. The manual is already written, usually in step-by-step format. Read more
Bypass Expansion Bids Opened, While I-69 Ahead of Schedule
Over the last couple of weeks, the state has made significant announcements regarding road work that will be taking place in the area over the next few years. On May 19th , INDOT opened the bids for the long awaited State Road 45/46 Bypass expansion, and on the same day, Governor Daniels announced an accelerated schedule for I-69 that will bring the highway into Monroe County by 2012, several years ahead of schedule.
For more than 20 years, the state and the community have discussed widening the often congested and avoided bypass. The Chamber has also made the project a priority, particularly to enhance 21 st century job creation as Indiana University works to build its technology park at 10 th and the Bypass. Through this important initiative, our community can strengthen its position as a leader in technology and bio and life sciences, harnessing IU-led research to bring innovative products to the market through public and private sector partnerships. In addition, the expansion will clear the way to more efficiently bring consumers to the growing College Mall area as well as businesses along and near the Bypass from SR 37 on east. This project is a great ‘win’ for the community, particularly during a time when many states are forgoing road improvements and the construction industry is ailing from the economic downturn. Chamber member Milestone Contractors was awarded the nearly $22 million dollar contract. Read more
Kudos to Business Expo 2010
It is an annual tradition with a 25 year history of offering businesses an opportunity to showcase their wares to Monroe County. This year was no exception to the excellent one day, B2B trade show that Business Expo has always been known for.
The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce vendor booth experienced steady traffic throughout the event. It was great visiting with current and potential members, plus the general public as they strolled by. Many attendees were pleased to learn of the new and extensive menu of programs and events The Chamber has scheduled this year. They also had the opportunity to learn about the augmented benefits Chamber membership has to offer with the new Membership Investment Level model.
The BIRA sponsored Taste of Expo was a good example of “the best in local food”. Plus it was tasty. That was obvious with the plates of food being devoured all around.
This is the part of the Expo that really draws a crowd.
I met new contacts, potential business members and was able to re-connect with others that I have not seen in awhile. That is what the Expo is all about. Again, kudos to Business Expo 2010 for a job well done.
10 Things You May Not Know About The Chamber
As I approach my ten year anniversary with The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, I find myself reflecting on the last decade of my professional life and the many experiences I’ve had working for a Chamber of Commerce. 
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned, is that once you’ve seen one chamber you’ve seen just one chamber. Chambers are some of the oldest organizations in the world and are connected by the name “Chamber of Commerce”, and are typically an association of business people. That’s about where the similarities end. Chambers are a uniquely diverse group of independent, membership organizations that serve their communities in a variety of ways. I have also learned that such diversity can lead to confusion about what chambers do. I have often heard the phrase “I’m not sure if you can help me, but I thought to call the chamber first.” Read more