Working together, the California Chamber of Commerce and local chambers of commerce are a solid force as advocates supporting business-friendly policies and helping California businesses comply with complex laws and regulations.
While completely independent from the California Chamber, local chambers provide a real linkage to the thoughts and priorities of business — especially small business around the state. With 80%–90% of local chamber members having fewer than 20 employees, local chambers are a major grassroots voice for “Main Street” California.
Most chambers play leading roles as community problem solvers and serve as the voice of business on public policy. Chambers are catalysts for business growth, helping businesses do their jobs by providing resources, training opportunities, and expert guidance on a broad range of issues.
Chambers are champions for a thriving community. They connect with elected officials, education institutions and other local leaders to find ways that businesses can solve local problems and help revitalize regional areas so that their communities are better places to live, work and raise families.
Lastly, chambers are conveners of leaders and influencers, not only connecting business leaders with each other, but also presenting business owners in a positive light to the community and ensuring that business concerns are heard by policymakers.
During the 2020–2022 pandemic, chambers of commerce solidified their position as a trusted resource, providing accurate and timely information on COVID-19 data, assistance, and government guidelines, protocols and labor laws. Thanks to the persistent advocacy efforts of the CalChamber and local chambers, California elected representatives and government officials amended laws and regulations to ease burdens on businesses and expanded COVID-19 relief programs to help businesses weather the pandemic.
In California today there are more chambers of commerce than there are cities. While each chamber is unique and may choose to emphasize some activities over others, all chambers work toward economic development, prosperity, and employer community.
