Join the Chamber

Why Join?

Benefits of a Grand Bend & Area Chamber of Commerce Membership

Review the information below to find out why you and your business deserve and need a Chamber membership or print this handy reference guide – Membership Benefits Services 2023 (PDF).

  • Networking – with fellow Chamber businesses at Chamber events, such as
    • Lunch ‘n Learn,
    • Spring & Fall Members’ Mixers,
    • Fall Golf Tournament,
    • Annual General Meeting and
    • Celebrate the Season Evening.
  • Marketing & Advertising – through
    • this website and the tourism-focused website (itstartsatthebeach.ca ),
    • print publications – the area’s official visitor guide – It Starts At The Beach
    • your promotional materials on display at the Welcome Centre and included in mailed out information packages
    • member event sponsorships and
    • advertising opportunities – such as the Message Centre board in front of the Welcome Centre
  • Priority Referrals – of your business to residents, fellow Chamber members and area visitors. We serve about 11,000 inquiries annually, from tourists seeking places to stay, play, dine and shop to cottagers and residents seeking home and garden services – we are the first call people make when looking to make contact with a local business.
  • Affinity Program Discounts & Preferred Pricing – through your Membership with us you access a number of affinity programs that can save you money on business service basics, such as Constant Contact (online e-marketing service), and shipping with Purolator’s Chamber Progam.
  • Group Benefits Coverage – for you and your employees through the Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance Plan which offers Life and Disability, Health and Dental, to Business Overhead coverage, Critical Illness Benefits, Employee Assistance Programs, Retirement programs and preferred doctor referrals. These benefits are in place for the self-employed and businesses with only one employee (retirement program requires 2 employees).
  • Advocacy – through our membership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and through our efforts to work locally in the interest of the economic health of the community.
Benefit
grandbendchamber.caFull listing
ItStartsAtTheBeach.caFull listing
Welcome Centre Display of your business infoRack card, brochure or business card
Your promotional materials included in mailed Information PackagesMail about 100 packages per year
Membership Directory Print & Web
Event sponsorship opportunities6 events / year
Business networking6 events / year
Advertising in visitor guideDiscounted rates for members
Message Centre Board AdvertisingFee based
Constant Contact e-Marketing Affinity ProgramDiscounted rates for members
Purolator Chamber Affinity ProgramDiscounted rates for members
Chamber Benefits ProgramFlexible to your needs
Advocacy Provincial & Municipal

Have questions? Give us a call and we’ll be happy to answer them. Ready to join now?

How much does it cost?

We understand our local business community and know there are many “mom and pop” businesses – we make our pricing affordable for everyone!

Membership fees are based on the number of full time employees or “Full Time Equivalent” (FTE) employees (see note at the bottom of this page on how to work out FTE).

Accommodation Provider members must sign and be in compliance with the Accommodation Code of Ethics.

Pricing structure

Type of Member1 to 4
employees
5 to 10
employees
11 to 45
employees
50+
employees
Not-For-Profit
Regular$215$260$308$424$150
Web Marketing Fee+$50+$50+$50+$50+$50
Add-On Business Option: Add another business you own to the base membership (extends all rights and privielges)+$35+$35+$35+$35NA
Ontario Chamber of Commerce Fee (OCC)+$10+$10+$10+$10+$10

Calculating Full Time Equivalent

A full time employee works up to 40 hours per week for 52 weeks. If you have seasonal or part-time staff, calculate the total number of hours per week the staff work and base it on a 40 hour week to identify how many FTE employees you have.

Example 1: You and one employee work full time year-round. Two people average 30 to 40 hour weeks each for 52 weeks = 2 FTE employees.

Example 2: You and five employees work. You and one employee work year-round and in the summer you hire four employees working full time hours from June 1 through to September. These four employees work a quarter of the year. Over a 12-month basis, they add up to 1 FTE employee.  This scenario, membership fees would be based on  a total of 3 FTE employees.

Ways to pay for your membership

Membership fees can be paid by cash, cheque, PayPal or e-transfer. Since we pro-rate our membership fees for new members joining us during the year, please contact our Manager Sydney MacDonald at 519-238-2001 or info@grandbendchamber.ca to confirm the membership fee owing at the point you join. Essentially we take the full amount divide by 12 months and multiple by the number of months remaining in our fiscal year (November 1 to October 31).

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