The Rockville Chamber of Commerce was able to continue all of its offerings throughout COVID without skipping a beat or having to dip into any reserves! We were able to obtain 8 grants.
We were an information HUB between the State, County and City of Rockville to provide updated information to the business community. We called every member to see how they were doing and what resources we could bring to them.
We pivoted all of our programs to zoom. All of our monthly programs continued to run: Our quarterly education series, Good Morning Rockville; Our monthly lunch and learn program, Let’s Do Lunch (virtually); and our monthly networking events, Mix and Mingles. We partnered with other Chambers and Associations so our members could meet other businesses in different areas. We also provided monthly webinars with the SBA, Aronson, SHS, and held panel discussions regarding Economic Development, Entrepreneur Panel, Real Estate panel and our professional development series, Leadercast.
We held our Annual events on zoom in 2020. State of the City, Public Safety Awards and Rockstar Awards.
In 2021 we began outdoor hybrid events. State of the City, Public Safety Awards, Golf Tournament, Economic Development panel discussion and Rockstar Awards.
We walked the business communities with the County, REDI and Board Chair to have a presence and show the businesses we were there for them and could provide the resources they might need. We had an up-to-date Resource page on our NEW website with all COVID related information about PPP loans/grants. We were active participants on a weekly Small Business committee by the County and represented our small businesses. i.e shuttered Venues to reopen Adventure Theatre and Escape rooms.
We worked with the City of Rockville and Rockville Economic Development to assist businesses with outdoor seating and PPE.
We pivoted our previous program, Rockville Rewards, and created a new website with downloadable cards and new ecommerce offerings. We also integrated the program under the Rockville Chamber of Commerce umbrella, not just a stand-alone program. We were still able to give our non-profit partners the critical funds they have come to enjoy by splitting all sales evenly amongst those participants.
2020/2021 our Non-profit partners generated $22,690.65 as a result of selling 972 Rockville Reward cards and products.