Where Exactly Does the Chamber get its Income and How do we Spend it?  

There seem to be a great many inquiries lately about the income that the Chamber receives from the City; ranging from exorbitant amounts in dollars that we allegedly receive, to how the money gets spent.

In years past,  BC (before Carla) the Chamber did receive upwards of $400,000 per year from the redevelopment agency.  This money was used to provide economic development services including paying the salary of an economic development specialist.  The money also was used to pay for advertising, advertising agencies, marketing and branding firms, printing and mailing of brochures and subsidizing advertising for  our largest sales tax generators the auto dealers,  all with the intent of redeveloping downtown Healdsburg with a tourism driven economy and supporting those industries and businesses that had established themselves here based on tourism as the economic driver.   Money from the redevelopment agency was also spent for infrastructure improvements as well as funding low interest loans to hotels and restaurant developers who followed the tourism economy, remodeling older buildings and empty storefronts into thriving businesses.  

Approximately four years ago the redevelopment agencies were abolished by the state and with them went the redevelopment funding to the Chamber.  The funding went away, but the need to continue to promote Healdsburg as a destination did not go away.  To their credit, the lodging properties in town realized that there still needed to be an organized effort to promote Healdsburg, an effort that was beyond the scope of their individual ad budgets, so they petitioned the City Council to allow them to form an assessment district (Healdsburg Tourism Improvement District) adding an additional 2% to the Transit Occupancy Tax charged to hotel/motel customers, and allow them to use this money to continue promoting Healdsburg as a destination.  The City Council agreed.  Since the City is the only agency that can collect taxes here, they collect the tax, approximately $500,000 and keep 5% ($25,000) for the collection fee.  The Chamber is appointed by the City Council to administer the Healdsburg Tourism Improvement District.  We keep the books, pay the bills, send notifications, agendas of meetings and keep meeting minutes.  We also furnish the location for the meetings and office equipment and supplies.  For this we are paid 10% of the assessment collected, or approximately $50,000 per year.

When the redevelopment agency closed, the need for economic development in Healdsburg did not go away. It is still necessary to spend time and money on business attraction, and it is still necessary to spend time and money on business retention. The Healdsburg Chamber offers business counseling to existing businesses, makes referrals to local goods and services and offers classes that will help our local businesses compete in an ever changing global economy.  We also meet with new businesses interested in starting or relocating to Healdsburg.  We make introductions to local realtors, contractors and bankers.  We are aware of state and federal small business funding sources because we work hand in hand with the Sonoma County Economic Development Board.  We are also the "front door" for Healdsburg.  The Healdsburg Visitor Center sees over 1,000 walk-in visitors per month as well as answering countless phone calls.  We serve as the public restroom for the community, maintain the community calendar and community website. For these services which have increased, not diminished since the abolishment of redevelopment, we have a contract with the City for $200,000 spread over two fiscal years.  We earn the money the City pays us for our services and the city council and city management recognize that they are getting a bargain by paying the Healdsburg Chamber instead of hiring more employees.

If you have questions about this information or would like to discuss this further please don't hesitate to call or email me.  We're the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center and we work you.

Carla Howell

Executive Director

[email protected]

Contact:

Heather Wilson

Transition Services Coordinator

[email protected]

Healdsburg High School

1028 Prince Street

Healdsburg, CA 95448

Cell (415) 497-3824

• How to update your business information
• Keywords that make your business easily searchable on www.healdsburg.com
• Job Postings
• Hot Deals
• Using the online Membership Directory

Registration is free! Space is limited. Laptops encouraged but not required.

Tuesday, January 13th 8:45-11 am Healdsburg Chamber Office 217 Healdsburg Avnue Healdsburg, CA $35 for Chamber Members $45 for Non-Chamber members Continental breakfast included

About Lynn

Lynn Woznicki, Woznicki Consulting, is an accomplished facilitator and trainer with a passion for working with individuals to improve performance-and have fun in the process. Lynn shares, "I love giving people the tools they need to become more effective and successful in their life and work. My trainings are highly interactive and geared to the needs of participants." Visit www.wozconsulting.com to learn more about Lynn's extensive background and experience. 

Please Make it a point to say "hello" to these folks!

Welcome to our  newest members        Healdsburg Emporium Junior League of Napa-Sonoma Musetta Pilates Regus

Framing Arts our "Bucks for Luck" sponsor

Congratulations to our OCTOBER membership anniversaries!

Thank you for your many years of dedication

What's all the [ HYPE ] 

Healdsburg Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs  

HYPE Mixer

When: Thursday, November 20th               5:30-7 pm   Where: Thumbprint Cellars               102 Matheson Street, Healdsburg, CA   Cost: $10 for HYPE members             $20 for General

HYPE Membership Fees   Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce Members:  Annual $25.00 for Business Per Mixer: $10.00 for any employee    Non Chamber Member  Annual $75.00 Per Mixer: $10.00 for any employee           Got questions? Email us at [email protected] or check us out at www.healdsburg.com/hype

Advertising Opportunities  

The Healdsburg Visitor Center located at 217 Healdsburg Avenue is open 7 days a week from 10:00am to 4:00pm assisting both tourist and locals with concierge-style service. The center averages over 1,000 walk-in visitors, plus a plethora of phone and email inquires opening the front door of Healdsburg for travelers from around the world.  With Healdsburg.com as our domain, we maintain the most robust online directory of Healdsburg businesses, events, and area information to assist inquiries in finding our member businesses with between 11,000 to 20,000 website hits each month.

Here are a few ways you can maximize this exposure through our new online and digital advertising opportunities:

• Newsletter Advertising - $50/mo, to list of over 1,400 subscribers
• Digital Display Screen in Visitor Center - $100/mo, over 5,000 impresses/mo
• Website Banner Ads - ranging from $500 to $1,000/year
• Enhanced Online Directory listing with priority listing & photo enhancements $348/year

For more information download advertising sales sheet.

Thousands of visitors from around the globe start their tour of the wine country at the Healdsburg Visitors Center. 

The digital signage display located in the Visitor Center which is the front door to Healdsburg and Sonoma County wine country.  Your digital poster signs will be displayed 24/7 over 5,000 impressions per month for less than 2 cents per impression. 

Digital signage is the most cost-effective and green way to capture the attention of visitors and drive them to your business.

The Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce encourages and promotes a positive, balanced, vital economy and preserve those unique qualities that are good for business and make Healdsburg a special place in which to visit, live and work. We strive to grow the local economy, promote our community and serve as an advocate for our business members.