Diversity as a Revenue Generator

“Diversity as a Revenue Generator”

a presentation for

Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama (CCAA)

2009 Summer Conference

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Ed Fields, MBA, IOM

Projects Unlimited, Inc.

www.relaxitshandled.com


When I say diversity/inclusion programming....I mean strategies that seek to bring people and businesses that exist on the margins of your association closer to the center.

This is not a discussion about “doing the right thing.” This is a discussion about your current relevance to people that will be your future sources of revenue if your chamber is to survive and thrive.


We are really talking about innovation. We are really talking about new market space.

We are really talking about making your chamber of commerce relevant to more potential members, ticket buyers and sponsors.


Speaking of relevance...what product, service or organization that didn’t exist 10 years ago is so relevant to you today that it would impact your total routine to not have it?


Instead of something, how about someone....


“A Day Without A Mexican” - 2004

A movie about what would happen if every Hispanic person were to disappear from your community for just one day.

How would you replace them as customers? As employees? As owners and renters? As patrons and servers? As students? As friends and parishioners?


Hispanic Population is fastest growing in the US and Alabama

Population Growth from 2000 –2008 in Alabama Counties

County YR 2000 YR 2008 Growth Rate(%)

Shelby 2,910 4,376 150%

Jefferson 10,284 20,513 99%

Mobile 4,887 7,614 56%

Cullman 1,688 3,072 82%

Macon 173 237 37%

Montgomery 2,665 4,393 65%Source: Alabama State Data Center, University of Alabama; Birmingham Business

AllianceMembers of the CCAA will receive this expanded spreadsheet for all 67 Alabama counties via email


On the next slide is a tool that can help you determine if your current or potential membership is equitably represented in your programming.

NOTE: The goal is not to identify programming that is exclusive, simply relevant or attractive to certain categories of current or potential members.


Are your programs relevant to your current and potential members?

Sample Categories # of Members HPM (hours per member)

Representative program hours

Women 100 .24 24

Under 40 yrs 50 .24 12

Over 65 yrs 50 .24 12

Hispanic 5 .24 1

Total # of Program hours divided by Total # of Members equals

Hours per member

Contact Ed Fields at [email protected] for more information about this table.


By the way, saying that “our chamber programs are for everyone” doesn’t quite cut it.

Tide, Lifetime movies and Jimmy Buffet music can be consumed by everyone, but the people in charge know to market their products at certain times, through certain mediums to certain people. Yes, other people can buy, but they are not the target audience.

With this in mind....who are your chamber programs (each one) really targeting? Who might you be excluding by design or omission?


If you are thinking at this moment, “I don’t know what makes my programs relevant or not relevant to women or minorities or disabled or home-based businesses.”

Then you are on the right track.

“That’s what friends are for!” – 1985


Friends (with proven people and resources)• Organizations

– Projects Unlimited, Inc. www.relaxitshandled.com– South Regions Minority Supplier Diversity Council – Women’s Business Enterprise Council– Women’s Business Centers (North Alabama, Central

Alabama, Mobile Area)– Society of Human Resource Managers, Statewide Diversity

Council– Birmingham Business Alliance – Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce– Mobile Chamber of Commerce– Alabama Small Business Development Consortium– AARP of Alabama– UAB Rave Program – Employing the Disabled

• Upcoming Events– 2009 Diversity Summit, Montgomery Chamber of

Commerce, 9/15– 2009 Eagle Awards, Mobile Chamber of Commerce– 2009 Birmingham Diversity Summit, Birmingham Business

Alliance


Community Diversity

Workforce Diversity

Supplier Diversity

Easy Challenging Hard

Three Buckets of Diversity and Inclusion


Community Diversity

• Celebrating the inclusiveness of your community:

– Unique access for the disabled– Cross-cultural history and

landmarks– Education programs encouraging

broad thinking for youths

• Programs– Ex: Birmingham Urban League

Multi-Racial Friendship Recognition Program

• Any organization can produce a good community diversity program, but is that the business your chamber should be in? Admittedly, it does sell well, is easy to produce and relatively easy to garner support for. Civic pride!


Workforce Diversity


Workforce Diversity

• Every successful business owner wants to celebrate his or her employees. Give them a platform (event and publication) for them to do so.

• Tap into new budgets with old friends.

• Perfect opportunity to get the nonprofit community involved – they employ people who buy from your members.

• Non-threatening way to celebrate cultural diversity in your community and within your membership.


Supplier Diversity

• Getting majority-owned and minority/women-owned businesses to do business with one another. • The most difficult, yet most powerful diversity/inclusion programming you can produce.

• Get a strategic partner involved for credibility and third party perspective.

– South Regions Minority Supplier Development Council

– Women’s Business Enterprise National Council


Revenue Generators

Birmingham Business Alliance (formerly Birmingham Chamber)

Birmingham Diversity Summit

• Raised approximately $500,000 in revenue over five years• Effectively replaced income from traditional business fair that had experienced declining interest and support• Served nearly 2,000 business professionals – of all backgrounds – who felt great about “their chamber” responsibly engaging this 21st century business dynamic.

– By the way, what are you currently doing to make your members say, “Well, That’s Different!”

• Tapped into thousands of dollars of previously untapped/undiscovered division budgets with a diversity spending mandate tied to them.


Revenue Generators

Mobile Chamber of CommerceMinority Business Enterprise Center (MBEC)

• Won grant from the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency • Increased membership from minority-owned business by 10% per year. Several minority business owners invested at top membership levels.

– Put another way, this diversity/inclusion program increased overall chamber members and revenue.

• Added capacity to serve pre-existing minority business owners while providing a broader audience to traditional chamber members. Mentoring opportunities.• There is no separate minority business organization, the chamber is the mothership.


“Done correctly, high quality diversity and inclusion programs will not only return value to your current members, these programs also create new sources of revenue for your association by virtue of being positioned to reach new audiences.”

- Ed Fields, Projects Unlimited, Inc.


All powerful.

All aiming in the same direction.


Special Thanks TO

Donna Watts, South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce2009 CCAA Chairman

Jan Wood, Wetumpka Area Chamber of Commerce2009 Conference Chair

Marian Mason, Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce2009 Conference co-Chair

Kirk Mancer, Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce

Michael Shattuck, Birmingham Business Alliance

Ralph Stacy, President & CEO, CCAA


THANK YOU + CONTACT ME

Projects Unlimited, Inc.

Ed Fields, MBA, IOM

(205) 250-9020

[email protected]


www.linkedin.com/edandcheriefields

Diversity as a Revenue Generator

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