Chamber Champion

The Chamber has worked hard to help Grinnell businesses keep their doors open and/or reopen during the last 18 months during the COVID19 pandemic and the derecho. A few notable accomplishments and projects include: 

Chamber COVID-19 Projects:

• Founded Grinnell Small Business Relief Fund - first of it’s kind! Raised over $84,000 to support over 60 businesses with grants.
• Launched the #GRINNtogether campaign to encourage Grinnellians to support local businesses. 481 instagram posts, hundreds of facebook posts, 115 signs, stickers and more printed by Total Choice Shipping and Printing to help raise over $1,000 to support the Grinnell Small Business Relief Fund.
• Created the Grinnell Gift Cards, Grinnell To Go.com and other shop local campaigns to support businesses. Grinnell Gift Cards have supported 14 businesses with over 380 gift cards totaling over $5,000. GrinnellToGo.com has had 23 active businesses over the course of the year, 691 active users, 1,588 orders and over $29,800 in sales to date. 
• Partnered with Claude W. & Dolly Ahrens Foundation in the Gifting Grinnell silent auction to financially support both Grinnell businesses and area non-profits.
• Constant communications to members on grant and loan opportunities, government updates, PPE access and more.
• Played a vital role in communication critical information post-derecho. Our website page, “Derecho Recover Updates” had 678 visits, 743 pageviews and our “Volunteer Needs” page had 321 visits and 334 pageviews.
  • Our Facebook communication included 21 posts reaching 78,984 people with 19,563 engagement and 628 shares. Our Volunteer Day event reached 3,402 people.
• Our office also helped lead and assisted with the Derecho Community Meal where 50+ volunteers handed out 1,500 meals and the Volunteer Clean Up Day where 43 volunteers cleaned 17 yards for over 180 volunteer hours.
• Our team joined the Grinnell Food Coalition and the Time To Eat Food Box Program. GFC raised $350,000 for food vouchers. Time To Eat held 8 events with 111 individuals volunteering for 3,175 total hours to work with 27 local agencies and 13 area agencies. Handed out 7,291 30lb food boxes at a value of over $274,000 in food assistance.

By being a Chamber Champion, your support will: 

• Protect projects like the Grinnell Small Business Relief Plan, Grinnell Gift Cards, Grinnell To Go.com and others.
• Help contribute to the ongoing commitment of major community projects like childcare, housing, internet access and more.
• Ensure the business community has access to the Chamber’s resources and support.
• Ensure Grinnell businesses have uninterrupted access to membership, Grinnell Bucks, access to PPE and more by helping keep our office open.
• Ensure that our community will remain strong and vibrant now and into the future!

Champions Receive:

• Inclusion on a special page on our website and press release at the end of the summer
• Multiple Social Media highlights
• Champion sticker for your door or window

Sponsor Pledge: 

• $500 or more, Platinum Chamber Champion
  • $100 of donation goes to the Grinnell Small Business Relief Fund
• $250 Gold Chamber Champion
• $100 Silver Chamber Champion
• $50 Bronze Chamber Champion
• $25 Chamber Champion

*Please note, there is a 3% transaction fee applied to each donation to help the Chamber cover credit card fees. If you choose to make a donation without the fee, checks can be mailed to:
Grinnell Chamber Attn: Chamber Champions 833 4th Ave Grinnell, IA 50112

2020 Champions: 

Platinum

• The Bill Menner Group
• Jennifer Havens
• Sally & Ron Lang
• Bob Mann
• Mayflower
• MCG - Mahaska Communications Group
• Jack Robertson
• Val & Roger Vetter
• Jeff & Renee Menary
• Bill Molison
• Cathy Grovenburg

Gold

• Mark & Chelsey Kolpin
• Darcy Swick
• Lauren & Matt Augustin
• Monique & Craig Shore
• Russell Construction
• Kamal Hammouda & Laura Fendt
• Ramsey Family
• B3 Technology

Silver

• Steve Langerud
• Paul Kolpin
• Alicia & Cory Blankenfeld
• Shane Hart
• Meg Jones Bair
• Jessica & Troy Dillon
• Barb Norman
• Katie Little
• Diane & Len Eberhart
• Jack Mathews
• Barbara & John Ashby
• Monica St. Angelo & Mark Levandoski
• Village Decorating Studio & Loralei's
• Ginny & Doug Cameron
• Katrina and Steve Dickerson

Bronze

• ​​​​​​​Steve Gant
• Judy & Chris Hunter
• Stephanie Connor
• Sharon Mealey
• Rachel & Dave Arseneault
• Maureen Fitzgibbon

Champion

• Evan Dickerson
• Tommy Haas
• Ivy & Andy Schuster