WASILLA -- The Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit created to boost local businesses, is suddenly itself in need of some major assistance.

As of the first week in April, the chamber's coffers held a little more than $3,000 in reserve for the rest of the year, said Cheryl Combs, the chamber's president. The chamber spends $10,000 a month, most of it on payroll.

But chamber officials say they will turn things around -- with help from members and the community.

"We're not in the red at all," Combs said. "If no action is taken (we will be), but obviously we can't do that. The board won't let that happen. We will figure out a way."

Chamber supporters cite a down economy that's causing declining membership and cutting into fundraising, coupled with a few fizzled chamber-sponsored events, especially the Mat-Su King Salmon Derby and Musher's Ball.

Already the funding shortage has led to some changes. The chamber's receptionist left in January and wasn't replaced. Two staffers -- executive director Cheryl Metiva and Lyn Carden, who handles membership and visitor's services -- now remain.

Some popular chamber events could change, like the popular annual murder mystery train, or go away, like the annual king salmon derby.

Wasilla's two-year, $100,000 contract with the chamber to operate a visitor's bureau also remains unaffected, city and chamber officials say, though the contract would need to be renewed in the city budget, which is under review now.

Otherwise, chamber officials say, the doors are open and business continues as usual. Combs said she hopes to bring in as much as $99,000 with member help and various potential fundraisers -- restaurant and excursion raffles, a poker tournament -- and says members are already coming forward to help.

"We've got some really strong members to bring it back up to where it should be," chamber member and real estate agent Darcie Salmon said. "We're the best in the state, and I stand by that."

Never 'comfortable'

Combs said she started a review of the chamber's financial situation in January when she became president to help the board put together a budget.

No budget was implemented at the end of 2008, a situation Combs described as "a little unusual."

Metiva said normally the chamber adopts a budget in December but didn't last year because the former treasurer resigned and moved away.

She said she knew around the beginning of the year the chamber was running into a shortfall but got hints last fall.

"We immediately felt a tightening up in our organization," Metiva said. "All of a sudden things kind of ground to a halt."

Membership peaked at 700 last fall, she said. It's now at about 570. Combs said some former members went out of business.

Event revenues are down too, officials say. The Musher's Ball this year brought in $5,000, much less than expected, Metiva said.

Another event -- the king salmon derby -- actually cost the chamber at least $8,000, Metiva said. The derby fell victim to a state-ordered king fishing shutdown on the Deshka River.

The chamber is looking at charging fees on top of the $250 base membership dues now required, she said. The king salmon derby may be replaced by a two-week silver salmon contest in August.

The Musher's Ball, part of the Iditarod Days event, in 2007 brought in almost $25,000, according to financial records posted on a Web database of nonprofits.

The derby, however, brought in just under $2,000 that year, according to the database.

The chamber did not make records for 2008 available.

Jason Hamlin, a former board president and board member through 2007, said the financial situation was never comfortable in his time with the chamber. Some chamber-sponsored money-losers, such as the Fourth of July parade, had to be jettisoned, Hamlin said. The derby was on the block too.

"As long as I've been involved, it's been challenging," he said.

Other state chambers

The urgency of Wasilla's fiscal situation appears unmatched at chambers around the state.

"I'm not aware of any other organizations in the chamber world in (Wasilla's) straits," said Wayne Stevens, Alaska State Chamber of Commerce president.

That's not to say all chambers are coasting, Stevens said.

He's been in the chamber business since 1985, and funding always comes and goes.

But most chambers "are pretty adaptable" when it comes to sitting down with the membership to hash out funding issues, he said.

Chambers in Palmer and Anchorage report steady membership numbers, officials say.

In Fairbanks, the chamber has declined from 800 to 750 members since executive director Barb Lorz-Wammack started work last September.

Fairbanks too didn't replace a receptionist who left, Lorz-Wammack said. Still the chamber started preparing last year for the financial crunch to come.

Last October the board gave her a mission: knowing the economy is slowing, ax any events that don't pay for themselves.

The chamber also started offering monthly small-business seminars instead of quarterly sessions.

"We need to show our members the value in the chamber," Lorz-Wammack said.

"We are handling aggressive small-business seminars to give them that tweak."

Find Zaz Hollander online at adn.com/contact/zhollander or call 352-6711.

ADVERTISEMENT