Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce

Understanding Commerce
The Chamber acknowledges the commerce generated from disparities and the unaggregated consumerism of our community. We promote strategies to capture the revenues to secure economic benefits.

Core Strategies:
• Create and Maintain an Effective Chamber
• Provide Services to Build Strong Members
• Develop Policy, Advocacy and Strategic PartnershipsOperating Principles

Finances - We provide access to capital and other resources to enhance business opportunities in the marketplace.

Accountability - Community building is our goal. The Chamber promotes and advocates accountability from African and Black American businesses

Workforce Development - We encourage member firms to intentionally hire, train and develop the workforce of our community. It’s an investment that creates sustainability and self-sufficiency.

Political Activities - The Chamber is non-partisan, but that doesn’t mean unconcerned. We’re working to establish a mechanism which will monitor the political process as it affects business issues in our community.

Leadership - We provide leadership to promote the economic vitality of the African and Black American communities. To that end, we lead discussions and leverage our resources through innovative collaborations and partnerships. We care about your future.

Professional Development - The competitive nature of today’s business environment requires professional development on an ongoing basis. The Chamber looks for opportunities for it’s member to access the skills necessary to succeed.

2006 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

The Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce is an alliance of business leaders and entrepreneurs. MBCC’s mission is to build wealth and economic independence in communities of African descent in the state of Minnesota. Our constituents include the nearly 8000 firms owned and operated by black people. Each and every member of the Chamber is charged with deliberately creating opportunities to do business with black firms.

During 2006 we made significant strides toward our goals:

• Completed the business plan for the Black Apprenticeship Program, which will match under-served youth from North Minneapolis with black business owners. A grant from the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches provided the funding and impetus.
• Presented a series of “Lunch & Learn” Seminars on subjects as diverse as Education, Telecommunications and Marketing, to help businesses become better.
• Held a “Town Meeting” with elected officials to discuss the impact of major economic issues on the business community. Focus was on the new stadiums and rapid transit.
• Collaborated with the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce on the “Gateway” Program, which brought small businesses together with buyers of goods and services for Ramsey County.
• Created an informed, competent Board of Directors through a series of classes in Non-profit Management at Hamline University.
• Participated in the Central Corridor Transit Planning Board.
• Presented, in collaboration with Aguilar Productions, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, and American Family Insurance, the first annual African-American Marketing Conference.

In 2007 MBCC will continue to work to build a strong Chamber and to work on issues that are important to our members. A strong Chamber reflects a strong business community. A strong business community is the only way to achieve our goal of creating wealth for the community of African descent.

Priorities identified by the Board of Directors include:
• Increase membership
• Increase revenue
• Increase visibility of the Chamber in the community
• Initiate the Black Apprenticeship Program
• Identify human resources, including an interim Executive Director, and perhaps some student interns

The Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce is young and faces many challenges and growing pains, but we have a strong, enthusiastic Board of Directors and members who believe in our mission. Furthermore, we have garnered support from other chambers, from corporations, educational institutions, from the social-services sector, and from the community at large. With that kind of support, we can only grow, get stronger, and fulfill our vision.