About Us

Our Mission

To be a catalyst for economic growth for our members and the community.

Our Vision

To advance a globally competitive, innovative economy for our members and the community to achieve sustainability, growth and prosperity.

Core Values

• Relevance
• Integrity
• Non-Partisanship

Who and What We Are

• The Chamber is a nonprofit organization.
• We have more than 1,000 member businesses.
• Member businesses are all sizes, from the smaller mom-and-pops to mid-size firms and large multinational corporations.
• Our membership is comprised of every typeindustry.
• Members represent every commercial neighborhood in Schenectady County. Members also come from all parts of the Capital Region - from Albany to Troy and Saratoga and the surrounding Tech Valley Region.
• Our staff consists of eight professional team members.

Strategic Initiatives 2010-2012

1. Communication. Our focus is to connect Chamber members, partners and the community via targeted and innovative marketing.
2. Advocacy. We’ll continue to be a legislative watchdog at all levels of government and work to advance our members’ profitability through existing business retention, new business attraction and workforce development.
3. Service. We intend to create a staff position of “Service Navigator” to steer members in the proper direction to obtain the assistance the need from the Chamber as well as partner organizations.
4. Community Promotion. We’ll continue our marketing initiatives to attract meetings and conferences to Schenectady County, promote the “Say Schenectady” visitor services program and increased home buying among relocating employees utilizing “Discover Schenectady” collateral.

Member Firms by Size

• 38% 1-5 employees
• 44% 6-50 employees
• 5% 51-500 employees
• 3% 501-plus employees

Why Members Join

While the rationale for becoming a member of The Chamber of Schenectady County varies widely from member to member, members tend to fall into two main interest groups:

• Business Builders who join The Chamber for direct business referrals, networking opportunities, greater visibility, professional development (sales, marketing, technology) andglobal business opportunities.
• Public Policy Advocates who recognize the value of joining with others to affect public policy by taking the initiative to solve problems and create a healthy environment for business and economic growth.