Affiliate Chamber Spotlight: 2022 Grinnell Area Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Name + Website

Grinnell Area Chamber of Commerce

Elected Leader for 2022

Lauren Augustin, Vice President of Product Transformation and Delivery, Board Chair (Grinnell Mutual)

Professional Staff Leader of the Chamber

Rachael Kinnick, IOM | President & CEO

Number of Members

194

How Does a Business Join Your Chamber?

Joining the Grinnell Chamber is easy! Visit our website, give us a call or stop into the office. We work to meet businesses where they are and have several tiers of membership to meet all levels of business.

What is a Signature Offering of Your Chamber?

We offer a number of specific benefits for our investors but what makes our chamber unique is our committed work to community growth. We know our community is stronger together and our member investments allow us to work collaboratively with our community partners to launch and support placemaking efforts, population and workforce initiatives, and support existing and new business growth in our community.

What is Your Chamber’s Biggest Accomplishment in the Past 12 Months?

We have recently been awarded two grants through Empower Rural Iowa which will greatly impact our community and its access to workforce: Rural Return and Childcare Feasibility. We are working now to launch our childcare survey to get updated information on the current needs and services in our area’s childcare industry, which will help our businesses gain clarity on the childcare needs impacting our area.

We also plan to launch our Rural Return initiative, Grow Grinnell, to incentivize Grinnell alumni to return to live and work in our community. We recognize the opportunity that exists for remote workplaces and employees, and we hope this initiative will encourage more people to consider Grinnell as home.

What Initiative/Project Are You Looking Forward to in the Upcoming Year?

We are excited to be part of a collaborative group of organizations and community members building a coalition to ‘Build a Better Grinnell.’ Through this work, we will hear from community members about opportunities and challenges which exist in our rural community. We will then work to incorporate some of those ideas into our organizational strategic plans over the next several years, ensuring that we work together to build a better Grinnell community.

What Partnership Tools/Resources Have Been Most Beneficial to Your Chamber Members?

The educational seminars have been great resources to share not only for our members but also for our team. Being able to access high quality education is critical for the growth of our organization and our business community.

We also greatly benefit from the institutional knowledge The Partnership team has. Reaching out to Partnership staff when we have a question or need a contact has been incredibly valuable to our organization. The advocacy at a state and federal level has been critical to our community and businesses growth and survival, especially over the last few years.

What Are Your Upcoming Events?

• Bite Sized Learning – Thursday, Sept. 8
• Connecting for Women – Tuesday, Sept. 27, Tuesday, Oct. 11 and Thursday, Oct. 27
• Jingle Bell Holiday – Friday, Nov. 18
• Holidays in Grinnell – Saturday, Nov. 19

The Greater Des Moines Partnership is the fourth largest regional Chamber of Commerce in the nation. Learn more about Partnership Affiliate Chambers, browse the Membership Directory and read additional Affiliate Chamber spotlights.