Multicultural Chamber overcoming cuts

When the Tennessee Multicultural Chamber of Commerce lost half of its funding from the city of Chattanooga, it had to cut staff and limit mailings, but officials say it has no intention of closing.

Instead, the organization is launching a three-year fundraising campaign to fuel its primary mission of assisting minority-owned, women-owned and disadvantaged businesses.

"We've just got to help them," said founding board member John Taylor. "During this tough economic time, we need our small businesses to grow to make a positive difference in the economy and the community."

The Chamber is asking its individual members to give a minimum of $25 a month for three years. The goal is to raise $75,000 a year for the next three years.

Since 1999, when the Chamber began, the city has given it $150,000 a year.

"We've never had an increase," said Sherrie Gilchrist, president and CEO of the Multicultural Chamber.

Then in October 2009, the council cut the Chamber's funding to $75,000.

The Tennessee Multicultural Chamber of Commerce is about helping small and minority-owned businesses so they can create jobs for other people, said longtime Chattanooga businessman J.T. McDaniel.

"It's a vital organization. We need it," he said. "All of the information I have gained to help me as a businessman, most of it has come from other small businesses and African-Americans."

About 600 individuals and organizations have joined the Chamber since its founding. Members include small and minority-owned businesses from Chattanooga as well as businesses from North Georgia and Knoxville. It's a conduit between public and private agencies, officials said, and it also assists upcoming business owners in developing a business plan to get started.

The need for the Multicultural Chamber in addition to the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce is the same as the need for a Realtors association or a manufacturers association, Ms. Gilchrist said.

"All of these fulfill a niche for their members," she said. "Our primary focus is to help public and private agencies who say they do not know where to find small, minority- and women-owned businesses to do business with them," she said.

The Chamber operates with two staff members, including one program manager who organizes informational events, and Ms. Gilchrist, who assists with business plans and creating networks between small businesses and larger corporations.