Written by Ed Dowd, Executive Director of the Mattoon Chamber of Commerce:
The Mattoon Chamber of Commerce Chamber Buck$ program continues to grow year after year. We are approaching $100,000 in purchases in 2016. This is a huge benefit to the local business community. We have over 60 Mattoon establishments who participate in the Chamber Buck$ program. This is a great way to show support for your local businesses who rely on your patronage to keep Mattoon thriving.
We are always asked what are Chamber Buck$ and how do they work? The Chamber Buck$ program was originally developed to help keep dollars spent locally rather than out of town. Anyone can buy Chamber Buck$ in denominations of $5, $10, $20 or $25. We provide a list of all the Mattoon businesses who accept Chamber Buck$, dollar for dollar for any purchases. There is no cost to the businesses or the people who receive them. The Chamber provides this service as a benefit to our members for free. The Chamber absorbs all the costs from the program and our reward is knowing that we are supporting our local businesses and ultimately the Mattoon community as a whole.
Most of the Chamber Buck$ are purchased by area businesses as rewards for their employees and associates. Many of our local industries have invested in our community in a big way for many years by purchasing over $10,000 or more in Chamber Buck$ each and every year. These companies use the Chamber Buck$ for their employees for many reasons including work anniversaries, achieving production goals, perfect attendance, etc. As an example of supporting the community, one of our Industry members submitted an open purchase order for $60,000 worth of Chamber Buck$ for next year. These businesses understand and appreciate the importance having their associates and vendors reinvesting in the Mattoon community.
Another benefit of the Chamber Buck$ program is that shopping locally here in Mattoon helps to keep and create additional employment opportunities for our community. Shopping locally also supports funding for our schools and city services. The tax dollars generated from buying locally are used for improvements to city streets, police and fire protection and overall infrastructure enhancements. Most importantly your friends, family and neighbors are all counting on your support of their businesses.
We welcome anyone to share in our program. You can simply stop by the Chamber office at 1518 Broadway Avenue in downtown Mattoon or if you have any questions, give us a call at (217) 235-5661. We can also answer any questions including providing the list of businesses that are participating in the Chamber Buck$ program by e-mailing us at matchamber@consolidated.net.