Greater Akron Chamber, Cuyahoga Falls Chamber of Commerce Announce New Partnership

November 1, 2024

Today, the Cuyahoga Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Akron Chamber announced a new partnership focused on increasing access to resources, services, and support for both organization’s members.

The Cuyahoga Falls Chamber of Commerce (CFCC) has been a driver of relationship building, local business connectivity, and small business support and education. It plays an important role for the City’s businesses in a growing community.

The Greater Akron Chamber (GAC) is the region’s metropolitan chamber serving Summit, Portage and Medina counties with regional advocacy, economic development support, and member services for its more than 2,300 members and the broader employer community. GAC works to catalyze economic growth and success for the Greater Akron region.

Each organization has goals that the other can support. GAC wants to continue increasing the services and support it brings to smaller businesses in the region by establishing dedicated staff and increasing programs and resources to expand its portfolio of services and support. GAC is also driving connectivity among the region’s broader business support ecosystem with tools like the Greater Akron Business Navigator, developed with a broad set of partners through the Elevate Greater Akron initiative. CFCC seeks to increase the reach of its members with relationships locally and regionally, and continue to deliver the opportunity for its members to engage in regional advocacy and economic development initiatives.

As a result, this partnership will create a unified membership for businesses that provides the benefits, programs, and resources of both organizations for a single membership investment; create access for its members to both regional resources and a concentration of local programs, events, and support delivered in Cuyahoga Falls; and jointly invest in upgrading CFCC’s Business Gateway at 111 Stow Ave. in downtown Cuyahoga Falls to become a premier destination for business co-working, meetings, events, and small business programming.

“Cuyahoga Falls has been riding a wave of growth and opportunity in the region and is a vibrant center of activity and opportunity for Summit County” said Steve Millard, President and CEO of the Greater Akron Chamber.  “We are excited to be able to help create a destination for activity and support of the small businesses that are so important to the city and the broader region.”

“About a year ago, the Board of the Cuyahoga Falls Chamber began a process of thinking about how it could best serve its members in a changing landscape of resources and opportunities,” said Ned Parks, Interim Managing Director, Cuyahoga Falls Chamber of Commerce. “The willingness of GAC to work with us on an approach that emphasizes the best of CFCC’s history of supporting the businesses of our city and our desire to connect them with opportunities, relationships and initiatives that extend outside its boundaries has been exciting.”

The affiliation of CFCC and GAC is in effect as of November 1, 2024, and represents a new kind of local and regional partnership that the organizations feel better fits the more connected, interdependent and opportunity-oriented mind set of small businesses focused on connecting with each other to grow their businesses.

Planning for renovation of the Business Gateway at Cuyahoga Falls is underway, with a goal to re-launch the renovated space in the first quarter of 2025.

Questions? Click here to review the FAQs.

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