On June 14 the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce announced at its “New Years in June” Awards Gala that the organization will now go by the title of Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce (SVCCC). The move comes as part of a larger rebranding of the Chamber, which includes a broader focus beyond the City of Santa Clara, as well as a new logo.
In tune with its new name the Chamber will be serving “central” cities in Silicon Valley, which could include cities like Los Gatos, Campbell, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View and, of course, Santa Clara.
“The Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce wants to work with cities that want to work with us,” explained Nick Kaspar, Chamber President/CEO. “It is not our intent to interfere with local Chambers but rather, to collaborate with Chambers that are interested in engaging with us. The SVCCC will not be entering communities that have not expressed an interest, and from which we have not been invited.”
Coverage of the larger area aims to boost the number of members, which currently is over 400 businesses such as Intel Corporation and Southwest Airlines.
“The Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce is always looking to increase our membership as it provides more opportunities for our current members,” Kaspar stated. The expected growth in members will likely run a wide range of businesses, from small community-serving shops to start-ups and the region’s major tech companies.
“The Chambers of Commerce in Silicon Valley are doing an incredible job representing one of the most powerful economies in the world,” said Kaspar. “When we looked at rebranding our Chamber, we researched other successful chambers around the country and found this model provides a great benefit to businesses. We reached out to a couple Chambers in the area letting them know of this structure to gauge their interest and found it positive.”
According to Kaspar the Chamber will continue with its current board members, though, that too is expected to expand as businesses from cities outside of Santa Clara join. The Chamber will be announcing structural changes to the organization’s leadership in July.
The Chamber isn’t the first of its kind to undergo a rebranding effort. The Silicon Valley Organization (SVO), based in San Jose was founded in 1886 as the San Jose Board of Trade. The name shifted to the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce in the late 1980s. It more recently became The Silicon Valley Organization in 2017, “To represent our unique ability to operate as more than a traditional Chamber of Commerce.”
“The Silicon Valley Organization remains the largest and most influential chamber of commerce; advocating for business-friendly policies across Silicon Valley,” Matt Mahood, president & CEO of the SVO commented. “We have a long history of collaborating with all the local chambers, working across jurisdictional boundaries, on important issues that affect business. In fact, we staff and convene the Silicon Valley Chamber Coalition every other month to support the local chambers to work together on local, regional and state issues. If this change to the Santa Clara Chamber helps them be more effective in serving the needs of their members, then we wish them all the best.”