Thank you all for helping the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce make our city one of the best places to live and work.
As we launch into a busy 2017, we wanted to take a moment and reflect on our key accomplishments from the last year.
It was an incredibly busy year for the SF Chamber, and because of the support of our members we were able to fulfill our mission to serve the business community through our three pillars – advocacy, business development and economic development.
ADVOCACY
• Worked closely with the Board of Supervisors and major stakeholders on legislation impacting the business community, including the City’s ban on Styrofoam products and paid parental leave.
• Led our annual delegations of local business, labor and government leaders to Washington D.C. and Sacramento to advocate on behalf of San Francisco’s key priorities.
• Continued to support local education through the UniteSF initiative, realigning its strategic plan to serve as the backbone for the STEM Talent Pathway, a member of the My Brother & Sister’s Keeper African-American Postsecondary Pathways Program collaborative, and a community partner for the Golden Gate STEM Alliance.
• Killed an increase in the Transportation Sustainability Fee that would have raised fees beyond those the Chamber and stakeholders supported in legislation passed in December of 2015.
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| The SF Chamber’s annual delegation to the nation’s capital for CityTrip D.C. | Senator Dianne Feinstein hosts a special Public Policy Forum at the Chamber | Mayor Ed Lee attends the annual SF Biz Connect Purchasing Event at the Old Mint |
• Prevented three tax measures from being placed on the November ballot: the Tech Tax, the 1% Hotel Tax Increase, and the Utility Tax on Gas and Non-Renewable Electricity.
• Successfully defeated the anti-mayoral charter amendments D, H, L and M in the November election. We campaigned against those measures while gathering the opposition of previous mayors Feinstein, Jordan, Brown and Newsom and contributed the first dollars in August through our PAC, SF Forward.
• We also played a role in the successful Yes on A School Bond, Yes on RR BART Bond and Yes on Q Homes Not Tents.
• Convened a working transportation planning working group in anticipation of hosting the Super Bowl City fan village on Market Street downtown. The group continues to meet regularly with SFMTA and our stakeholders to tackle transportation issues impacting our members.
• Hosted Public Policy Forums throughout the year, including a special standing room only forum with Senator Dianne Feinstein in the wake of the presidential election.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
• Welcomed 200 new members in 2016 – including technology, legal services, healthcare, education, biotechnology, and financial services.
• Hosted a total of over 250 events, including five Signature Events, spanning across public policy, business development, and economic development.
• Launched our technology focused initiative Tech After Dark and then followed it with biztechSF, a unique business focused event housed inside Oracle OpenWorld.
• Celebrated the Golden State Warriors at our annual Tip-Off Luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco. The Chamber was proud to have more than 500 attendees from all business sectors.
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| San Francisco Giants Executive VP of Business Operations Mario Alioto, Oracle CEO Safra Catz and San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer at biztechSF | Hypeman Franco Finn warms up the crowd at the 2016 Ebbies | Golden State Warriors players Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant react to questions from TV announcer Bob Fitzgerald |
• Totally revamped our Excellence in Business Awards (Ebbies) for the 25th Silver Anniversary and held the event at AT&T Park under the Big Top with a private performance of Cirque du Soleil’s LUZIA.
• Partnered with Small Business Saturday and San Francisco Small Business Week to encourage shopping at small businesses, which make up the majority of the Chamber’s membership.
• Grew our young professionals’ initiative, SF Up, to over double its size with over 250 registered members entering 2017.
• Reached $1,259,860 in closed business leads through Business Alliance, the Chamber’s exclusive and most successful lead exchange group.
• Accepted the 31st class of LeadershipSF, the Chamber’s foundational organization dedicated to educating and developing community trustees who will make a significant contribution to strengthen and transform our community.
• Teamed up with foundation partner Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy to debut the Chambers Across America video series highlighting our efforts to help member businesses thrive in the clean energy space.
• During Super Bowl 50, hosted the Merlin Olsen Luncheon in partnership with the Pro Football Hall of Fame, marking the first time the Hall of Fame had partnered with an organization for the event in its history.
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| Gold Jackets at the NFL Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony | President of the Board of Supervisors London Breed at Supes for Lunch |
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• Continued the San Francisco Center for Economic Development‘s successful and much-emulated international partnerships with the Mayor’s Office and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, while expanding our joint work to include marketing locally with Shop and Dine in the 49 and SF Biz Connect.
• The SFCED hosted more than 60 international delegations through its international programs.
• ChinaSF drew major investments including $300 million in the Oceanwide Center development at First & Mission.
• LatinSF helped 11 new companies locate to San Francisco from Latin America.
• SFAsia brought 162 jobs directly from continental Asia.
• Created 526 direct new jobs, with an economic impact of $64 million.
• Grew our BuildSF economic development initiative to host networking and panel events focused on construction.
• Through the SFCED, insured San Francisco’s value proposition was represented to established and emerging companies at major business symposia and events, including BIO International, InterSolar, and SelectUSA.
We look forward to an even more successful 2017 as we advocate with a common voice on behalf of our members to support and grow business in San Francisco.
Have a suggestion for the SF Chamber in 2017? Fill out our 2016 membership survey for a chance to win four round-trip domestic e-passes from Southwest Airlines.
