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What happened to the Cranston Chamber of Commerce???
What started out as a story about the network of Chambers of Commerce in Rhode Island became a deeper focus on one chamber – Cranston’s Chamber of Commerce.
We learned that the Chamber has closed their office, with no forwarding address; their offices having closed “a few weeks ago” according to another building tenant.
Their phone number disconnects after the first ring.
Emails bounce back as undeliverable.
The website is mostly an empty template, with no board of directors, member list, or financial information links.
Their Facebook page’s last post was on Christmas Day.
Its Executive Director, Steve Boyle, has left, having taken a leadership role with a Cranston Providence Work Force group.
The Chamber had last claimed to have over 300 business members, with dues listed at $120/year.
According to the RI Secretary of State’s office their charter has been revoked for several years.
The IRS site lists their nonprofit status was revoked in 2013, and their foundation in 2011.
Of the 14 Rhode Island Chamber groups listed in GuideStar.org, the Cranston Chamber is not listed.
Neither the Central Chamber of Commerce nor the Greater Providence Chamber knew about the closure of the Cranston Chamber, in phone calls to their offices.
Merger rumors that the Central Chamber was going to take the Cranston Chamber over were responded to by Lauren Slocum, director, of the Central Chamber, who said she had not heard anything about this, though those rumors have been around for a long time, and the Chamber is “always willing to have conversations to help fellow Chamber groups”.
We were told by a city employee to call Steve Riley, who is also listed on the Chamber website as a small business loan/capital resource contact. We received a frustrated “no comment” and “we’re in transition – and we’ll tell you what you are asking in two weeks”. He would only repeat those responses several times to questions of where the chamber office had moved to, and if he was working for the Chamber now. He would not provide the names of anyone on the board, but instructed us to “do our research”.
Attempts to reach several people identified in a google search for board members resulted in answers such as: “No I am not. Perhaps listed as such but without any official designation or communication as to that capacity for a few years now” – and – “I haven’t been involved in years” – and – “that group hasn’t met for a couple of years”.
The Chamber is not part of the City of Cranston, but on their new website there is a page about the Chamber, which lists their address as 48A Rolfe Square, the building where a bakery is moving out, and a new coffee shop moving in. A visit there showed no signage for the Chamber.
Also, on the city website, it says, “The Chamber unites hundreds of business and professional firms, thus creating a unique central agency working to improve business and build a better community. Most important, the Chamber is people … people like you who realize that they can accomplish collectively what no one of them can accomplish individually. The Chamber is a voice for the business and professional community. The strength of the Chamber lies within its members, a pool of resources from which ideas and energy can be drawn”. There is also a full list of services and events the group provides.
The Chamber was founded in 1931 as a 501-c-6 nonprofit organization. Businesses remember the chamber as always active, with many events, and offering discounts on workers comp insurance, dental insurance, and many other business and personal perks. Federal law changed a few years back with insurance regulations altering what service groups can offer.
This story will be updated as new information is learned.
Photos: Midway office: Roster, left. Photo posted April 2019, right. Photo today, top.
