Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce

What Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce does

The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce is a private nonprofit membership organization founded in 1918 and headquartered at 21 Congress Street, Suite 202, Saratoga Springs, New York. It serves approximately 1,500 member businesses across Saratoga County, ranging from small local startups to enterprise stakeholders in banking, healthcare, education, hospitality, gaming, retail, and real estate. The Chamber's core offering is a five-tiered annual membership program priced from $495 (Business Builder) to $10,000 (Stakeholder), with intermediate tiers at $995 (Market), $2,500 (Growth), and $5,000 (Aspire). Membership includes access to a business directory, the Saratoga County Job Zone, networking events, ribbon-cutting ceremonies, member-to-member deals, social media promotion, and free SCORE business counseling through 27 volunteer mentors. The Chamber also facilitates health insurance brokerage via a long-standing partnership with Amsure (Adirondack Trust Insurance division), hosts leadership and professional development programs (Leadership Saratoga, SCIM), and runs specialized councils for women and veteran business owners.

The Chamber's revenue model is primarily subscription-recurring via membership dues, supplemented by event sponsorships (notably the Celebrate Saratoga July 4th event and Firecracker 4 Road Race) and insurance referral commissions. It operates two GrowthZone-powered digital portals: chamber.saratoga.org for member services and tourism.saratoga.org for visitor-facing content. The organization is governed by a board and led by President Todd Shimkus, supported by a 9-person staff including VPs for office operations, communications, and events/marketing, plus directors for membership sales, communications, and community engagement. It also partners with SCORE, the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Alliance, Saratoga Springs City Center, NYRA, and Saratoga Spa State Park to extend its reach within the regional tourism and small business ecosystem.

The organization explicitly promotes Saratoga County's tourism economy, anchored by the Saratoga Race Course (over 1 million annual visitors during the 40-day summer meeting) and the local horse industry ($370 million annual economic impact). No proprietary technology products, AI capabilities, or geographic expansion beyond Saratoga County are indicated in the available data.

Name

Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce

Legal name

Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce

Website

https://saratoga.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1918

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 1918, serving approximately 1,500 businesses across Saratoga County, New York, through tiered annual memberships, networking events, SCORE business mentoring, advocacy, and community programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Saratoga Springs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues at five tiers: Business Builder ($495), Market ($995), Growth ($2,500), Aspire ($5,000), and Stakeholder ($10,000). Membership provides access to networking events, directory listings, job zone postings, social media promotion, business counseling, and member-to-member deals.
2. Health Insurance Brokerage: The Chamber partners with Amsure (Adirondack Trust Company Insurance division) to facilitate health insurance for small businesses and sole proprietors, earning referral fees or commissions from this arrangement.
3. Event Sponsorships: The Chamber generates revenue through event sponsorships for the Celebrate Saratoga July 4th celebration, Firecracker 4 Road Race, and other community events. Sponsors include local businesses and organizations such as Adirondack Trust, Coca-Cola, and others.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) membership organization that provides business networking, advocacy, education, and resources to businesses in Saratoga County, New York. Founded in 1918, the Chamber offers member directories, job posting boards, leadership development programs, group health insurance access, small business counseling, and signature annual events to support local business growth and regional economic development.

Product overview

The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce operates as a membership-based organization offering a tiered membership structure (Business Builder at $495, Market at $995, Growth at $2,500, Aspire at $5,000, and Stakeholder at $10,000 annually) along with a suite of supporting services. The core offering is the membership program which provides directory listings, job postings via Job Zone, member-to-member deals, event calendars, and networking opportunities. The Chamber also facilitates SCORE small business counseling, health insurance consultations through Amsure, leadership development programs (Leadership Saratoga, SCIM), and specialized councils for women and veterans. The organization uses GrowthZone membership management software to power its member portal, and hosts major annual events including the Celebrate Saratoga July 4th festival.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chamber Membership
• Business Directory Listing
• Saratoga County Job Zone
• Member to Member Deals
• SCORE Small Business Counseling
• Chamber Health Insurance Program
• Leadership Saratoga
• Women in Business Council
• Veterans Business Council
• Annual Business Expo
• Annual Golf Tournament

Quantifiable outcome

• SCORE mentors assist hundreds of entrepreneurs annually, helping transform ideas into businesses and expand local operations creating new jobs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SCORE (Saratoga County Chapter)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Since 2006, the Chamber has partnered with SCORE to provide free and confidential business counseling to local entrepreneurs. SCORE is a national organization with volunteer-run chapters in over 300 communities. The local chapter has 27 mentors assisting hundreds of entrepreneurs annually with business plans, financing, and growth strategies. The Chamber connects individuals with SCORE and provides meeting space at its offices in Saratoga Springs and at Tec-Smart building in Malta. The local chapter received a Platinum Award from SCORE national organization.
• Amsure (Adirondack Trust Company Insurance Division)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerAmsure has been the Chamber's partner in employer health insurance for more than a decade. Amsure provides health insurance information from CDPHP, Highmark Blue Shield of Northeastern New York, and MVP to Chamber members. Deb Zeman schedules appointments with Amsure brokers for Chamber members seeking health coverage. The partnership provides members with access to group rates and expert consultation.
• GrowthZonecoreTechnology or IntegrationGrowthZone provides the Chamber's membership management software platform powering the chamber.saratoga.org and tourism.saratoga.org websites. The platform enables member directory, job postings, event management, hot deals, member-to-member deals, and member communications.
• Saratoga Springs Downtown Business AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Chamber partners with the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Alliance to co-host the Celebrate Saratoga July 4th event, featuring Firecracker 4 Road Race, outdoor concerts, and fireworks display.
• Saratoga Springs City CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Chamber partners with the Saratoga Springs City Center to host the Celebrate Saratoga July 4th event at Ellsworth Jones Place and the City Center Parking Garage for fireworks.
• NYRA (New York Racing Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYRA operates Saratoga Race Course, the oldest sporting venue in the US, attracting over 1 million visitors annually during the 40-day race meeting. The Chamber promotes horse racing as a key tourism driver for Saratoga County.
• Saratoga Spa State ParkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSaratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), located within Saratoga Spa State Park, is the summer home of New York City Ballet and The Philadelphia Orchestra. The Chamber promotes SPAC as a key cultural attraction.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce: Borough-level NYC chamber with comparable membership-tiered business model, advocacy programming, and event-driven engagement, scaled to a much denser urban market.
• Manhattan Chamber of Commerce: NYC borough chamber offering tiered business memberships and networking programming analogous to Saratoga, though anchored in Manhattan commercial density.
• Greater New York Chamber of Commerce: New York City-based business chamber offering the same tiered membership, networking, and advocacy services as Saratoga but at materially larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce: National trade association for U.S. businesses; comparable in core mission (advocacy and member services) but operates at vastly larger scale and national scope rather than a single county.
• Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce: Upstate New York regional chamber running tiered membership, advocacy, and economic-development programming similar to Saratoga, but serving a multi-county metro of materially larger scale.

Regional players

• Warren County Chamber of Commerce: Adirondack-adjacent upstate NY chamber with a comparable small-staff, tiered-membership, tourism-influenced chamber model.
• Schenectady County Chamber of Commerce: Adjacent county-level chamber in New York's Capital Region; operates tiered membership and event-driven programming similar to Saratoga, primarily serving the Schenectady metro.
• Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce: Neighboring Capital Region county chamber offering tiered membership, advocacy, and events comparable to Saratoga's offering.

Direct peers

• Capital Region Chamber of Commerce: The Capital Region Chamber serves Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties with a similar local-chamber business model (tiered dues, advocacy, networking, programming) — the closest direct peer in scale and operating geography.

Others

• ACCES-VR / SCORE National: National SCORE organization behind the Saratoga Chamber's Platinum-Award-winning mentoring program; not a chamber peer but a strategic ecosystem partner providing the small-business counseling differentiator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SaratogaChamber
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SaratogaTourism
• Facebookfacebook.com/saratoga.chamber
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/saratoga-county-chamber-of-commerce
• Instagraminstagram.com/saratogacountychamber

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce