Cary-Grove Area Chamber of Commerce

What Cary-Grove Area Chamber of Commerce does

The Cary-Grove Area Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit membership organization founded in 1964, serving local businesses in Cary, Fox River Grove, and surrounding McHenry County, Illinois. It operates as the convening body for the local business community, with at least 27 employees and a member base that includes 56+ business/professional services firms, 97+ restaurants and food/beverage businesses, and 34+ retail establishments, plus additional members across other categories. The Chamber is led by President/CEO Lynn Caccavallo, with Cathy Moran (Membership & Event Coordinator) and Lizz Begun (Administrative Assistant) as named staff.

The Chamber's core offering is a tiered membership program with eight price points ranging from $150 (Second/Third Business) to $5,000 (Diamond Circle), with mid-tier Business Builder ($295) carrying the practical benefits of state and federal Chamber inclusion. Members receive access to a searchable online directory, a weekly e-newsletter, a print directory distributed to 10,000+ households, the annual 2026 Community Guide, ribbon-cutting services, networking events such as Business After Hours and Cary Cruise Nights, a job board, hot deals platform, and press release distribution. The underlying technology is GrowthZone, a third-party chamber management SaaS that handles membership, directory, events, and payments.

Revenue is generated through recurring annual membership dues and event/sponsorship transactions. The Chamber does not disclose revenue publicly. Strategic positioning is community-rooted and event-driven, with recent cross-chamber partnerships with the Barrington Area and Crystal Lake Chambers, bundled membership benefits through the Illinois and U.S. Chambers, and a cumulative $70,000+ scholarship program targeted at Cary-Grove High School students. The organization is membership-funded, governed by a Board of Directors, and operates without external ownership or parent company structure.

Name

Cary-Grove Area Chamber of Commerce

Legal name

Cary-Grove Area Chamber of Commerce

Website

https://carygrovechamber.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Cary-Grove Area Chamber of Commerce is a 1964-founded non-profit membership organization serving local businesses in Cary, Fox River Grove, and McHenry County, IL, offering tiered memberships ($150-$5,000), networking events, directory listings, and community programs to hundreds of SMB members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Chamber of Commerce / Business Association Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK)

Keywords

• Chamber of commerce services
• Business networking events
• Member business directory
• Community economic development
• Membership association services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cary

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 fees at multiple tiers ranging from $150 to $5,000, providing recurring revenue from local businesses in the Cary-Grove area.
2. Event Revenue: Revenue generated from event participation including annual dinners, networking events, golf outings, and community programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Cary-Grove Area Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit membership organization that sells annual membership subscriptions (ranging from $150 to $5,000) to local businesses in Cary, Fox River Grove, and McHenry County, Illinois. Members receive access to a business directory, networking events, ribbon cutting ceremonies, a weekly e-newsletter, a print community directory, job board postings, local deals promotions, and inclusion in Chamber advocacy programs. The Chamber operates the website carygrovechamber.com and member portal on the GrowthZone platform, and coordinates annual programs such as Cary Cruise Nights, Annual Dinner, and student scholarships.

Product overview

The Cary-Grove Area Chamber of Commerce operates as a membership-based business networking organization rather than a technology product company. Its offerings consist of membership tiers (Diamond Circle $5,000, Executive $2,525, Enterprise $1,020, Entrepreneur $520, Business Builder $295, Sole Proprietor $220, Non-Profit $165 annually) that provide access to: a member business directory, events calendar with networking opportunities, news/press release distribution, a job search board, local deals platform, and community resources including scholarships. The Chamber facilitates connections between local businesses in Cary, Fox River Grove, and surrounding McHenry County, IL.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chamber Membership Annual membership subscription for local businesses across seven tiers (Sole Proprietor $220, Non-Profit/Community Organization $165, Second/Third Business $150, Business Builder $295, Entrepreneur $520, Enterprise $1,020, Executive $2,525, Diamond Circle $5,000) providing directory listings, networking events, marketing exposure, newsletter inclusion, certificates of origin, notary services, ribbon cuttings, and Illinois/US Chamber membership inclusion.
• Member Business Directory Online searchable directory of Chamber member businesses organized by category (Business & Professional Services, Shopping & Specialty Retail, Restaurants/Food & Beverages) with contact information and descriptions; a print version is distributed to 10,000+ households.
• Events Calendar and Networking Programs
• News and Press Releases
• Job Search Board
• Local Deals (HotDeals)
• Annual Community Guide Annual community guide published via Issuu featuring local businesses, dining, shopping, and professional services in the Cary-Grove area; print directory version distributed to 10,000+ households.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $70,000 in scholarships awarded to local high school students, demonstrating community investment and youth development.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Illinois Chamber of CommerceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBusiness Builder membership includes membership to the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, providing access to state-level business resources and advocacy.
• United States Chamber of CommerceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBusiness Builder membership includes membership to the United States Chamber of Commerce, providing access to national-level business resources and advocacy.
• Barrington Area Chamber of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted ribbon cutting ceremony for Wild Asparagus Catering expansion with the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce, demonstrating regional partnership for joint community events.
• Crystal Lake Chamber of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted ribbon cutting ceremonies including Chick-fil-A Crystal Lake grand re-opening and Amped Up Graphics new location celebration.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce: A neighboring Illinois chamber of commerce that co-hosts community events with Cary-Grove (e.g., ribbon cuttings). Operates the same chamber-of-commerce model serving a similar suburban Illinois SMB audience with overlapping membership pricing structures.
• Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce: A nearby McHenry County chamber that has partnered with Cary-Grove on shared events. Directly comparable in size, scope (membership tiers, events, networking mixers), and target market of suburban Illinois small businesses.
• Huntley Area Chamber of Commerce: A regional Illinois chamber serving SMBs with a virtually identical mix of networking, marketing, and community event offerings. Comparable in scope to Cary-Grove given the suburban northwest suburban Chicago corridor it serves.
• Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Chamber of Commerce: A nearby suburban Illinois chamber targeting the same pool of small and medium businesses in northern Illinois. Closely comparable in offerings (tiered memberships, mixers, ribbon cuttings) and customer profile.
• McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce: Another McHenry County, Illinois chamber of commerce serving a comparable small-business membership base. A close geographic peer providing identical networking, events, and sponsorship products to overlapping regional SMBs.
• Woodstock Chamber of Commerce and Industry: A direct peer in McHenry County providing standard chamber-of-commerce services (membership tiers, networking events, community guide) to small businesses in a similarly sized Illinois town.

Others

• GrowthZone (Chamber Software Inc.): The chamber management software vendor Cary-Grove uses. An ecosystem enabler rather than a competitor — powers directory, events, and member management for hundreds of comparable chambers and so a key operational peer for benchmarking technology investment.

Broad incumbents

• American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE): The national industry association for chamber of commerce professionals. Provides resources, training, and benchmarking used by local chambers like Cary-Grove, and serves as the broader-incumbent reference organization for chamber operating models and best practices.

Regional players

• Wauconda Area Chamber of Commerce: A regional Illinois chamber with a very similar operating model and membership-tier structure serving small businesses in northwest suburban Chicago — comparable as a same-state peer but in a different sub-market.
• Fox Lake Area Chamber of Commerce: A nearby Lake County/McHenry County suburban chamber offering comparable membership networking and event services to SMBs in a different but adjacent Illinois geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/carygrove
• Facebookfacebook.com/carygrovechamber
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cary-grove-chamber-of-commerce

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Cary-Grove Area Chamber of Commerce