Declining revenue leaves chamber of commerce scrambling to raise funds

It’s been seven years since the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce operated in the black. Each year since, it’s run a budget deficit covered by savings.

Declining membership renewals and falling revenues from other sources has left the organization struggling to operate, and its board is working to find funding solutions.

In 2016, the chamber’s revenues totaled $266,169 and its expenses were $205,502, producing $60,667 in income to add to savings. Since then, operating expenses have been higher than income, with the nonprofit in the red thousands of dollars each year through 2020, the most recent ye...