Chamber Business Services
We don’t want you to feel like you are in your business alone. You should feel the support of other businesses and be able to talk about the struggles you are facing with other businesses in our community. Network with others to build your business – this is what our Chamber is all about.
We want to help you Network – Advocate – Promote!
Following is a summary of the services that we offer as a chamber.
If you have any questions, please contact our office (218-736-6951).
Chamber Member Celebration Information Packet
For more information on Ribbon Cuttings and Ground Breakings.
We want to help you celebrate your new location, new business, or expansion in style. Let us help you make it a ‘big deal’ and celebrate all that you have accomplished!
We will bring with your choice of ribbon color to cut, our giant scissors, and there are some options for ‘extras’. A couple of our staff members will be there to take pictures and capture your special day. We will put together a collage of your event which will be posted on social media. We will also include your event in our monthly Daily Journal newspaper spread. We want to help get your business noticed!
As a Chamber member, we will come to your new site location and do a groundbreaking ceremony. Like a ribbon cutting, there is an option for ‘extras’. We will capture this big day in pictures and organize a collage that will be shared on social media. Your celebration will be a part of our monthly newspaper spread that we put in the Daily Journal to give your business the advertising it deserves.
We want to help recognize all new businesses being established in Fergus Falls. Whether you are a Chamber business member (or not yet), we will provide you with a certificate of your ‘First Dollar of Profit’ for your business. It will be shared on social media to highlight your business as new in the community.
The Chamber's new Ignite Community Leadership Program is designed to bring together emerging and existing leaders to explore leadership within themselves and for their community.
Participants will develop and enhance their leadership skills, grow professional relationships, explore new leadership responsibilities, and foster an understanding of the forces affecting the Fergus Falls area. We're developing the best, brightest, and most energetic people who want to build the skills necessary to assume leadership roles within their organizations and throughout their communities. Learn from community experts in their field of expertise!
Economic Development Tools
There are a wide variety of economic development tools available to growing businesses and non-profits in the Fergus Falls area. The Chamber provides a listing of these tools while your local banker and other agencies (Greater Fergus Falls, City of Fergus Falls Community Development, and Otter Tail County Community Development Agency) provide technical assistance and expertise to help you navigate the options.
Incentives
• Economic Development Loans
• Commercial Façade Improvement Program
• Intermediary Relending Program (IRP)
• LED Partnership with Otter Tail Power
• Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF) Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)
• Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and Tax Abatement (City & County)
• Community Growth Partnership Grants: Affordable Housing, Redevelopment, Commercial Rehab
• SBA Loans
• DEED Financing
• Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)
• Rural Development Business Programs (USDA)
• Childcare Grant
• Small Enterprise Loan Fund (SELF)
• Business & Industry Loan Fund
• Access to Capitol Loan Program
City of Fergus Falls Incentives
The revolving funds are public funds that may be used for loan purposes with approval by Business Development for Fergus Falls and the Fergus Falls City Council.
Economic Development Loans
Uses: exterior and interior remodeling, elimination of architectural barriers to handicapped and elderly, converting electrical services from above ground to below ground, and energy conservation.
• Up to $50,000 (direct loan). Interest rate of 2% below prime.12-year term.
Commercial Façade Improvement Program
Eligible borrowers: non-profits, building owners, and business owners with building owner approval
Uses: rehabilitation, restoration, ornamentation, and signage on front facades and back entrances including awnings, windows, doors, and exterior appearances.
• Up to $25,000 (direct loan). Interest rate of 0-2%. 7-year term and balloon payment.
Intermediary Relending Program (IRP)
For community development projects, new businesses, business expansion, and the creation or retention of employment.
Uses: fixed assets, working capital, transportation services, pollution control, feasibility studies, interest, debt refinancing/lines of credit
• Up to 50% of the project cost, $250,000 maximum. Interest rates vary. 15-year term
LED Partnership with Otter Tail Power
For the replacement of existing interior and exterior light fixtures in commercial buildings or to convert existing fixtures to LED bulbs. Eligible borrowers include non-profits, building owners, business owners with building owner approval, and multi-family rentals with more than 4 units located along main arterial streets as determined by the City.
• Up to $35,000. Interest rate of 2% interest rate. Payments are determined by the Otter Tail Power energy audit.
Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF) Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)
Available for the retention, expansion, or creation of businesses. Must meet eligible wage goals (110% of federal poverty level.)
• Up to 50% of the project cost. $200,000 maximum. Interest rates vary.
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and Tax Abatement
A method of financing real estate development costs--i.e.: to encourage developers to construct buildings or other private improvements or to pay for public improvements such as streets, sidewalks, sewer and water, and similar improvements.
Otter Tail County – Community Development Agency (CDA) Incentives
• Community Growth Partnership Grants: Affordable Housing, Redevelopment, Commercial Rehab
• Tax Abatement
• SBA Loans
• DEED Financing
• Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)
• Rural Development Business Programs (USDA)
West Central Initiative (WCI) Incentives
WCI is considered a gap lender, meaning they typically fund between 10% and 40% of the total financing needed for qualified applicants. Their loan program supplements or complements conventional or bank financing. They don’t compete with local banks, but their funds help the financing package succeed for the prospective business or the existing business to expand. In some cases, primarily with smaller projects, they can serve as the lead lender if accessing bank financing has been difficult.
Small Enterprise Loan Fund (SELF)
• $1,000 to $50,000 loans for small or start-up businesses
Business & Industry Loan Fund
Primarily granted to manufacturers to purchase existing buildings, new construction, or equipment.
• $20,000 to $300,000.
Access to Capitol Loan Program
• Match bank loans up to $75,000. Fixed low interest. 5-year balloon matches bank
Child Care Loans
• Loans up to $3,500 for home-based providers for improvements or space expansions
The Good Food Loan Fund
• Lower interest loans up to $15,000 to support new and existing small-scale farmers
Additional information including how to take advantage of these programs can be found with our partners at Greater Fergus Falls, the City of Fergus Falls Community Development, Otter Tail County Community Development Agency, West Central Initiative, and your local financial institution.
As a Chamber business member, your company can use our downstairs meeting room included with membership at no charge. You can host a hybrid (in-person and online) meeting with our Smart Room technology. We have several room layouts for you to choose from.
Every other month we offer an opportunity for business members to advertise upcoming events or highlight a new project they are developing. Speakers are given up to 3 minutes to speak so you can hear from several different people. It is a great way to stay ‘in the know’ with community happenings!
January and March Cafés are held on Zoom due to unpredictable weather, but the rest of the year we meet in person. If your business would like to be a future host sponsor or breakfast sponsor for a Café please inquire with our office (218-736-6951).
Depending on your membership level, these may be free for your employees to attend. Otherwise, they are $5 for members and $10 for non-members/general public.
We want to help your business get exposure! One of the best ways to do this is through media. If you wish to take part as a guest in our “Chamber on the Air” radio program (once a month) or be a speaker at a Chamber Cafe (every other month), the choice is yours! Get noticed and advertised by getting some media exposure. Members also have the exclusive opportunity to advertise in the “Chamber Update” published with The Daily Journal or include news in our weekly Business Buzz e-newsletter.
The Chamber of Commerce is your resource to get documents authorized to ship internationally. If you are a manufacturer or producer that ships overseas, you are familiar with what a Certificate of Origin entails. Just bring your certificate into our office and we will provide the necessary stamps and signatures for authorization for your business. (This service is offered to non-members for a fee of $75 each).
The Chamber advocates for your business with government issues. We will email your business with the top issues discussed at the City level as well as within the state and country. We will bring the items that are most important to your business to the forefront and educate you on the latest information pertaining to them.
The Chamber office has a notary. If you have important documents to be notarized just bring them in to us (no charge).
Weekly on Mondays we email out the “Business Buzz” which will give employees in your company the latest information on Chamber events and happenings, community information, and government. It is a great way to stay abreast with all things happening locally.
If you have an upcoming event that you would like to advertise, email your information to chamber@fergusfalls.com and we will do our best to include it in an upcoming issue.
If you have an upcoming event or promotion that you would like to give an extra focus or push to get noticed, we can do an exclusive email just for you. It can be sent on a date and time you request. Provide us with the information for your eBlast and we will compose it. Your business will have the final approval before the email is sent. Cost for an eBlast is $150.
At the Chamber we want your business to feel ‘connected’ to other business members and have opportunities to network, while also mixing in a little fun. This is the main purpose of the Member Mixers. Held 2-3 times/year, it’s a chance to socialize after work hours while enjoying appetizers and drinks. We may even surprise you with a fun game or event to get you socializing.
Fergus Bucks are a ‘prepaid check’ that residents or businesses can purchase at the Chamber to be given to employees as incentives or gifts. They can be spent at any Chamber member business. They are written to the business they are spent at and signed by the customer. The business can then process them like a check. Fergus Bucks help encourage local spending! For a list of businesses that accept Fergus Bucks, please see our Business Directory.
In election years, we host “Meet the Candidates” events 
so the community can hear from those running for the various open offices. The Chamber determines questions for the candidates and focuses on small business issues.
In 2024, the Chamber hosted three candidates events featuring the City Council, Mayor, Otter Tail County Commissioner, and MN Representative District 9A candidates. 
All of these events are free and open to the public.
