Advocacy

Recruitment & Retention 

The Big Sky Chamber has developed tools and resources for our business members to utilize to aid in the successful recruitment and retention of employees. This includes videos on why our employees love working in Big Sky, a Job Board to post open positions and benefits such as a top Health Care Plan for any small business of 2-99 employees across the state of Montana.

Housing

Attainable workforce housing is the #1 challenge facing Big Sky, and the Big Sky Chamber is advocating at the state and national level, as well as partnering with our local Big Sky Community Housing Trust, to provide data, amplify the business voice, support ballot initiatives, create educational videos, and more to ensure that projects bring more housing to our region can cross the finish line.

Training & Education

We have launched a Business Skill Building training series in partnership with Prospera Business Network and local Human Resources and Leadership Development professionals to bring pertinent information and resources to the Big Sky business community. We hold Quarterly HR Webinars and Monthly HR Community meetings to facilitate conversation and bring relevant topics to the business community.

Workforce Development

We have a dedicated Workforce Development Coordinator working to bring resources and opportunities to address challenges that businesses face, including youth entrepreneurship and our Big Sky-Futures program, Human Resources needs, and support of the supplemental J-1 and H-2B international workforce program. Additionally, we have the region’s top the leadership development program, Leadership Big Sky, where participants learn the ins and outs of doing business in Big Sky and valuable leadership skills, as well as access to stakeholders and decision-makers across the region who are working on top challenges.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

Along with several large and small business representatives, the Big Sky Chamber has led the community-wide initiative to launch Belonging in Big Sky. This initiative supports the diverse communities that live and work in Big Sky through funding, community education, and public events to create a sense of belonging so that whether here for a day or a lifetime everyone in Big Sky feels welcomed, valued, respected, and safe.

The Big Sky Chamber acknowledges our responsibility to create a safe space for all within our community and throughout Montana by promoting diversity and acceptance. Supporting inclusivity is a crucial piece of our mission: We welcome diverse backgrounds, new ideas, and creative ways to do business with open-mindedness, acceptance, and respect.

Our commitment to a culture of diversity and inclusion remains steadfast to ensure that all voices are represented in Big Sky now and into the future, and we continue to celebrate the tribal nations and other cultures in Montana.

Childcare

The Chamber sits on the regional Childcare Taskforce as a representative on behalf of our member businesses in Big Sky and across the Greater Gallatin Valley. Lack of childcare is a the real struggle that is affecting our working parent’s ability to join the workforce and prohibiting businesses from being able to recruit and retain their valuable employees. We are partnered with the local childcare providers and our legislators to make sure access to quality early care stays at the forefront and is a priority as one of the best long-term investments a community can make in the health, social equity, and business success for the Future.

Transportation

We are engaged with the local Transportation District and join the regularly scheduled calls with the Montana Department of Transportation so we can know of and communicate out first-hand on upcoming projects that will affect our community and traffic patterns, as well as an advocate on behalf of the workforce and tourism needs for increased access to transportation. The Big Sky Chamber facilitated the application for the $10.3 million TIGER grant our community was awarded in 2018. Additionally, we are involved in plans for traffic calming, crosswalk improvements, speed monitoring, and other safety measures for our busiest areas.

Sustainability

The Big Sky Chamber has partnered with Big Sky SNO (Sustainability Network Organization) to provide data and advocacy work with public policy and education to help their mission of preserving and protecting the Big Sky community by advancing sustainability and environmental initiatives. We facilitated their attendance at the national conference on sustainable tourism and advocate with policymakers on Ride Share and carpool efforts to lessen the burden for employers.

Women-Owned Business Support

We sit on the Montana Women’s Business Center advisory board to help women entrepreneurs in Big Sky and across the state gain access to resources, business counseling, technical training, mentorship, grants, and connection opportunities. Big Sky and our region has a large portion of women business owners that help create the unique culture and offerings for residents and visitors alike, and we are dedicated to their success.

Behavioral Health 

The Big Sky Chamber featured behavior health as the topic for our Eggs & Issues event in In November 2020, where we brought in industry experts to present and educate the community on resources and work being done to provide behavioral health services to the region. We sit on the Behavioral Health Coalition workforce advisory committee to represent businesses and their workforce with this top challenge