Franklin Chamber unveils renovation, shares plans for foundation

Two new initiatives of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce are set to bring new programming and possibilities to the local business community.

The Chamber just finished the renovation of the second floor of the organization’s downtown office to create a business space that will offer a place for businesspeople to gather and a place to provide programming and education, said Rosie Chambers, executive director. The new space features a conference room overlooking Jefferson Street, a kitchenette and restrooms.

A new upstairs office suite in the Chamber building is also the new home of Discover Downtown Franklin — the downtown event planning organization’s first private office. The organization has previously shared office space at Franklin City Hall and at the parks and recreation office, said Jess Giles, executive director.

An accent to these plans is the creation of the Franklin Chamber Foundation, Inc, which has a goal to support local businesses with the goal of creating a business grant program and funding educational programming for businesspeople, Chambers said.

Office renovation

The renovation was 10 years in the making. The Chamber has been in the building at 120 E. Jefferson St. since 2013 when it was gifted to the organization by the city through Franklin Development Corporation. The second story of the building was used for storage by previous building owners and it had gone untouched until renovations began last year, Chambers said.

“I’ve been at the Chamber now for coming up on 10 years. And so I helped us move into this building from The Depot and saw what this was,” Chambers said. “I kind of got to see it go through every step of the way and then see it change and turn into this kind of cool space … I’m really, really proud of it.”

The new upstairs blends modern technology and furniture with historic features, including the original door from the old storage room and replicas of the original decorative trim that adorns walls, ceilings and windows. Updates to the downstairs share the same theme — old blending with new.

“I think it reflects kind of who we are,” Chambers said. “You know we’re very traditional, but yet I feel like the space lends itself to kind of the next big thing or the next generation.”

New possibilities

Discover Downtown Franklin, or DDF, officials are still setting up the office but are already seeing the benefits of the new suite, which includes an office for two and a private bathroom. The primary benefit is having the organization’s first permanent office.

“This is our first, kind of grown-up move,” Giles said. “This is our first private office and it’s the biggest office we’ve had so far. There’s plenty of space for me and my part-time co-worker.”

Both the Chamber and DDF serve the same purpose to advance downtown Franklin, so Chambers and Giles already collaborate and even serve on each other’s respective boards.

“This felt like a very appropriate pairing; we can have some very successful partnerships here,” Giles said.

The conference room is the other highlight of the new space and it is already in use. For example, last week there was a Chamber Board of Directors retreat in the room. Before, meetings like that had to be held offsite, Chambers said.

The room is not just for the Chamber, the public and member businesses are able to rent the room for meetings. With a board room table arrangement, up to 18 can be accommodated, or with theater-style seating, a group of 40 can use the room, Chambers said. With the old downstairs conference room, that’s two meeting spaces open to the business community.

A few finishing touches are still being put on the conference room space, including adding whiteboards, a phone, additional seating, decorations and supplies for the kitchenette, Chambers said.

The renovation was paid for with member dues and fundraising, such as the annual golf outing. Member businesses also provided discounts on the work to help keep down costs, she said.

Foundation plans

The Franklin Chamber Foundation launched in January with a mission to provide grants and educational programming to businesses in the greater Franklin area. The new 501(c)3 organization came about to help the Chamber realize these goals, Chambers said. As a 501(c)6, donations to the Chamber aren’t tax deductible and the organization is eligible for fewer grants, making those goals harder to achieve.

“You know, you’ve got to build it first,” Chambers said. “And you gotta hope that someone’s gonna see it and want to want to support it and want to participate in it.”

The Chamber has previously offered educational programming for businesses, but it has been sporadic over time and hasn’t been offered since the pandemic. With the foundation creating a new funding pipeline and the new conference room offering a venue for business training, providing programming is a new goal, Chambers said.

Of primary interest is offering a series of events surrounding three topics: human resources, marketing and finance. No events are scheduled at this time, but the hope is to start offering events this year.

Another hope is to offer grants to small business owners who want to grow their business, for example from the farmers market to brick and mortar, or to help a business recover from some sort of emergency such as a water leak or fire, she said.

All of these plans will depend on funding. To offer grants and programming, the Chamber employees will have to apply for grants and fund-raise to make these dreams a reality.

“We hope to apply and receive funding. So then we can help,” Chambers said. “We can be kind of a conduit to help other businesses and help them grow or help them get started.”