The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce is one of the nominees for the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2021 Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Award, which recognizes nonprofit organizations that work to improve the communities they serve.

“This is an extraordinary honor for the SCV Chamber, and I couldn’t be prouder of the work and effort our Chamber has put in this past year for the full Santa Clarita Valley business community,” Ivan Volschenk, Managing Partner at Evolve Business Strategies, which manages the SCV Chamber, said in a statement.

“With the Chamber’s overnight transition once the pandemic hit, we’ve been continuously working to ensure our business community is met with full support and resources to ensure they are able to operate as best they can, given the climate,” Volschenk said. “This nomination proves the work of our Santa Clarita Valley Chamber hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

The SCV Chamber has been a leader from the onset of the global pandemic and continues to lead and help businesses navigate their way through these unprecedented times. The Chamber launched its first webinar a few days before the initial stay-at-home order was instituted last year, which included city, county, legal, and business experts, to offer the community vital information as the pandemic reached the United States. To date, the Chamber has subsequently created and produced more than 65 original content webinars for the business community.

“The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber is a leading organization in building jobs — helping to strengthen businesses and the local workforce throughout the region,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “This nomination speaks volumes about their hard work. I am proud to represent the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber in my district and I will continue to support their efforts as they build on this exciting momentum.”

At the onset of the pandemic, the SCV Chamber pro-actively extended all Chamber memberships by three months while businesses were not allowed to operate. Keeping an eye on their strong advocacy efforts, the Chamber launched a new grassroots advocacy effort, Impact SCV, and was able to coordinate and host the only two congressional candidate forums for the hotly contested 25th District, one before the special election in May as well as before the November General Election.

Further, the SCV Chamber hosted California Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis and State Treasurer Fiona Ma, amongst many other highly regarded speakers, for a virtual Sacramento Business Update.

“So much has been said about our Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, and when you think they’ve accomplished it all, they find a way to continuously improve,” stated Santa Clarita Mayor Bill Miranda. “It’s been quite a ride this past year. Whenever any business felt lost or had questions, they knew the SCV Chamber was their one-stop-shop. We’re very proud to have them be the voice of business for our city.”

In 2019, the SCV Chamber retained Evolve Business Strategies, a management firm, to help position the Chamber as a strong, leading business organization. After turning a six-figure deficit into a six-figure reserve over the last three years, Evolve Business Strategies continues to ensure the SCV Chamber leads the way and is recognized as “The Voice of Business” throughout the community. They have transformed the SCV Chamber into a vibrant and robust business organization.

Evolve Business Strategies is comprised of Ivan Volschenk, Managing Partner, John Musella, Partner, and Peter Warda, Vice President. They are recognized as a dedicated team of experienced business professionals that have provided consistent leadership making the SCV Chamber one of the top Chambers in L.A. County.

“This nomination speaks to the high-quality business leadership and integrity of the Chamber as we look to further grow and evolve the organization now that we are coming out of the pandemic,” stated John Vance, Chair of the SCV Chamber Board of Directors. “We can’t forget to thank Nancy Starczyk, our two-term board chair, who was able to continue advancing the Chamber’s mission during a global pandemic. Nancy worked tirelessly with our management team to ensure no business was forgotten.”

Today, the SCV Chamber remains a strong, energetic business membership organization that now boasts the most diverse Board of Directors in the organization’s 98-year history as a direct effort to meet the moment of equity and inclusion. It consists of 45% of the board members being women; 41% of board members are people of color; and 10% of the board represent the LGBTQ+ community. In addition, two board members are foreign-born entrepreneurs.

The Los Angeles Business Journal will feature the SCV Chamber in its April 19 edition, with the final honorees being selected during the Journal’s virtual event on April 21.

About the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce

The SCV Chamber is the largest business membership organization in the Santa Clarita Valley representing more than a 65,000-member workforce. The Chamber serves as “The Voice of Business” working as the SCV’s leading business advocacy organization in the third-largest city in the County of Los Angeles. Founded in 1923, the Chamber works to advocate for, educate and connect the business community.