Chamber of the Year

Since 2007, ACCE has annually recognized chambers of commerce in various size categories for their work leading businesses and communities with the Chamber of the Year award. The award recognizes excellence in operations, member services and community leadership. 

Chamber of the Year is sponsored by

Application Process

The Chamber of the Year award involves a multi-stage process, which includes Dynamic Chamber Benchmarking, application and interview.  Winners of the Chamber of the Year award must wait three years before submitting another application.

During the first two stages, chambers compete against the numbers. As finalists, they compete against other chambers within their category. Staff and volunteer committee discretion will determine the size category of each entry, using data from the Dynamic Chamber Benchmarking platform.

Chamber of the Year Entry Fee: $300 – Pay Online Here

This fee is waived for Horizon Investors & All ACCEss Pass holders. Payment must be made by credit card.

2025 Timeline

• February 6: Chamber of the Year Interest Webinar – 2 p.m. ET (Watch the recording here) 
• March 14: Deadline for chambers to complete the Dynamic Chamber Benchmarking surveys 
• March 14 Optional synopsis review. Submit the completed form by March 14 and receive feedback by March 31. 
• March 25: Chambers that qualify will be notified and encouraged to submit an application 
• April 3: Chamber of the Year Application Do's and Don'ts Webinar - 2 p.m. ET (Watch the recording here)
• May 8: Chamber of the Year application deadline - 11:59 p.m. PT 
• June 4: Applicants informed if they are finalists or not 
• June 5: Finalists announced 
• June 26: Chamber of the Year Interviews that Win Webinar 2 p.m. ET 
• July 22: Finalist interviews at #ACCE25 in Philadelphia 
• July 23: Winners announced at ACCE Awards Show 

Application Guidelines 

• 2025 COY Application
• 2025 Application Submission Instructions  
• 2025 Synopsis Topic Review Form
• Remember, more is not always better. Judges are reviewing a substantial amount of information, so keep your responses concise and to the point. 
• All applicants will receive an email confirming receipt of their application. 

Chamber of the Year resources

• Past winners

Synopsis Review

You have the option of submitting your synopsis topic for review prior to your application submission. A committee of your peers will review the submission, giving it one of the following evaluations: red (not competitive), yellow (standard and should consider re-evaluation) and green (great topic). Submit your synopsis topic review form by March 14 and receive feedback by March 31.  

 

2024 Winning Applications 

• Opelika Chamber of Commerce
• Vail Valley Partnership 
• Fox Cities Chamber
• Greater Winston-Salem, Inc.

Publicity and Brand Awareness

Chamber of the Year winners and finalists will experience heightened attention via media advisories and press conferences. Finalists and winners are authorized to use the appropriate version of the Chamber of the Year logo in promoting their chambers and communities.

Award Eligibility

• ACCE’s Chamber of the Year award is open to all current ACCE member chambers of commerce in good standing.

• To apply for the Chamber of the Year award, chambers must complete the Dynamic Chamber Benchmarking Survey by March 14 and meet the minimum qualification requirements.

• For former Chamber of the Year winners who wish to reapply, COY eligibility requires sitting out for three program years. For example, if a chamber won in 2022, the chamber would sit out 2023, 2024, and 2025, becoming eligible to reapply in 2026.