Lumin Strategies

03/19/2026

02/11/2026

We’re excited to partner with the McDowell Chamber of Commerce to support its advocacy work and long-term public policy goals. Through this partnership, we’ll help the Chamber strengthen its advocacy framework, elevate member priorities, and continue building its role as a trusted voice for the McDowell County business community.

02/06/2026

We’re pleased to be working with Centralina Regional Council to support its ongoing engagement at the state level. Our work together is focused on helping Centralina amplify its regional voice, navigate complex policy conversations, and ensure member communities are well-positioned in discussions impacting the region’s future.

12/04/2025

This week was full of fun crossovers with two successful events hosted by our client ExCEL NC in partnership with local Chambers Alamance Chamber and Boone Area Chamber of Commerce (also our clients). Both of these events centered around the child care crisis as a business and economic development issue in NC and the need for business leaders to become a voice for policy solutions. Partnerships are powerful, and any time we can serve as a connector is a great week. Proud to work with all three of these entities and the work that they do to improve business in their communities and North Carolina as a whole.

11/04/2025

It was great to see so many friends and new faces in Hilton Head, and congratulations especially to all of those recognized for their service, including our partners in Alamance County, Boone, Matthews, McDowell County, Mint Hill, and Union County.

10/21/2025

Chambers across the Southeast are reigniting their advocacy work ahead of the next legislative session, and we’re helping them get started on the right foot.

Last month, we partnered with the Carolinas Association of Chamber Executives to host a session on Kickstarting Your Public Policy Taskforce.

The response was incredible, and now the Virginia and Georgia associations have invited us to bring the same conversation to their members this week.

Our focus? Helping chambers move from “we should do advocacy” to actually doing it by building the right foundation:
✅ Choosing the right leaders and members
✅ Structuring meetings for action (not updates)
✅ Turning a committee into a true taskforce that gets things done

When chambers start with the right structure, advocacy stops feeling like a side project and starts driving real impact for all businesses in their community.

If your chamber is ready to kickstart its advocacy taskforce, we’d love to help you take that first step.

10/14/2025

🚀 New Client Announcement

Lumin Strategies is proud to expand our work with NC Child through their new initiative — ExCEL NC (Executives Championing Early Learning) — a statewide effort to bring North Carolina’s business community together around one of our most pressing workforce challenges: child care.

Over the past two years, we’ve been honored to partner with NC Child to build business community support for early childhood education, scheduling presentations with Chambers across the state and hosting roundtable discussions with business leaders.

Now, as ExCEL NC takes shape, we’re excited to continue supporting this important work by helping plan and execute regional summits, business roundtables, and engagement strategies that connect employers, educators, and policymakers in meaningful ways.

At Lumin, we believe strong advocacy and smart partnerships can make a real difference. Together with NC Child and ExCEL NC, we’re helping create a North Carolina where families, businesses, and communities all have the opportunity to thrive.

09/24/2025

We've been hearing a lot of this lately from chamber leaders:
“We want to do more advocacy, but first we have to find the money.”

Here’s what we’ve learned after years of working with chambers:
There are five types of businesses that keep saying YES to funding advocacy programs.

And it’s not because they want their logo on a banner or a VIP ticket. Their reasons go much deeper — and understanding them helps you finally build sustainable advocacy revenue.

Want the list?
👉 Comment or message us the word “five” and we’ll send it to you.

05/13/2025

When’s the last time you looked at your local budget (your county or municipality)—not just the numbers, but the opportunity?

Road repairs, permitting timelines, broadband access—these aren’t just line items. They’re the hidden levers that shape your community’s business climate.

In our latest blog, we break down *exactly* how chambers can lead where it matters most: local budgets.

📊 Read more: https://hubs.la/Q03mdsm00

05/08/2025

Business leaders from across North Carolina converged on Washington this week for the return of the North Carolina Economic Development Summit organized by Senator Thom Tillis and Representative Richard Hudson. We heard from both Senators Tillis and Budd as well as a panel of 13 of North Carolina's 14 House members.

While we heard a lot of great information from speakers representing EPA, Transportation, Energy and other areas, the statement that is resonating with me the most came from Suzanne Clark, who shared that a US Chamber study found that while the overall perception of risk by business has remained stable, the perception of public policy risk has grown by more than 30% in the last decade. If Chambers aren't addressing public policy, they are ignoring the biggest risk their members are facing.

05/05/2025

🚀 New in Your Inbox Tomorrow: AI Tip of the Month!

Chamber leaders: You're already champions for your business community—what if AI could help you do it faster, smarter, and with greater impact?

Starting tomorrow, our Lumin Strategies newsletter will include a brand-new feature: AI Tip of the Month—specifically curated for chamber professionals. Each month, we’ll share a simple, actionable way to use AI to save time, boost member value, and elevate your advocacy work.

🧠 Think: smarter member communications, more efficient policy tracking, and new ways to showcase your impact.

Keep an eye on your inbox—tomorrow’s email kicks off with Tip #1. You won’t want to miss it.

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