Melinda Roeder, executive chef at Marisco's, sets out a new tray of food during the Sept. 12 Taste of Lawrence event, sponsored by the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. A new membership tier plan will allow chamber members to buy services that fit their individual needs, and also will allow them to buy tickets to events like Taste of Lawrence in advance.

It’s one of the larger menus in town, and it’s not even from a restaurant.

Leaders of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce have shaken up the process for joining the chamber, switching it from a structure that charges businesses based on their size to a “menu-driven” process that allows firms to pick and choose the services that they want to receive.

“We feel like this is a good way to look at your membership and break it down to what you need most,” said Becca Booth, director of membership development for the chamber.

The new system has eight tiers. The basic level – priced at $350 – provides a listing in the chamber directory, a subscription to chamber newsletters, a Web site listing, an opportunity to join chamber committees and tickets to attend a few chamber events.

Higher levels add items such as tickets to the chamber’s golf tournament, the ability to rent the chamber’s mailing list, tickets for a wider variety of chamber events and sponsorship advertising of several chamber functions. The top level – called the Lawrence Visionary Membership – is priced at about $15,000.

The top tier includes 18 listings in the chamber’s directory, multiple tickets to every chamber event held throughout the year, a listing as a platinum sponsor for all major chamber functions and space in several of the chamber’s advertising programs.

Chamber leaders are excited about the changes.

“This is going to be a simpler, easier-to-understand process compared to the old system,” said Lavern Squier, chamber president and chief executive officer.

The old system, in addition to basing membership dues on a firm’s number of employees, also looked at other factors to determine a membership price. For example, Squier said banks were charged based on the amount of deposits they had, and other businesses had similar benchmarks that factored into their rate.

The new system basically focuses on three broad categories, Booth said. The system is dubbed the Chamber IRA, which stands for interaction, recognition and access.

Booth said most of the chamber’s services fell under one of those three categories. For example: Interaction includes some of the chamber’s social mixers and similar functions; recognition includes sponsorship of community events; and access could include admittance to events with state legislators or other community leaders.

“We think this new system will really allow you to look at the different levels and figure out what your goals are,” Booth said. “If your goal is to network a lot, there is a tier for that. But maybe the next year you’ve hit your networking goals, and now you need those people to see your company name a lot. We have a level for that, too.”

In addition to the levels, Booth said the chamber offers members the chance to join at one level and then purchase a few “a la carte” items – like tickets to the Taste of Lawrence Fall Mixer or the chamber’s golf tournament. The chamber also allows members to break their dues into monthly, quarterly or semi-annual payments.

Booth and Squier both said the new system had been well-received by members, many of whom said they were looking forward to not having to buy tickets to chamber events as they happen.

“One of the hardest things for a business is to have the phone calls time after time,” Booth said. “Now a business can say, ‘This is what I need for the year,’ and be set up and ready to roll.”

The chamber has about 1,600 members, Booth said. She said that it was not anticipated that the new membership system immediately would provide a boost in chamber revenue.

“It really isn’t considered a money-maker,” Booth said of the new structure. “It really is about making sure that members and new members see the value in their memberships.”