Brookline Chamber Of Commerce Coming To An End

BROOKLINE, MA — The Brookline Chamber of Commerce announced it is shutting down as soon as next month.

The Chamber’s Board of Directors voted to cease operations as soon as Wednesday, April 1 during its most recent meeting. Moving forward, the group and its members will be absorbed by the Charles River Regional Chamber.

Brookline Chamber Executive Director Chris Mutty cited lingering financial struggles stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of grant funding overall as driving forces behind the forced closure.

“Pending final ratification by their members, active Brookline Chamber members will automatically become Charles River Chamber members on March 31,” Charles River Regional Chamber President and Chief Encouragement Officer Greg Reibman said. “We’ve also committed to maintaining Brookline’s presence, programming and legacy events. And Brookline’s executive director, Chris Mutty, will be joining our team for the transition.”

Reibman said he was first approached by Mutty and his peers about the potential merger last December. The Charles River Regional Chamber is the fourth largest of its kind in the state with more than 1,200 businesses and nonprofits in Newton, Needham, Wellesley, and Watertown as its members.

The Brookline Chamber was founded in 1978 and was designated as a nonprofit six years later. Mutty has been in charge since 2023, when former Director Debbie Miller left to assume a leadership role as the Brookline Senior Center. Miller also has 18 years as the Development Director for the town’s mental health center.

“I have tremendous respect for the generations of business leaders who devoted time, energy and resources to running their chamber for more than a century. I’m grateful to the Brookline board for its confidence in our organization,” Reibman said. “But I’m also confident the result will be a larger, more connected network of businesses working together to strengthen our local economies and our collective voice on Beacon Hill and across the region.”

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