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A new brand has taken one of Tucson's minority business chambers a step closer to equality, members say.

These days, the Tucson GLBT Chamber of Commerce is using the slogan "inclusive, engaged, professional" to represent its members, many of whom are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered.

The group had been called the Community Business Association for about 14 years before changing its name in January 2005. But the biggest change came in policy: The group had previously banned straight people from its membership.

The new name better describes the group, said Matt Harding, chamber president and a sales manager at the Doubletree Hotel Tucson at Reid Park.

"It's time to say who we are," he said.

Besides pride, the change also better reflects members' ethics, said Jeff DiGregorio, owner of The Royal Elizabeth Bed & Breakfast Inn and a chamber member.

"We want to be treated equally, so we don't want to discriminate against others," he said. Now anyone can share resources and share in the accomplishments of the chamber, DiGregorio said.

The group lost about a dozen members over the decision to allow anyone to join, but it has gained about 70 members during the past year, Harding said. Membership has had ups and downs, with only two dozen people in 1994 and around 225 business representatives and supporters in 2001, according to Star archives. The group now has 190 members in 140 businesses, Harding said.

Harding and his board have spent the past year re-branding the group, creating a new Web site and surveying members.

Like other minority chambers, the GLBT chamber is a networking and business promotion group, but it also markets the gay community as an economic force in Tucson, Harding said.

"Joining the chamber puts you in the minds of the GLBT community as someone who is willing to reach out, and we're more likely to do business with you," Harding said.

In fact, a majority of the chamber's members said they were likely to support or buy strictly from GLBT-friendly business and brands. About 50 member businesses participated in the survey.

Businesses might want to market to the gay population because so many fall into the attractive "dual income, no kids" category of spenders, Harding said.

More than 60 percent of the GLBT chamber members are small-business owners, the survey shows. The responding businesses as a group make roughly $8 million to $12 million a year.

"Probably a lot of people don't realize they're interacting with GLBT people on a regular basis," Harding said.

The group also joined the Southern Arizona Chamber of Commerce Alliance, a state lobby, to help represent local gay business interests.

"We were welcomed as an equal partner with no questions asked," said Shelly Fishman, a chamber board member and a financial planner with MetLife. "It's been wonderful."

In politics so far, the GLBT chamber has opposed the proposed Protect Marriage Arizona amendment and plans to rally Tucson businesspeople against the plan, said Fishman, who also is a former chair of the local government committee of the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber Of Commerce.

Another priority of the chamber is to promote the city as a gay-friendly place to do business, Harding said. The group is beginning to work with the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau in promotions catering to gay tourists, he said.

The chamber has been getting 50 to 60 requests a month for its free visitor and relocation packets, he said.

Tucson is inclusive and accepting, said bed-and-breakfast owner DiGregorio. Some of his guests have been "stunned and impressed" by the atmosphere here and have asked about relocating, he said.

"We just feel very comfortable here," he said. "We try to let gay and lesbian people know Tucson is a place to come and spend your money — and be welcomed."