By Anne Levin

Early this week, Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled his plan to start New Jersey’s recovery from the COVID-19 shutdown. While the stay-at-home order for residents remains in effect until further notice, local businesses are starting to consider how and when they will reopen. Some, like Olives on Witherspoon Street, have already taken the step.

Just what the town’s reopening might look like is among the topics to be discussed at the next Virtual Princeton Business Forum of the Princeton Merchants Association (PMA), being held Thursday, April 30 at 10 a.m. via Zoom. Results of a survey that went out to local businesses will also be considered.

The PMA has been holding online gatherings nearly every Thursday since non-essential businesses were ordered to close last month. These well-attended meetings, moderated by Princeton University Art Museum Director James Steward, have included various guest speakers, always with a focus on how to ride out the COVID-19 crisis and stay afloat. Last week, political scientist and Princeton University Professor Anne Marie Slaughter shared ideas about a fund to help nonprofits and businesses with resilience and renewal.

The fund is still in the planning stages. “We’re looking at these kinds of funds in other places. It can be done,” said Slaughter. “It is happening elsewhere. We want to set it up in such a way that it would be maximally credible.”

Mayor Liz Lempert urged those at the meeting to weigh in as the fund is under discussion. “The point of this fund, fundamentally, is to help out local businesses, so it’s important to hear from folks what would be most helpful short term, medium term, and long term,” she said. “Please feel free to reach out. There’s no point in setting up a project with goals if we don’t know what’s most needed by local merchants.”

Slaughter urged thinking about new ways to do business, and new ways to connect. If such a fund is created, there could be opportunities to submit applications on how a business wants to transform. “Some of this is entrepreneurship, and some is about how you could change your supply chain,” she said.

Lempert said this week that while the fund is still only a concept, there is a recognition that the local business community is going to need help emerging from the shutdown. “It’s going to be a different world,” she said. “How do we locally invest in adaptations that are going to create a local economy that’s more sustainable and equitable? Is there a way to do that with this fund?”

Among the logistical challenges are structuring the fund so that its donations can be tax deductible. “The good thing is that we have a lot of great minds trying to think about how to do this,” said Lempert. “But how do we do it where we really are investing in the future? Are there ways that could further strengthen partnerships that already exist? Are there ways to make stronger ties between our businesses? So if a business needs supplies, is there a local supplier instead of one coming from outside? Can we help encourage that?”

The meeting also included a presentation by Amulya Garga of SCORE Princeton, offering advice about free assistance with starting up and maintaining businesses from the organization’s 36 mentors. Several attendees commented on the frustrations of trying to obtain assistance from federal programs, which will be addressed again at this week’s meeting.

Princeton University senior Sunny Singh Sandhu delivered an update on Tigers for Nassau, formed to help local businesses create websites or implement gift card platforms. Sandhu said he has mobilized about 40 students to help with the effort.

To register for this week’s PMA meeting, visit princetonmerchants.org. The forums are open to all.