History of the Alliance

On April 16, 2003, more than 100 community leaders came together and created the Mercer Alliance. Those involved represented all sectors of the community, including corporations, businesses, state, county, and local governments, congregations, and non-profit organizations.

The Alliance established five committees – public awareness, housing, income, safety net, discharge planning – and regular meetings were held. By October, 2003, we had developed a draft of the plan with goals and action steps. The five committees began to implement the goals of the plan. The Princeton Area Community Foundation provided a seed money grant in December, 2003.

Over the next few months, we continued to refine the plan and to reach out for corporate sponsorship. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. responded by agreeing to pay the costs of printing the Ten Year Plan. Princeton Partners developed a media campaign with the help of focus groups that included corporate and media representatives.

The official launch of the Mercer Alliance was held on June 29, 2004, at the corporate headquarters of Tyco International (US) Inc. in West Windsor, NJ. At this event, Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes accepted the Ten Year Plan on behalf of Mercer County and Tyco presented a check for $135,000 to enable us to continue our work.

By August 18, 2004, the Mercer Alliance gained independent corporation status with the state of New Jersey. The Alliance also received Federal tax exempt status 501 c(3) on November 18 2004.