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Purchasing endorses the University's commitment to provide support for small and local business concerns of all types (small businesses, local Princeton-area businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses, service disabled veteran owned small businesses, and small businesses located in historically underutilized business zones).

As such, Purchasing ensures that the maximum practical number of small businesses are included in the competitive bidding process in an effort to comply with Executive Order 11246 and Public Law 95-507 reporting requirements. However, Princeton does not have a set-aside program and therefore encourages all small and local businesses to register on our online bidding system to be made aware of all large order or term contract bids that become available. More information is available on this site under "How to Do Business with Princeton."

Purchasing recognizes the University's commitment and strives to maximize the opportunity for small and local business participation through the development mutually beneficial business relationships, while also educating the University community about Princeton's goals in this area. To this end, our website provides a mechanism to increase supplier diversity awareness among our campus community.

The Purchasing Department is a business member of the Metropolitan Trenton African America Chamber of Commerce (MTAACC) and has begun work on the development of a small, disadvantaged business mentoring program on campus. A list of small, disadvantaged businesses who have completed one of the mentoring sessions is available. Additional New Jersey state registered small, disadvantaged businesses may be accessed through the New Jersey Selective Assistance Vendor Information Portal hosted by NJ Commerce.

The Purchasing Department actively works to enhance our efforts in this area by either coordinating or participating in events that strive to mentor and train small, disadvantaged businesses on how they can do business with Princeton University. Each year, Purchasing also organizes a "Small Business Section" at our annual Vendor Fair. Examples of our participation in some activities in these areas include:

• The 28th Annual Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce Trade Fair, Westin Forrestal Village, September 29, 2009.
• The New Jersey Higher Education Purchasing Association Disadvantaged Business Development Fair, Rutgers University, June 17, 2009 (see article published about this event which includes information about Princeton's efforts in this area).
• Community College of Philadelphia Minority Vendors Fair, Community College of Philadelphia, March 26, 2008
• Small, Disadvantaged Business Mentoring Session, Princeton University, March 24, 2008
• The New Jersey Higher Education Purchasing Association Disadvantaged Business Development Fair, Rutgers University, August 15, 2007
• Meet the Purchasing Managers - A Procurement Conference, Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Metropolitan Trenton African American Chamber of Commerce (MTAACC), July 26, 2006
• Community College of Philadelphia Minority Vendors Fair, Community College of Philadelphia, June 7, 2006
• The New Jersey Higher Education Purchasing Association Disadvantaged Business Development Fair, Rutgers University, August 17, 2005
• Small, Disadvantaged Business Mentoring Session, Princeton University, June 28, 2005
• Meet the Purchasing Managers, Business Council Breakfast Meeting, Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Metropolitan Trenton African American Chamber of Commerce (MTAACC), May 18, 2005
• Small, Disadvantaged Business Mentoring Session, Princeton University, January 28, 2004
• Small Business Development Initiatives at Princeton, Corporate Procurement Breakfast Series, Metropolitan Trenton African American Chamber of Commerce (MTAACC), September 9, 2003
• Alliance Opportunities for Small Business Mid-Atlantic Conference & Trade Show, March 18, 2003

A complete list of other Small, Disadvantaged Businesses with whom the Purchasing Department has contracts with is also available online. Purchasing publishes a pamphlet entitled, "How to Do Business with Princeton - A Guide for Vendors" that includes additional information for vendors interested in developing a business relationship with the University.

References:

• Active Purchasing Vendor Contracts with Small, Disadvantaged Businesses.
• Small Business Development Initiatives, a presentation at the Metropolitan Trenton African America Chamber of Commerce (MTAACC) on September 9, 2003, that summarizes many of Purchasing's efforts in this area.
• Purchasing Policy 4.8, Small, Disadvantaged Business Concerns.
• "How to Do Business with Princeton - A Guide for Vendors"