MONROE — Although Main Street Monroe might be most thought of when it comes to its family-friendly events like Concerts on the Square or Trunk or Treat — its main goal has always been to keep money flowing into the business district. 

And now, more than ever, Main Street has been working to do that, Jordan Nordby, Main Street Monroe executive director said. 

The ideas began circling soon after “non-essential” businesses were ordered to close by Gov. Tony Evers to help stop the spread of COVID-19. From there, Nordby said ideas came to fruition and the people are coming out — or staying in, rather — to show support in full force. 

The results are something Nordby said he couldn’t have imagined. 

“The response has been way beyond what I ever could have dreamed,” Nordby said. “We had a need to find a way for the community to help safely. Our end goal is helping the stores and working on economic development.”

There have been two creative ideas that have been working well, Nordby said. The first is a virtual shopping event launched March 21 that’s held twice a week on Facebook, where Main Street is using its audience reach of more than 7,000 people to help businesses host live sales events. Business owners can show off products for about an hour to viewers. Main Street handles sales — the invoicing and covers processing fees within 24 hours through Paypal or credit card.

Then businesses offer safe delivery, shipping or pickup options. As of last week, they were well over $20,000 in sales, Nordby said. 

“I feel that this is fantastic,” Nordby said. “Bringing in this amount of money in a fairly short period of time — it’s representing what Main Street is all about.”

They’re hosting at least two events weekly and have a schedule through May. The live events are typically held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 8 p.m. There’s a “shop the replay” option, so buyers can go back, watch and still purchase. 

Terra Junk owns 213 Mercantile and has been at her location on the Square for six months. She said when she was asked by Nordby to hold the store’s live event April 28, she immediately jumped on board. Although her shop has been closed due to governor’s orders, she said she feels lucky that she and her husband Barry — who are both full time at the business — sell online via Amazon and Etsy. 

She said despite the stress of choosing what she should feature and taking a day to prepare, she felt it was worthwhile to hold the online shopping event. Along with local support, she said she’s shipping items from the event to places like Kansas and Colorado.

“We got a lot of new customers we haven’t had before,” she said. There were about 100 viewers — give or take — throughout the event. And about a dozen more orders came in later with the “shop the replay” option. 

“It was definitely worth the effort,” she said.

She said one of the big benefits to the sale was that she was able to move some spring inventory she ordered back in January — and after selling so much — said she’ll be ordering more for her next Facebook Live event at the end of the month.  

Nordby is often the one behind the scenes offering tips and recording the event, so business owners can respond to questions in real time. Despite the learning curve, he said people have been supportive as they tweak things to make it easier for the business and its buyers. 

“That speaks to the fact that Main Street (supporters) adapt quickly,” Nordby said. “We’re helping to bridge that gap with the city, community and private donors.”

Another program being offered is partly due to an anonymous donor. “Main Street Monroe Rocks — Share the Love” is a gift certificate program is helping people get cash into the hands of business owners now, and offers an additional $10 attached to every $20 of gift cards purchased. Nordby said after three weeks, they’ve brought in more than $15,000. 

“We’re really at the point where every dollar counts,” Nordby said. 

Buyers have the option to include the additional dollars on their gift certificate or to give it as a donation directly to the business — something more than half of buyers are doing. The donor has now given about $4,300.

“It’s pretty phenomenal,” Nordby said, noting that the gift cards don’t expire. 

Nordby hopes that businesses can get some cash flow now, when bills and rent are due. He said it feels great to send out checks weekly to businesses while being respectful to governor’s orders. 

Nearly 300 gift certificates have been sold to about 45 businesses, he said.

“When they do open, we hope this really drives foot traffic and prompts even more sales,” he said.