The Phoenix Project (Virginia)

The Phoenix Project is a statewide nonprofit organization that seeks to alleviate poverty by building a sustainable partnership between Virginia higher education and the Commonwealth’s most distressed communities that adds civic capacity to communities, strengthens the mission of universities, and provides a powerful context in which to prepare nonprofit and social entrepreneurs for tomorrow’s Virginia.

History

The Phoenix Project was founded in January of 2006 by Virginians who believe in the power of the Commonwealth’s universities to effect positive change in severely distressed communities and in the need to prepare a new generation of social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders to devise solutions to Virginia’s greatest challenges, especially those faced by communities in which 750,000 Virginians still live in poverty.

University-Community Partnerships

The Phoenix Project’s university-community partnerships engage Virginia colleges and universities in the Commonwealth's most distressed communities. The aim of the partnerships is to provide distressed communities with resources to address economic and community development challenges and partner institutions, their administrators, faculty and students, with opportunities for teaching, research and service. The central principle of the Phoenix Project’s partnerships is that the community should set the agenda, and that university resources should be deployed to assist with projects identified, defined and prioritized by the community.

Nonprofit Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Program

The Phoenix Project’s summer Nonprofit Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Program is the first statewide initiative to prepare college students for careers as social entrepreneurs. Undergraduate and graduate students from universities across Virginia compete for admission to the intensive program through which they gain valuable knowledge, skills, connections and experience. All students attending Virginia universities, as well as Virginia residents attending college out-of-state are eligible to apply. The Phoenix Project enrolls a diverse and talented class of students with a demonstrated commitment to service and leadership. The program is held in Petersburg, Virginia, a city that offers students the opportunity to live and learn in the context of one of the Virginia's most distressed communities, and to be of service to a community in need.

External links

* [http://www.phoenixproject.org www.phoenixproject.org]