Welcome to the virtual home of the Phoenix Project! 

As we undertake our third year of operations, we are continually encouraged by the support and interest we receive from around the Commonwealth and beyond. This year is proving to be dynamic and transformative for the Phoenix Project.  We are in the early stage of launching two new University-Community Partnerships with Christopher Newport University in Southeast Newport News and George Mason University along the Route 1 Corridor in Northern Virginia. Our work with nine universities in Petersburg continues unabated and is having a significant impact in the community.

On March 19, we hosted the second round of our series on Accelerating Social Entrepreneurship in Virginia. This event featured a talented and informative panel, and the audience benefited from remarks by both Governor Tim Kaine and Lt. Governor Bill Bolling. Many thanks to the 200 public, private, nonprofit, and higher education leaders, including the representatives of over 30 colleges and universities, that were able to join us in this endeavor to explore new strategies for battling poverty and our other serious public challenges.  We look forward to continuing the dialogue.

We are currently preparing for the second year of Virginia's only statewide program for future social entrepreneurs. While we are still finalizing the class, it is clear that the 2008 Nonprofit Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Program will be composed of exceptional undergraduate and graduate students from across the Commonwealth.  More information about the class will be available soon. 

As always, we encourage you to contact us with your ideas, questions, and suggestions.

"Our higher education system is one of the single greatest assets we have to help lead the social entrepreneurship movement, from both an institutional level and in terms of preparing our next generation of leaders. The challenge posed by the Phoenix Project is for us to do a better job engaging higher education in a partnership together and with our most distressed communities.” - Governor Tim Kaine, remarks delivered May 18th, 2006
“The Phoenix Project is going to make a big difference in Virginia. We must engage our great universities in the revitalization of our distressed communities, and we must prepare Virginia’s next generation of nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs. The future prosperity of our Commonwealth depends on this vital mission.” - Governor Mark Warner, remarks delivered July 25th, 2007