Sample Projects

Following are sample projects identified by community partners in Petersburg, and tackled by faculty, students, administrators, alumni and supporters of nine partner universities in the past two years. Focused on community and economic development and nonprofit capacity building and, these projects offer opportunities for a wide range of skill level and expertise. Similar projects are identified in each Phoenix Project partnership. Students and faculty have:

• Assisted the development of a new website to publicize Petersburg commercial activities more effectively (Petersburg Chamber of Commerce);
  
• Performed an architectural survey of more than 200 structures in a historically significant African American neighborhood as the foundation for preservation and revitalization efforts (City of Petersburg);
  
• Picked up trash from East Washington Street to improve the appearance of a critical entryway to the city (City of Petersburg);
  
• Researched and designed a historic information display for Peter Jones Trading Post and applied for funding to support its rehabilitation (Historic Petersburg Foundation);
  
• Surveyed hundreds of structures to identify targets for high-impact housing rehabilitations (Petersburg Urban Ministries);
  
• Researched and prepared a HUD funding proposal to support revitalization of a distressed neighborhood (Restoration of Petersburg Community Development Corporation);
  
• Engaged in marketing and volunteer recruitment efforts to increase the capacity of a literacy organization (Tri-Cities Literacy Council);
  
• Researched and compiled historic documents for a museum exhibit about a Works Progress Administration project in Lee Memorial Park (Wilcox Watershed Conservancy);
  
• Completed home repairs in the Birdville neighborhood (Rebuilding Together Petersburg);
  
• Researched state authorizing legislation concerning blight abatement and compared Petersburg blight-related ordinances to those in similar localities and recommended code changes (City of Petersburg);
  
• Researched state authorizing legislation concerning lead paint poisoning and compared Petersburg’s enforcement mechanisms to those in similar localities and recommended code changes (City of Petersburg);
  
• Drafted multiple contracts for local performing arts venue (Sycamore Rouge);
  
• Drafted incorporating documents or improved governance documents for nonprofit organizations (Multiple organizations);
  
• Assisted Legal Aid Justice Center in representing clients in landlord/tenant and guardian ad litem cases (Legal Aid Justice Center);
  
• Organized City Soul, an event attended by 150 Petersburg residents that convened the City’s nonprofit and civic resources, engaged community members in identifying community challenges and assets, and provided musical entertainment (30 nonprofits and municipal agencies);
  
• Prepared a report on the Benwood Initiative, a Chattanooga school reform effort, as a model for Petersburg public school reform (The Phoenix Project);
  
• Mapped Petersburg’s nonprofit sector (Various).
  

• Developed and assisted with implementing a marketing plan for recruiting more mentors, particularly African American males, for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program, which is expanding to the Petersburg area this year (Big Brothers/Big Sisters);
  
• Conducted GIS mapping of social, economic, and environmental data and analysis in Petersburg to inform community and economic development plans (Local Initiatives Support Corporation);
  
• Conducted an evaluation of the physical condition of structures in Petersburg's most distressed neighborhoods (Local Initiatives Support Corporation);
  
• Assisted community task forces with research and staff support to make recommendations about downtown economic development related to the expansion of Fort Lee (Army Community Heritage Partnership);
  
• Assisted with drafting a grant to the National Endowment of the Arts to fund the creation of walking tour pamphlets focused on architecture of Petersburg (Historic Petersburg Foundation);
  
• Drafted a grant for the purpose of hiring an executive director and providing technical assistance (Restoration of Petersburg Community Development Corporation);
  
• Researched grants available to Historically Black Colleges and Universities to conduct outreach in distressed communities (Virginia State University);
  
• Prepared and conducted a grant-writing workshop for Petersburg nonprofits to train staff to research and apply for grants (Virginia State University and The Phoenix Project);
  
• Assisted students from Petersburg’s public housing projects to apply for scholarships to enable them to attend Virginia State University (Petersburg Public Schools, Office of the Mayor, VSU);
  
• Assisted with urban salvage archaeology project in Old Town Petersburg (City of Petersburg);
  
• Researched certain state regulations as enforced in Petersburg compared to other localities (Petersburg City Attorney);
  
• Researched intellectual property issues for performing arts venue (Sycamore Rouge);
  
• Edited governing documents to ensure legal compliance (Multiple organizations);
  
• Researched legal responsibilities of federal, state and local governments with regard to environmental contamination of the Appomattox River (Petersburg City Attorney);
  
• Researched, developed and implemented marketing plan for organization dedicated to women’s health (Serenity);
  
• Researched and mapped water drainage in the City of Petersburg to inform R/UDAT planners (Downtown Harbor Initiative);
  
• Researched and drafted proposal for a William & Mary community revitalization legal clinic in conjunction with the Legal Aid Justice Center and the City of Petersburg;
  

• Painted interior of new HOPE Center (Downtown Churches United);
  
• Assisted Preservation Planner with applying to National Trust for Historic Preservation recognition programs, such as 11 Most Endangered Historic Places and Distinctive Destinations (City of Petersburg);
  
• Assisted Virginia State University faculty with preparing research projects focused on Petersburg, particularly those responsive to the SAVY report recommendations (Virginia State University);
  
• Convened stakeholders from the public schools and the community to support the Algebra Project (Algebra Project/ VSU);
  
• Researched legal responsibilities of federal, state and local governments with regard to environmental contamination of the Appomattox River (City of Petersburg, City Attorney’s Office);
  
• Researched real estate regulations (City of Petersburg, City Attorney’s Office);
  
• Researched blight enforcement processes and made recommendations for improved enforcement (City of Petersburg, City Attorney’s Office);
• Assisted the Legal Aid Justice Center in representing clients in landlord/tenant and class action cases;
  
• Researched ownership history of various properties near Battersea to support redevelopment (City of Petersburg);
  
• Distributed flyers publicizing April home repair programs going door-to-door on Pocahontas Island and Blandford neighborhoods (Rebuilding Together Petersburg);
  
• Conducted home repairs for low-income seniors (Elderhomes);
  
• Perform research and analysis to identify potential locations for new green space (LISC); and
  
• Research potential easements issues on Canal St. and South St. (LISC).
• Mapped specific components of the nonprofit sector in Petersburg by assembling a list of active Petersburg nonprofit organizations and creating a web-based resource for the community (Connect Southside);
  
• Researched development opportunities for the new Petersburg Public Library, which will cost approximately $10 million (Petersburg Public Library);
• Created an external marketing and communications plan for the Petersburg Public Schools (Petersburg Public Schools);
• Created a database of vacant properties in Petersburg to assist the City with enforcing its new vacant property registration and anti-blight ordinances (Local Initiatives Support Corporation (“LISC”) and City Attorney);
• Devised and help implement strategies for expanding the community outreach of Goodwill of Central Virginia’s Employment Center (Goodwill);
  
• Created an event plan for a fundraiser, including logistics and publicity (Rebuilding Together Petersburg);
  
• Created a resource development plan that will enable construction of three houses a year (Tri-Cities Habitat for Humanity);
  
• Researched grant opportunities to support Pathways’ YOUTHBUILD program (Pathways);
  
• Assisted the Alzheimer’s Association with planning for two events: Caregiver’s Night Out and Ride-to-Forget-Me-Not Fundraiser (Alzheimer’s Association Greater Richmond Chapter);
• Analyzed current tutorial programs offered to young people in the City to determine gaps, building on the City Wide Youth Assessment (Supported Alternatives for Our Valued Youth (“SAVY”));

• Identified funding opportunities for nine key areas for young people: truancy, mentoring, teen pregnancy, transportation, recreation, anger management, gang prevention and the arts (“SAVY”);
• Conducted a regional market analysis for arts organizations in the area to inform marketing efforts and pricing structures (Petersburg Symphony Orchestra);
• Developed a marketing plan for Fort Lee Morale, Recreation & Welfare, to include focus group and survey of on- post soldiers, tabulation and analysis of market results, interpretation of data, written and oral presentation to army officers (Fort Lee);
• Evaluated and proposed improvements to the city’s procurement policies, last updated in 1995 (City Attorney);
• Evaluated and proposed improvements to the city’s personnel policies, last updated in 1989 (City Attorney);
• Drafted a nomination of the Halifax Triangle neighborhood for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of 11 Most Endangered Places (City of Petersburg Preservation Planner, Historic Petersburg Foundation);
• Identified strategic partners for Virginia Supportive Housing as it expands its financial literacy programs to Petersburg (Virginia Supportive Housing);
• Prepared a marketing plan for Saint Joseph School to capture influx of new personnel to Fort Lee (Saint Joseph School);
• Identified best practices and develop templates that can be used to improve the City’s fall festival, Nostalgiafest (Downtown Petersburg, Inc.);
• Wrote a strategic plan for VIBE:CAMP, currently a two-week program that the organization wishes to expand to year-round (Petersburg Vibe, Inc.);
• Created a marketing plan for the American Red Cross as it seeks to market more broadly its health and safety classes (American Red Cross- Southside Area Chapter);
• Researched and help draft strategic plan to address opportunities associated with the expansion of Fort Lee (Crater Regional Workforce Development);
• Organized dental clinic for low-income residents for Fall 2007—verify and update records, send out preliminary applications, set up record system (Pathways);
• Created promotional video to be used for marketing and fundraising (Big Brothers Big Sisters);
• Prepared research and background memos to guide strategic planning efforts at the Chamber of Commerce (Petersburg Chamber of Commerce);
  
• Designed and proposed a plan to build a higher education resource center in downtown Petersburg (The Phoenix Project); and
  
• Created a nonprofit resource guide to best practices for use by nonprofit leaders in Petersburg (The Phoenix Project.)