“Over the course of 8 weeks in Petersburg, 28 top students from 14 Virginia universities spent 105 hours during 61 class sessions studying 45 critical topics with 37 guest faculty before testing their mettle working 8,000 volunteer hours alongside community leaders to complete 27 capacity building projects for 21 nonprofit organizations and muncipal agencies.” (see below) Click here to read the report that details both the academic and experiential programs for 2007 (check out all the projects that were completed!), and the changes to be made in 2008.

A message from the Director of the Phoenix Project, Greg Werkheiser:

Dear Friends and Supporters of the Phoenix Project,

We founded the Phoenix Project to find new ways to improve the plight of Virginians living in poverty. One strategy we pursue is to help build mutually beneficial partnerships between universities and economically struggling communities. Our second strategy is to identify, educate and connect Virginia’s next generation of social entrepreneurs and to engage them on the front lines of the battle to revitalize our most distressed communities.

After 16 months of extensive research and planning, we launched our flagship statewide Nonprofit Leadership Program in the summer of 2007. Over the course of 8 weeks in Petersburg, 28 top students from 14 Virginia universities spent 105 hours during 61 class sessions studying 45 critical topics with 37 guest faculty before testing their mettle working 8,000 volunteer hours alongside community leaders to complete 27 capacity building projects for 21 nonprofit organizations and muncipal agencies.

I am pleased to provide you a comprehensive report on the program and its impact on students and the community, including data gathered from more than 2,000 evaluations by participants: 2007 NLP Program Report. The results are informative and satisfying, and we welcome your feedback and suggestions for planning the 2008 program.

We are most grateful to the hundreds of people who contributed to the success of this venture.