Our mission is to connect passionate people with transformative community projects to fight poverty.

Our vision is that communities and the individuals who serve them thrive when every person contributes to a sustainable and just existence.

History

Our story began in 2006 when several Yavapai County agencies saw a gap in services, so they brought together a small team of AmeriCorps VISTA members to fight poverty in the region. Several members chose to stay after their service year to develop the Yavapai County VISTA Project. In 2009, we became Serve Yavapai and a program of Prescott College, increasing in scope and size to 25 VISTA members.

During 2013, we expanded to Pima County as well, thus becoming Arizona Serve. We were awarded our first AmeriCorps State and National grant in 2015, which broadened the part- and full-time direct service opportunities available for projects targeting healthy futures, education, and economic opportunities. Additionally, in 2015, Arizona Serve established a partnership with the Tucson Mayor's office in order to implement the Tucson Community Schools Initiative. This initiative sunsetted in 2020 as it placed members in three school districts and improved high school graduation rates and connected students to college and career opportunities. In 2022, we were awarded a grant as part of the inaugural Public Health Corps. Launched by the Biden-Harris Administration in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control with American Rescue Plan funds, the new corps will address the public health needs of local communities and create pathways to good quality public health-related careers.

Today, we are a team over 150 strong. We are proud to have one of the largest and top-performing AmeriCorps projects in the state of Arizona. Our staff, all of whom were National Service members themselves, oversees a collaborative team environment that allows us to support communities in the fight against poverty.

  • We value being part of a nationwide cause that is greater than ourselves and empower members.

    We engage with the community through deliberate outreach, partnerships with nonprofits and public agencies, and community-driven initiatives.

    We amplify the voices of non-dominant identity groups by confronting inequities with a social justice perspective. 

    We strengthen our members for future endeavors through professional development, targeted coaching, and professional networking opportunities.

    We recognize the imperfections in our work and will always work towards bettering our communities by constant self-reflection, internal evaluation metrics, and open-door policies to our communities.

  • For Program Year 2025-2026, Arizona Serve of Prescott College is committed to:

    Member Experience is at the heart of our organization and will be the foundation of our goals for 2025. All partner sites must cultivate an environment where all members feel safe, seen, and welcomed. Members will see themselves in training opportunities and guest speakers. All stakeholders will be expected to follow federal grant guidelines. All stakeholders will uphold the values of Prescott College, including a culture of creativity, justice, and inclusivity. The following goals will assist in our ability to meet members needs:  

    • Audit & Onboarding: In order to responsibly steward federal grant resources, Arizona Serve will revise, develop, and create a standard location for all staff guides and standard operating procedures to increase fiscal responsibility.

    • Evaluation: We have contracted the Emergent Evaluation Group to create external metrics to measure the impact of our programming on members and in the community. We are conducting a pilot study of new growth mindset performance measures in March of 2025 to be launched in the 2025-2026 grant year.

    • Fund Development: $50,000 will be raised by at least 10 external sources (i.e. grants and fundraising) with a focus on expanding access beyond federal resources.

    • Recruitment: Arizona Serve will aim to hit 100% fill rates, establishing at least 50% of the positions before the grant year starts.

    • Training: Civic Leadership Training content will be overhauled beginning in February 2025. All training content will be streamlined to reach two goals, first providing academic credit and the other career development opportunities.