Grand Canyon University's Five-Point Plan
For decades, Grand Canyon University has been involved in helping disadvantaged populations in its inner-city Phoenix community by volunteering at homeless shelters, nursing clinics or homes that assist veterans, refugees, the elderly and victims of sex trafficking.
Those efforts are significant to provide relief for those in need, but the university wanted to do more. It wanted to do something that could lift an entire community and revitalize what had once been a middle-class neighborhood. In 2015, the university created an ambitious and groundbreaking five-point plan to bring about long-term transformation – first by meeting families’ basic needs and improving their homes and neighborhoods, then providing equal opportunity pathways to educational opportunities and finally creating high-paying job pathways that will change a family’s trajectory for generations to come.
Serving families in need
CityServe
As part of a partnership with CityServe and its collaborative network of faith-based nonprofits, corporate, retail, farm and food supply partners, GCU has created over 88,800 square feet of warehouse space on its campus that has provided millions of dollars worth of household goods to families in need. Since September 2021, $15.39 million worth of surplus goods including beds, furniture, heaters, diapers, food boxes and other essential items has been delivered to the warehouse from major retailers such as Costco, Amazon, Home Depot and Lowe’s. The warehouse has only three full-time employees and is run primarily through the help of GCU students, staff and external volunteers. GCU is the first university in the country to serve as a CityServe HUB, with a goal to equip and mobilize students to meet community needs and to help Arizona families move from dependency to sustainability.
$15.39 million+ worth of goods distributed
74,514 families helped
45,000+ volunteer hours
Making neighborhoods safer
Neighborhood Safety Initiative
GCU has actively worked with the City of Phoenix Police Department for many years and invested millions of dollars into initiatives to improve safety on behalf of our neighborhood. The new 27th Avenue Collaborative brings together schools, businesses, neighborhood associations and the Phoenix Police Department to transform the area into a safe and thriving community for residents, education and businesses.
13-year partnership with the City of Phoenix
$170 million in capital investments made in the area along 27th Ave.
38% decrease in crime between 2012 and 2023
Improving home values
Habitat for Humanity
In this first-of-its-kind partnership, GCU is providing both the funding and manpower to renovate an entire community of homes in its neighborhood through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit Christian housing ministry. Since 2015, more than $6.2 million has been raised and more than 38,500 volunteer hours contributed to renovate 594 homes in our community. Those repairs include everything from new windows, roofing, block walls, HVAC units, painting and landscaping. Median home values have risen 876% in the 85017-zip code since 2011.
Data provided by Habitat for Humanity.
38,500+ volunteer hours
594 homes renovated
876% increase in home values since 2011
Providing equal opportunity education solutions
Canyon Rising Scholarship
In 2015, GCU created the Canyon Rising Scholarship, formerly known as the Students Inspiring Students scholarship. Each year, the university awards full-tuition scholarships to high school students who meet academic criteria and demonstrate financial need. GCU has raised $9.6 million and awarded over 1,000 full-tuition scholarships to low-income students – many from the inner-city communities surrounding GCU – who otherwise may not have been able to afford college. Education is the great equalizer in society, and by helping to ensure that all socioeconomic classes have access to a college education, GCU is changing the trajectory of those families for generations to come.
As the Canyon Rising Scholarship has expanded, GCU saw a need to better support those students once they got to campus. In 2025, GCU’s Learning Lounge, which originally provided tutoring to K-12 students, transitioned to support all Canyon Rising recipients. This evolution allowed the university to double down on its commitment to students by investing in dedicated staff and enhancing programming to support these scholars from arrival to graduation. The goal is to not only provide access to higher education, but to help students become equipped to thrive, graduate and return to their communities as leaders and changemakers who promote human flourishing.
$9.6 million raised
1,000+ full-tuition scholarships awarded
Creating jobs on campus and in west Phoenix
GCU has become an anchor institution in west Phoenix that now employs more than 10,000 people and GCU’s partner, Grand Canyon Education (GCE) employs an additional 6,000+. As the university has grown, GCU and its partners now create an annual economic impact of $2.1 billion according to a study by Elliott Pollack & Co. GCU has also launched 10 business enterprises, including a hotel, golf course, two public restaurants, a merchandise company and coffee and pizza companies. These enterprises provide management opportunities for recent graduates and employment opportunities for over 500 graduates, students and local residents, while also providing an economic stimulus for west Phoenix. GCU also offers no cost space at its business incubator, Canyon Ventures, that houses 13 start-up businesses. Six of those are already opening storefronts or headquarters in Phoenix.
10,000+ GCU employees and 6,000+ GCE employees
$2.1 billion economic impact
10 business enterprises
When we think about what God has done in terms of blessing us here at GCU, it’s not right if we just come here every day for ourselves. We need to make an impact in the community. We need to be the restorers of the world we live in. There’s a brokenness everywhere, but together – with the right plan – we can transform this.
GCU President Brian Mueller