Five Maricopa Colleges are participating in a collaboration with the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) and Everyday Entrepreneurship Venture Fund (EEVF). The collaboration is part of the NAACE/EEVF Venture Fund phase II program which is raising money to provide capital to Maricopa student-entrepreneurs for start-up and scale up of small businesses. With support of the Maricopa Colleges Foundation, faculty and development directors from the five participating Maricopa Colleges - Glendale Community College, Phoenix College, Mesa Community College, Rio Salado College, and South Mountain Community College - have raised a venture fund from local donors, along with grant funds from NACCE/EEVF. In May 2021 the first cohort of student-entrepreneurs were selected to receive $2,500 each for the launch and expansion of some interesting and exciting small businesses. In addition to start-up capital, the six student-entrepreneurs receive ongoing mentoring and advising from the Maricopa Small Business Development Center, and campus faculty and staff.