The Friends of the Phoenix is a nonprofit 501c(3) on a mission to give back to the greater Houston area. FOTP was founded by a group of friends who met through the Phoenix on Westheimer, a local pub managed by FOTP president, Vu Truong. Vu, driven to give back to the community that has given so much to him, noticed that a group of his regular pub patrons were frequently volunteering or fundraising for causes throughout Houston, including at the ones hosted at the Phoenix. Vu, with the help of inception tactics from his patrons, came up with the idea to formalize the work these friends of the Phoenix had already been doing to help leverage the fundraising efforts of deserving charities.