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FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Do you think philanthropy
and innovation go together? It turns out they do go together, and that message came
through loud and clear at Compass' last workshop, "Trends in Nonprofit
Fundraising." Two outstanding speakers entertained, informed, but mostly inspired.
Dennis
Whittle, CEO of GlobalGiving, spoke about his 24-year career that took him from
the World Bank (where he introduced events that gave away $5 million in a day)
to his decision to co-found GlobalGiving. GlobalGiving is the world's leading
marketplace for international philanthropy. It allows qualified community-based
groups around the world to post projects, and anyone in the world to fund them.
Tens of thousands of individual donors, as well as many leading Fortune 500 companies,
use GlobalGiving.
Tobin
Van Ostern spoke about using new media and social networking tools for
nonprofit fundraising. Tobin co-founded and became the National Director of the
student wing of the Obama Campaign, Students
for Barack Obama. Tobin served as a National Co-Chair for the Obama for
America campaign, and presently serves on the Board of Advisors for Politics Under 30, an organization
dedicated to "Helping the Young People of
Today Become the Political Leaders of Tomorrow." Tobin gave helpful tips on
using email for fundraising, and provided great examples from the incredibly
successful Obama campaign. In addition, he explained how Facebook and Twitter
could be used as part of a fundraising campaign.
These
two men left the audience
feeling that change is in the air, and that this change is hopeful. Although I
am not particularly comfortable with technology, I have a new perspective on
the possibilities that technology can bring to nonprofit organizations. A
great idea - from anyone - has the potential to create impact worldwide.
Compass
is currently accepting applications from nonprofits interested in working with
a Compass consulting team starting September 2010. We try to be
responsive to the nonprofit community and the economic climate when we start a
new year, so we're trying some innovation ourselves. See the stories below on our new Strategic Planning service line, and our new Micro Projects. We've been inspired by people who have reached new heights.
It's only appropriate that we try to keep up.
Enjoy
spring, and tell your favorite nonprofit about Compass!
Best,
Suzanne |
| CLIENT APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR 2010-11
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Compass'
client application for 2010-11 is now available and online! The deadline for
applications is June 15, 2010. All Compass clients must meet the following
criteria:
Have
501(c)3 status Minimum
of three paid staff members and a minimum budget of $750,000 Provide
services that benefit the Greater Washington community Not
promote a specific religion, or religious or political beliefs Have
an active board of directors
Compass
offers the following services: Board Development, Funding Strategies, Strategic Alignment, and Strategic Planning (see descriptions below).
The
Compass application is available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/clientapp2010-11 |
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COMPASS SERVICE LINES
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| Board Development - The goal of a
Board Development engagement is to improve board effectiveness and engagement. Compass helps Boards do a rigorous
self-assessment. The team helps the Board build a solid foundation of
governance, recruitment, training, committee structure, and meeting and
committee practices.
Funding Strategies - Funding
strategy projects begin with an assessment of current revenue sources and
revenue-generation methods. The team then reviews alternative revenue sources
as well as new opportunities with existing targets and sources. The project
ends with an improvement plan that is aligned with the organization's mission,
strategy, needs, and resources.
Strategic Alignment - Compass helps clients examine their mission,
vision, targeted beneficiaries, desired changes, strategic objectives and
supporting activities to understand how to achieve the greatest impact.
Strategic alignment projects also look, at a high level, for alignment between
the allocation of financial/staff resources and strategic priorities.
NEW THIS YEAR: Strategic Planning (2-year projects) - This service line is for Organizations
that would like Help with their
strategic planning process, in particular, Ensuring
that the board and organization leadership are aligned around key choices that have to be made. Typically, the first
year will be spent 1) gathering input from key stakeholders
on the issues to be addressed in the strategic planning process, and 2) conducting research to help the
board and leadership make informed decisions about those choices. Based upon the team's research, the second year
will be spent walking The board
through the strategic planning process of making important choices, prioritizing goals, and understanding
the implications of those choices. |
THANKS TO THE PROJECT LEADERS
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Compass'
board, volunteers and clients thank this year's AMAZING project leaders:
Rob Gibson, Columbia Business School
Anacostia Watershed Society
Susan Thaxton, Harvard Business School
Annapolis Symphony Orchestra
Jeremy Klass, Temple University Law School
The Arc of Northern Virginia
Gary Friend, George Washington Univ. Business School Bridges Public Charter School
Eric Guichard, Harvard Business School
Capital Partners for Education
Brock Holmes, Stanford Business School
Class
Acts Arts
Dale Hamby, Harvard Business School
Community
Lodgings
Christian Salvatori, Columbia Business School
Compass
Zeke Williams, Duke Business School
District
Alliance for Safe Housing
Sean Epstein, Columbia Business School
Greater
Prince William Community Health Center
Diana Tyler, Duke Business School
The
Helen Hayes Awards
Katheryn Ellis, Chicago's Booth School of Business
The
Kingsbury Center
Cathy Bernasek, Harvard Business School and Nowell Rush, Harvard Business School
The Lab
School of Washington
Sreenivas Rachamadugu, Northwestern Business School Language
ETC
Catherine Potter, Stanford Business School
National
Child Research Center
Jennifer Blasko, Columbia Business School
Oatlands
Karen Mazze, Harvard Business School
Pregnancy
Aid Centers
Oltac Unsal, Stanford Business School
Reality, Inc.
Kim Tran, Columbia Business School
Stop Child Abuse Now of Northern
Virginia
Andrea Harris, Yale Business School
Synetic Theater
John Nolan, Harvard Business School
The Treatment and Learning Centers |
| PILOT PROJECTS FOR SMALLER NONPROFITS
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Compass
has been piloting a new service offering this spring called Micro Projects.
Micro Projects are shorter and more focused than typical Compass projects. They
benefit nonprofits that are smaller than our usual clients, and they have
smaller teams of volunteers. Compass worked closely with Fair Chance to select
clients for the pilot projects. If scaled, Compass will recruit Micro Project
clients in the fall, for January to May projects.
We
thank Rangena Hotaki for leading the project for Kid Power this spring, and
Aimee Irwin for leading the project for Live It, Learn It. Karen Mazze
coordinated the pilot program for Compass, and Caroline Brown represented Fair
Chance.
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ALL IN THE FAMILY - NOW THAT'S IMPACT!
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The
nonprofit community talks about impact. At Compass, we talk about our impact.
For Compass, impact can be the plan developed by a team of pro bono consultants
at the end of a project. We also have impact when a Compass volunteer joins a
client board, or continues coaching the Executive Director after the project
ends, or donates money to the client.
I have a new story of
Compass impact. Compass board member, Karen Mazze, has led at least one project
per year for more than five years now. Two years ago, she worked with Horton's
Kids on a Strategic Alignment project. While there, she got her high school
daughter, Maya Krishnan, involved at HK helping with their technology. Maya
volunteered at Horton's Kids over a summer, and then throughout her senior year
in high school. The result was impressive. Maya applied for and won $35,000 in
software and consulting from NPower's Greater D.C. Region's annual Technology
Innovation Awards. Maya recently was named a National Winner of the AXA
Achievement Scholarships, which gives her a $25,000 scholarship to Stanford University,
where she'll be a freshman in the fall. According to AXA, "Maya created a new
database and processes that help the team at Horton's Kids operate more
efficiently and effectively and better serve its community. She also secured
donated computers that the organization is now using in its tutoring programs."
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YOUR SUPPORT MAKES OUR WORK POSSIBLE
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| Donations from companies, foundations and individuals made it possible for Compass to send almost 200 volunteers into the nonprofit community this past year. Consider donating to Compass to make our impact next year just as significant.
The Compass
website offers online giving capabilities through a service called Just
Give. The link to Just Give can be found
here:
http://www.compassdc.org/donors/index.html
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| THANKS TO OUR BIGGEST SUPPORTERS
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| We couldn't put
together out talented consulting teams without skilled volunteers. We couldn't
recruit the amazing volunteers without the support of the local business
schools clubs. Thank you to the following clubs who help spread the word about
Compass.
The University of Chicago Booth
School of Business
The Harvard Business School Club of
Washington
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Tuck School of Business at
Dartmouth
The Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania
Columbia Graduate School of
Business
Fuqua School of Business at Duke
University
University of Michigan Ross School
of Business
University of Virginia Darden
School of Business
Northwestern University Kellogg
School of Management
Yale School of Management
We'd like to thank our corporate and foundation
supporters who make our impact possible, and help us reach prospective clients:
Our corporate sponsors:
Booz
Allen Hamilton
Avalere
Health
And our foundation supporters:
ACT for Alexandria
The
Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
The Eugene
and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation
The Max
and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation
The
William J. and Dorothy K. O'Neill Foundation |
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NPOWER'S TECHNOLOGY
INNOVATION AWARD (TIA)
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Now in its sixth year, the TIA, sponsored by
Accenture, recognizes nonprofits in the Greater DC area whose innovative use of
technology enables them to more effectively fulfill their missions. Two
nonprofits will each receive an NPower Technology Assessment, free Microsoft
software, and an Apple iPad or a Dell laptop.
The deadline for
submitting applications is June 1. To learn more about the Awards and obtain tips on how to write a strong
application, nonprofits can take the FREE
30 minute webinar on Tuesday, May 25 at 2:00pm. To register for the webinar, go
to https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?udc=6lq4wsz6c0wn
Questions can be
directed to [email protected]
or call 202.234.9670. To apply online, go to
http://www.npowergdcr.org/form/2010-technology-innovation-award-application
For more information
about NPower Greater DC Region, visit www.npowergdcr.org.
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JOB OPPORTUNITY AT HORTON'S KIDS
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| Horton's Kids, an established D.C. educational nonprofit, is seeking a mature,
skilled Development Director to raise diverse funds for our comprehensive
program for inner-city children. Our services include thrice-weekly intensive
tutoring, weekly field trips, dental care, health and basic needs support,
advocacy, life skills training, and enrichment activities.
The Development Director is a senior-level fundraising position with a
great deal of autonomy. Hours are flexible and could include telecommuting. Occasional evenings
and weekends are
required to visit Horton's Kids' programs and attend special events. The
Development Director will play a critical role in Horton's Kids' program
offerings and expansion.
Interested applicants should send a resume, cover letter, writing
sample, and salary history to:
Brenda Chamberlain, Horton's Kids, 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Suite 207,
Washington, DC 20002 or [email protected] with subject line
"Development Director". No phone calls, please. |
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