FROM THE PRESIDENT 

SEASONS

Growing up in Texas, I was taught in school that there are four seasons: fall, winter, spring and summer. I took this as truth, although I had only experienced "hot." When I went away to college in New England, I was introduced to real seasons, and not just those defined by the outdoor weather. I learned that June begins with "strawberries in season," which is followed shortly by "corn in season." Our sadness at the "last corn of the season" was soon replaced by the joy of apple season, which meant fresh apple cider and maple sugar, accompanied much to my delight by a real cooling of temperatures. The fall gave way to a cold Christmas, which brought snow, homemade eggnog and real fires in the fireplace. Then as the months moved toward March and April, I learned to eagerly look for crocuses, the first signs of spring.

This was my wonderful introduction to seasons. Since then, I've found that seasons come in different shapes and sizes, and for different reasons. Some seasons have predictable timing. For instance, Compass has very regular seasons. There are times when we fundraise, survey volunteers, and hold our annual board retreat. There's a time when we recruit clients (right now!), select clients (over the summer), recruit Project Leaders and team members, train clients and volunteers, and then let go so our consulting teams can do their work.

May and June are the time of year when Compass projects wrap-up, teams deliver final presentations, and volunteers and nonprofit leaders say good-bye to each other after many months of close communication and collaboration. It is often a time of excitement as Compass volunteers gain back some much needed personal time, and nonprofit leaders look ahead to implementing the Compass recommendations. It's also somewhat bittersweet though, as people who have gotten to know each other move on without the other. Some relationships will survive the transition as many Compass volunteers join their client's board or continue to support their client after the official end of the project. Others will stay in touch, just because they really liked each other. But still, this is mainly the season for saying goodbye at Compass.

On the personal front, it turns out that children bring seasons, too. Although the big moments come less frequently, they come just as surely. For the second year in a row, one of my three sons will graduate from high school. Wasn't he just learning to walk and talk, losing his first tooth, riding a bike, traveling without me, and learning to drive? And now, he will embark on a brand new adventure full of its own seasons. I learned last year that, as a mom, this is my season for saying goodbye. Luckily, every season brings unexpected wonder. This teenager, who felt "finished" with high school two years ago, told me recently that he could stay in high school for a few more years. This young man who has been so ready to leave, recently told me that he's already homesick. It turns out he can surprise me in any season.

While my second son prepares to leave, my first has come home for the summer from a transformative freshmen year of college. I'm reminded again that as one season ends, another begins. So as we all move ahead with the transitions at hand, I hope we remember that things will surely go away and then come back. That is the great thing about seasons, which I love.

Have a wonderful summer! I'll see you next season.

Warmly,

Compass clients must meet the following criteria:

• Have 501(c)3 status
• Have a minimum of three paid staff members and a minimum budget of $750,000
• Provide services that specifically benefit the Greater Washington community
• Not promote a specific religion, or religious or political beliefs
• Have an active board of directors

Compass offers consulting services in the following service lines: Board Development, Funding Strategies, Strategic Alignment, Strategic Planning (two-year projects), Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations, Strategic Mergers, and Strategic Marketing.

The application is available on our website: Client Application 

If you have any questions about which project would be most useful for your organization or about the application process, please contact Kristalee Overdahl ([email protected]; 202-864-6492) to discuss. 

Compass is heavily dependent on the skills and dedication of our talented Project Leaders and Deputy Project Leaders. We are grateful for the following people who made this year's projects a success: 

Classic Projects 

• Adam Burton - CASA for Children of DC
• Abby Phelps and Dave Wetzig - Center for Nonprofit Advancement
• Rich Church and Heidi Schultheis - Chelsea School
• Michael Dickson and Katie Chapman - Community Crisis Services
• Susan Thaxton and Autumn Wilds - DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative 
• Jennifer Blasko and Emily Bradley - DCTV
• Ted Clarkson and Kevin Vincent - Easter Seals
• Burgess Levin, Daniel Ingram, and Malika Mukhamedkhanova - Home Care Partners
• Tracey Moon and Georgia Katinas - Horton's Kids
• Tim Saunders and George Albamonte - Housing Unlimited 
• Akosua Baah-Dwomoh and Jenny Capone - HumanitiesDC
• Richard Stern and Paula Jacobs - Insight Memory Care Center
• Tulip Shah and Nick Mageras - Iona Senior Services 
• Ritija Gupta and Iulia Degeratu - LAMB PCS
• Scooter Oxley and Carlie Bissler - Leadership Greater Washington
• Jeff Kass - Levine School of Music
• Irene Edmunds and Greg Barber - Levine School of Music (Marketing)
• Marty Concannon and Aimee Grimshaw - Linden Resources
• Noran Eid and Tommy Tysse - Literacy Lab
• Victoria Pierce and Mirjam Jasiak - Maryland Youth Ballet
• Dhivakar Janarthanan and Helen Lin - Mental Health Association
• Barr Snyderwine and Maurice Smith - National Center for Children and Families
• Michael Kim and Amanda Robison - National Trust for Historic Preservation
• Jeanine Zeitvogel and Judy Patterson - Norther Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program
• Jacek Pruski and Ben Richman - Prince George's Child Resource Center 
• Neena Graham and Mary Dalrymple - Rebuilding Together Alexandria 
• John Crain and Cori Byrum - Sasha Bruce Youthworks
• Mike Plunkett and Jacques Beaudry-Losique - United Planning Organization 
• Harry Knight and Gregg Couch - Washington Area Bicyclists Association 
• Claire Nelson - Wonders Child Care
• Denisse Goldbarg and Fran Hernandez - YouthBuild PCS

• Diane Wright - Chess Challenge DC
• Eric Petersen - Coalition for Smarter Growth
• Alyssa Franklin - DC Lawyers for Youth
• Krutika Amin - Empowered Women International
• Rebecca Robuck - Father McKenna Center
• Jeanne Simon - Girls on the Run
• Lisa Benjamin - Horizons Greater Washington
• Taylor Howard - Life Asset
• Rachel VanJohnson - Live It Learn It
• Natasha Munshi and Peter Jacobstein - Marriott Foundation - Bridges From School to Work
• Nathan Uldricks - MOMIE'S TLC
• Claudia Wood - National Conservatory for Dramatic Arts
• Nirosha Mahendraratnam - New Futures 
• Kim Douglass - PEN/FAULKNER
• Mollie Dougherty - Rachael's Women's Center
• Andrew Morrison - Southeast Ministry
• Gary Friend - Stone Soup Films 
• Marine Korin - The Nonprofit Roundtable
• Ashely Tatum - The Washington Literacy Center
• Laura Whitaker - Thrive DC
• Sanjay Singh - Turning the Page
• Ashley Culbertson - Voices for a Second Chance
• Ben Jarvis - Words Beats & Life 

• Barbara Milhatov and Steve Zipf - American Red Cross
• Bob Warrington - Chester County OIC
• Robert Bond - Diversified Community Services
• Amy Sennett - Women's Center of Montgomery County

Like our clients, Compass is a nonprofit that relies on donations to keep operations running. Since Compass doesn't charge for services, we rely on funding from generous supporters. This year, we've been able to provide consulting teams to 54 local nonprofits. If you haven't donated to Compass during this 2013-14 project year, please consider making a contribution now.

We couldn't put together our 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 that help spread the word about Compass. We are grateful for your continued support! 

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Cornell University Johnson School of Management

Fuqua School of Business at Duke University

Harvard Business School

MIT Sloan School of Management

New York University Stern School of Business

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

Compass lists nonprofit jobs on our website. If you are a nonprofit looking to hire a management level person, please forward any open job descriptions to Elizabeth Elliott at Compass at [email protected]. We will post jobs for three months.

If you are seeking a nonprofit job opportunity, please visit our website at www.compassdc.org to see current openings.

Join a compelling discussion about education on June 12. The Harvard Business School Club of Washington, D.C., Communities in Schools of the Nation's Capital and Harvard Business School's U.S. Competitiveness Project invite you to attend "Lasting Impact - A Call to Business and Education Leaders." This event will feature the latest research on PK through 12 education and pathways for improvement. Featured speakers are Jan W. Rivkin, chair of the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School, and Dan Cardinali, President of Communities In Schools, Inc., the nation's largest dropout prevention organization, with operations in 27 states and the District of Columbia. The event begins with a reception, hors d'oeuvres, wine and refreshments. The event offers special ticket prices for nonprofits.

Venue: Embassy of France - Cultural Service, 4101 Reservoir Rd NW, Washington, DC 

Date: June 12, 2014

Time: 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Details and registration available here.

TECHNOLOGY AWARD

To all DC Area Nonprofits, 501cTECH wants to hear your idea for an innovative new tech project. If your organization works in one of the following areas: PreK-12 & STEM Education, Skills to Succeed & Workforce Development, or Veterans & Military Families, please consider applying for the 2014 501cTECH Technology Innovation Awards!  

The simple electronic application is due by June 30. A panel of judges will select a winner from each category to receive $7,500 and a free 501cTECH consultation. 

For full details read here.

PUBLIC POLICY PROJECTS

The McCourt School of Public Policy is seeking proposals for Client-Based Capstone Projects to be conducted by students in the Masters of Public Policy (M.P.P.) degree program. Beginning in September 2014, small teams of M.P.P. students, with the advice of McCourt School faculty, will work with selected client organizations to complete an empirical analysis project and prepare a professional report of their findings that will be delivered by the end of April 2015.

They are interested in projects in any policy-related domain, but particularly seeking projects in the following areas: Policy management and strategic planning, International development, Poverty, health, education, or other social issues, Environment or energy, State and local governance, or Political campaigns and strategies. Capstone Projects must be substantive, and must also require some quantitative data analysis. 

If you have any project needs that might be suitable, please see the Request for Proposal and Proposal Template here. If you have questions or ideas for potential projects that you would like to discuss, please email Professors Simone Bunse and Micah Jensen at [email protected]. The deadline for submitting a project proposal is June 15th, 2014.

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