Strategic Guidance. Stronger Nonprofits.
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Client Application - Deadline June 16
Thanks to This Year's Team Leaders
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2013-14 Clients

Philadelphia Clients

 

American Red Cross

 

Chester County OIC

 

Diversified Community Services

 

Women's Center of Montgomery County


DC Classic Clients

CASA for Children of DC

 

The Center for Nonprofit Advancement

 

Chelsea School

 

Community Crisis Services

 

DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative

 

DCTV 

 

Easter Seals 

 

Home Care Partners

 

Horton's Kids

 

Housing Unlimited

 

HumanitiesDC

 

Insight Memory Care Center

 

Iona Senior Services

 

LAMB Public Charter School

 

Leadership Greater Washington

 

Levine School of Music

 

Linden Resources

 

The Literacy Lab

 

Maryland Youth Ballet

 

Mental Health Association of Montgomery County

 

National Center for Children and Families

 

National Trust for Historic Preservation

 

Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program

 

Prince George's Child Resource Center

 

Rebuilding Together Alexandria

 

Sasha Bruce Youthworks

 

United Planning Organization

 

Washington Area Bicyclist Association

 

Wonders Child Care Center

 

YouthBuild Public Charter School

 

DC Micro Clients

Chess Challenge in DC

 

Coalition for Smarter Growth

 

DC Lawyers for Youth

 

Empowered Women

International

 

Girls on the Run

 

The Father McKenna Center

 

Horizons Greater Washington

 

Life Asset

 

Live It Learn It

 

Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities

 

MOMIE's TLC

 

National Conservatory for Dramatic Arts

 

New Futures

 

The Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington

 

The PEN/FAULKNER Foundation 

 

Rachael's Women's Center

 

Southeast Ministry

 

Stone Soup Films 

 

Thrive DC

 

Turning the Page

 

Voices for a Second Chance

 

Washington Literacy Center

 

Words Beats & Life

Vol. 11, No. 2
June 2014

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,

Suzanne 
CLIENT APPLICATIONS DUE JUNE 16
There's still time to complete the Compass client application for 2014-15. The deadline is June 16, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. 
Clients will be selected in August, and projects will begin in September.

 

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 Philadelphia 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 Partnerships and Collaborations.

 

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 Suzanne Laporte ([email protected]; 202-864-6549) to discuss. 

THANKS TO THIS YEAR'S TEAM LEADERS

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 Philadelphia projects a success: 

 

Philadelphia Projects
  • 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
INVEST IN YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY

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 58 nonprofits in the Greater Washington and Greater Philadelphia areas. If you haven't donated to Compass during this 2013-14 project year, please consider making a contribution now.

 

WE COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT

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! 

 

Columbia Business School 

Duke University's Fuqua School of Business

Harvard Business School

University of Virginia Darden School of Business
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania 

 

We are incredibly grateful for the ongoing support from our corporate partners: 

 

   

NONPROFIT JOBS

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 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 in the Greater Washington and Greater Philadelphia regions.

STAY IN TOUCH WITH COMPASS

Please join one or all of our online communities: 

 

Like us on Facebook "Like" us and watch for fun announcements, pictures and videos.

 

Follow us on Twitter Follow us @Compassprobono.

 

View our profile on LinkedIn Join the Compass Volunteer Network 

 

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