Friends of Compass, Inc.
Strategic Guidance. Stronger Nonprofits.
Friends of Compass, Inc.
EIN: 26-3724642
as of December 2022
as of December 12, 2022
Mission
Compass’ mission is to inspire business professionals to engage with their local nonprofits to transform communities. At Compass, we believe our cities should thrive, not just survive. Our goal is to enrich the communities we serve with stronger nonprofits supported by highly-skilled and engaged volunteers. We partner with nonprofit leaders and business professionals alike, creating ever-deepening connections between the two. Together, we make our cities and communities stronger.
Ruling year
2009
CEO
Bethany Rubin Henderson
Main address
2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Suite 7000
Washington, DC 20006 USA
EIN
26-3724642
Philanthropy
Nonprofits
Community and economic development
Population served
Children and youth
Adults
Economically disadvantaged people
At-risk youth
Unemployed people
NTEE code
Community Improvement, Capacity Building N.E.C. (S99)
Voluntarism Promotion (T40)
Other Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Grantmaking Foundations N.E.C. (T99)
IRS subsection
501(c)(3) Public Charity
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Tax forms
Communication
Programs and results
Reports and documents
Download annual reportsWhat we aim to solve
Compass is a national leader committed to bringing business practices to the nonprofit sector. We believe nonprofit organizations, though charities, are also businesses that deserve access to experts who can help them do what they do, better. Our nonprofit clients address many charitable missions, including Arts & Culture, Children & Youth, Community Development, Disability Services, Domestic Abuse, Education, Emergency Relief, Environment, Family Support, Healthcare, Housing & Homelessness, Senior Services, Legal Services, Social Services, and Veterans. The one common factor among the nonprofits we serve is that each organization must be serving the local community in one of three Compass cities: Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Chicago. In that way, we ensure that local professionals can support their local nonprofits who, in turn, support the local community. Compass provides roadmaps to each of its clients to help them increase impact by strengthening and aligning operations, go
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Pro Bono Consulting
At Compass, we are passionate about helping nonprofit leaders build and sustain high-performing organizations. With almost two decades of experience, we guide nonprofits that want to raise their level of performance. We offer a full range of services for nonprofits at any stage of development – from foundation-building to growth and high impact.
On Board
Compass recognizes the critical role that boards play for nonprofits. Our On Board program focuses on strengthening nonprofit boards by matching business professionals with nonprofits seeking qualified board members, and then training board members. While boards play a key role for nonprofits, nonprofits face challenges recruiting board members and helping board members understand their role.
Sorkin Center
The Sorkin Center for Nonprofit Governance provides a unique board training program for members of nonprofit boards. As part of Compass, the Sorkin Center builds on our years of experience and expertise. We support professionals in their roles as a board member through interactive training modules in governance, strategy, financial management and fundraising.
Where we work
Awards
Community Partnership Award 2022
Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware County
Volunteer Award 2021
Coalition for the Homeless
Corporate Volunteer of the Year Award 2021
EveryMind
Rose Award 2021
Woodley House
Board Leadership Award – Honorable Mention 2018
Center for Nonprofit Advancement
Leadership Award 2017
Wonders Early Learning + Extended Day
Community Service Award 2014
United Planning Organization
Board Leadership Award – Honorable Mention 2014
Center for Nonprofit Advancement
Board and Staff Appreciation Award 2012
The Barker Foundation
Community Service Award 2011
The Washington Club
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of consulting projects completed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Social and economic status, Work status and occupations, Health, Age groups
Related Program
Pro Bono Consulting
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Since our founding in 2001, we have completed over 1,100 consulting projects for nonprofits.
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Pro Bono Consulting
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Compass bridges the gap between businesses and nonprofit organizations. We push the innovation forefront to deliver strategic support to nonprofit leaders. This is achieved via the hundreds of professionals that Compass recruits and deploys on teams crafted to serve the needs of our nonprofit clients. The result is a high-performing, impact-driven, and professional nonprofit sector, including:
i. Compass Nonprofit Clients. Our clients are strengthened via the world-class support of business professionals selected and deployed to bring lasting value to the nonprofit sector. Every engagement is high-touch and high-impact.
ii. Compass Professionals. Our volunteers become personally and deeply connected with the nonprofit sector. They are able to apply their analytical skills to benefit local nonprofits, and in turn, gain critical experience that allows them to thrive on team environments in their workplace. The broader community becomes enriched, as volunteers become nonprofit board members, mentors, employees and donors.
iii. Compass Corporate Partners. Our corporate partners are able to expand social impact efforts and achieve corporate citizenship goals through meaningful community engagement, which ultimately results in increased employee satisfaction and retention. Compass provides volunteers with training and support. In addition, they learn critical skills from peers on their Compass team and build upon their own professional acumen.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Compass attracts elite professionals to nonprofit service: the best of the best across a broad set of functional areas to address the strategic health, sustainability and effectiveness of nonprofits.
Compass also matches business professionals desiring to engage in board service with local nonprofits that need qualified board members through the On Board program. The result is eager, energized business professionals who become deeply connected with a specific nonprofit through board service. Compass defies assumptions about “pro bono” with a truly tailored and personalized approach on par with the best in strategic consulting to ensure that nonprofits and communities thrive.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Since our inception in 2001, Compass has built strong, reliable relationships with top tier national consulting firms and businesses in order to deliver tailored work defined by an eye for detail. Though we deploy more than 500 professional, committed volunteers to guide nonprofits every year, our program is in such great demand that we still have to turn away more than half of the professionals who apply to participate. The demand is great, and so is the need. Compass’ only limitation is staff to manage our programs and service lines.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Founded in Washington, D.C. in 2001, Compass began with just 35 individuals working with five nonprofit clients that first year, providing them with consulting assistance completely free of charge. The demand for this high quality consulting became so great that Compass expanded to Philadelphia in 2012 and to Chicago in 2016. Currently, Compass annually serves more than 80 nonprofits across the three cities by engaging over 500 professionals who offer world-class consulting. To date, we have delivered more than $400 million of consulting services, for free. Every dollar contributed to Compass results in $10 of services to nonprofits. Compass delivers stronger strategies, builds stronger nonprofits, and, as a result, ensures stronger communities.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
Nonprofit leaders and volunteers from the business community in Greater Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. We rely on the nonprofit leaders to communicate the most pressing needs of the communities they support and how Compass can help them meet those needs.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person),
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
In response to needs articulated in our end-of-project surveys, we added a new service line to our pro bono strategic consulting programming, launched DEI Cohorts for nonprofit leaders, and changed the time frame of our pro bono strategic consulting program in two of our communities.
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
Our staff, Our board, Our community partners,
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How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?
We view our nonprofit clients and volunteers as partners in our effort to strengthen the communities in which we work.
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve,
Financials
Financial documents
Download audited financialsRevenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Liquidity in 2020 info
4.46
Months of cash in 2020 info
8.8
Fringe rate in 2020 info
10%
Funding sources info
Assets & liabilities info
Friends of Compass, Inc.
Revenue & expensesFiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
Friends of Compass, Inc.
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Fiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
This snapshot of Friends of Compass, Inc.’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.
Created in partnership with
Business model indicators
| Profitability info | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation | $32,270 | $221,907 | -$78,465 | -$150,714 | $308,282 |
| As % of expenses | 4.0% | 23.7% | -6.3% | -11.2% | 20.1% |
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation | $32,270 | $221,907 | -$78,465 | -$150,714 | $308,282 |
| As % of expenses | 4.0% | 23.7% | -6.3% | -11.2% | 20.1% |
| Revenue composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) | $828,205 | $1,160,142 | $1,241,752 | $1,225,498 | $2,754,564 |
| Total revenue, % change over prior year | 13.1% | 40.1% | 7.0% | -1.3% | 124.8% |
| Program services revenue | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Membership dues | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Investment income | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.1% |
| Government grants | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| All other grants and contributions | 99.4% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.7% | 99.9% |
| Other revenue | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Expense composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses before depreciation | $799,601 | $938,150 | $1,251,679 | $1,349,694 | $1,530,211 |
| Total expenses, % change over prior year | 25.0% | 17.3% | 33.4% | 7.8% | 13.4% |
| Personnel | 64.0% | 65.9% | 67.4% | 63.4% | 70.4% |
| Professional fees | 4.2% | 3.9% | 10.1% | 15.5% | 14.1% |
| Occupancy | 5.6% | 6.3% | 5.3% | 5.4% | 4.9% |
| Interest | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Pass-through | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| All other expenses | 26.3% | 23.9% | 16.3% | 15.8% | 10.6% |
| Full cost components (estimated) info | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses (after depreciation) | $799,601 | $938,150 | $1,251,679 | $1,349,694 | $1,530,211 |
| One month of savings | $66,633 | $78,179 | $104,307 | $112,475 | $127,518 |
| Debt principal payment | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed asset additions | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total full costs (estimated) | $866,234 | $1,016,329 | $1,355,986 | $1,462,169 | $1,657,729 |
Capital structure indicators
| Liquidity info | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months of cash | 5.6 | 8.0 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 8.8 |
| Months of cash and investments | 5.6 | 8.0 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 8.8 |
| Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets | 5.4 | 7.5 | 4.9 | 3.2 | 5.2 |
| Balance sheet composition info | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $372,429 | $626,311 | $512,185 | $379,225 | $1,124,830 |
| Investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Receivables | $48,627 | $2,100 | $120,298 | $160,510 | $830,781 |
| Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Liabilities (as a % of assets) | 9.1% | 2.4% | 4.6% | 11.1% | 12.9% |
| Unrestricted net assets | $362,842 | $584,749 | $506,284 | $355,570 | $663,852 |
| Temporarily restricted net assets | $32,784 | $32,869 | $101,407 | $127,925 | N/A |
| Permanently restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | N/A |
| Total restricted net assets | $32,784 | $32,869 | $101,407 | $127,925 | $1,043,996 |
| Total net assets | $395,626 | $617,618 | $607,691 | $483,495 | $1,707,848 |
Key data checks
| Key data checks info | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material data errors | No | No | No | No | No |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
CEO
Bethany Rubin Henderson
Bethany Henderson joins Compass following an extensive cross-sector career that spanned the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She brings an impressive record of social entrepreneurship that includes founding, leading, and building the capacity of multiple nonprofits and national social impact networks.
Bethany most recently served as the Network President of America SCORES, a national network of youth development organizations. There she unified affiliates around a collective strategic vision that positioned the network as an international leader at the intersection of youth sports and arts education. Previous roles include serving in the Obama Administration, where she helped to lay the groundwork for My Brother’s Keeper as a White House Fellow, and founding City Hall Fellows, a service corps program for local governments.
Bethany earned her JD at Harvard Law School and both her MA and BA at the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
Number of employees
Source: IRS Form 990
Friends of Compass, Inc.
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.
Friends of Compass, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 12/12/2022
Board of directors data
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Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 12/06/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Contractors
Fiscal year endingGuideStar Pro Reports
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- Financial statements for 2021, 2019, 2019, 2018, 2017
- Letter of Determination
- Officer and/or Employee data for 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016
- Contractor and/or Paid Preparer data for 2020, 2019, 2018
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