Concordia Place, a Chicago nonprofit, disrupts social inequities by offering inclusive, high-quality education and enrichment from prenatal support to teen leadership. Post-pandemic, however, the organization experienced rising costs, stagnant public funding, and increased competition from for-profit centers, making sustaining their mission challenging. With another budget deficit on the horizon, Concordia needed expert guidance.
Enter Compass Pro Bono.
A Multi-Year Partnership for Change
Concordia turned to Compass Pro Bono at several pivotal moments. An early On Demand engagement gave incoming CEO Grace Araya an outside perspective on Concordia’s organizational structure and readiness for growth.
Building on that insight, Concordia then engaged Compass for an On Track funding strategy project to examine its financial model in depth. The team’s analysis revealed how different “pay types” interact under Concordia’s sliding-scale model, surfaced unexpected cross-subsidies, and identified opportunities to diversify revenue, insights that would later guide Concordia’s strategic plan.
Concordia also participated in a 2025 Compass On Demand marketing strategy project that developed a plan to raise visibility of its early education centers and increase enrollment, a critical lever identified during the prior funding strategy work.
Most recently, a customized low-bono strategic planning project guided Concordia’s leadership team and board through the strategic planning process itself.
Rather than hand off a static plan, Compass facilitated the leadership team’s ownership of the work, helping them set priorities, assign accountability, and sequence initiatives over three years. This process gave Concordia’s staff and board a shared understanding of their financial levers and a clear roadmap for action. Grace is also currently participating in Compass’s On Demand Executive Coaching program. This provided one-on-one coaching focused on leading through change.
“Compass Pro Bono arrived as a lifeline at a pivotal moment in our organization’s history,” Grace said. “The concrete recommendations they delivered weren’t just theoretical frameworks—they were practical, step-by-step roadmaps that we’re actively using today.”
Impact
The cumulative effect of these projects has been transformative. Concordia’s leadership team and board now have:
- Clarity on their financial model and the specific levers available to diversify and strengthen revenue.
- Ownership of a three-year implementation plan that they helped design and prioritize.
- Capacity to grow critical programs, such as home visiting (expanding from 48 to 126 families served) and a teen program with a 200-person waitlist, while working to ensure these services remain sustainable.
- Integrated support across projects, as Compass volunteers and consultants communicated with one another to avoid duplication and build on previous work, something Grace noted felt distinct from other consulting experiences.
- Stronger leadership during change: Grace’s participation in the On Demand Executive Coaching program built her capacity to lead through financial uncertainty and organizational change, ensuring that Concordia could execute on new strategies effectively.
Together, these efforts have positioned Concordia to stabilize its finances, increase enrollment, and continue providing inclusive, high-quality services to Chicago families who need them most.
“There is a critical need for consultative support, but it can feel out of reach given the financial challenges that many nonprofits face,” Grace said. “We are truly grateful for the many supports that Compass provides.”