About the client
Kids Rank (www.kidsrank.org) is an Illinois-based nonprofit that seeks to address the gap in services for military-connected children through hands-on skill building programs that foster resilience through connection, leadership, and community service. Kids Rank provides in-school and after-school programs that provide social and emotional support to military-connected children.
The Challenge
Kids Rank has experienced significant growth over the last three years and has been working to codify and formalize various board governance practices and procedures. To help achieve this goal, Kids Rank approached Compass Pro Bono with three main objectives: to develop and implement a board-specific fundraising plan, to identify gaps in board capacity, and to discover how to better empower board members to support revenue growth goals.
The Solution
The Compass Pro Bono volunteer team was composed of six individuals from the local Chicago community with professional backgrounds spanning an array of industries, including technology, project management, and business strategy. With the support of Compass Pro Bono’s On Track consulting framework, customized training, and array of resources, the volunteer team got to work. Through weekly meetings over the course of four months, the volunteers worked to deliver a series of detailed, bespoke recommendations.
To thoroughly understand the issues facing the organization, the team conducted comprehensive stakeholder interviews with current and former board members, as well as individuals from two peer organizations. Moreover, the team conducted an in-depth competitive landscape analysis, researching best practices in board management, fundraising, and growth modeling. From there, they completed a high-level assessment of current board strengths and areas of opportunity and began formulating actionable recommendations. The final deliverables included the following:
- A board fundraising playbook, outlining key expectations, and providing best practice guidance on achieving annual fundraising goals
- A template to guide strategic board expansion, including key questions to consider when discussing board composition
- Fundraising committee best practice recommendations
- Quantitative and research-based guidelines for board fundraising amounts
Impact
By bolstering Kids Rank’s board fundraising practices, the team’s recommendation will allow Kids Rank to achieve their growth goals and serve more children. In Compass Pro Bono’s post-project survey, Kids Rank’s Executive Director stated:
“My organization was going through some significant changes to include staffing, growth and infrastructural building. Our board, a group of dedicated individuals, felt [they were] on the outside of the process and needed a way to connect. Our Compass Pro Bono project, led by Matt Hartzman and his team, was well thought through and executed.
From the initial plan, research, interviews all the way to our final presentation, I was impressed with the communication and quality of the work. I am most pleased with actionable recommendations that our board has already begun to work on. I appreciate all of the time and effort that was put into our project and the willingness from the team to make themselves available even after the project is over for any follow up questions that we may have. Overall a great experience.”
Kelcey Liverpool, Executive Director