Philadelphia

Success Stories

The Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware County (DAP) works to prevent domestic violence and empower victims to move towards self-sufficiency. Recognizing the destabilizing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, DAP engaged Compass in hopes of strengthening fundraising efforts to remain a strong resource for its clients. Through primary research, stakeholder interviews, and a comprehensive financial analysis, the Compass team developed targeted recommendations for strengthening DAP’s fundraising practices. In the year after the project’s conclusion, DAP implemented many of these recommendations: hiring a Director of Advancement, integrating a new CRM software, and adopting new tools to manage stewardship with donors. DAP Executive Director Julie Avalos points to the organization’s unprecedented success in their annual appeal campaign—tripling their $50,000 fundraising goal to raise more than $165,000—as reflective of the Compass team’s impact on “the daily operations of the organization, the overall success of our work, and ultimately the lives of the domestic violence survivors we serve each day.” On June 15, 2022, DAP presented the 2022 Community Partnership Award to Compass Philadelphia and the Compass volunteer team in recognition of their extraordinary support of DAP’s vision and mission.

Mighty Writers teaches Philadelphia kids to think and write with clarity, so they can achieve success at school, at work and in life. Through a Funding Strategy project, the Compass team collaborated with Mighty Writers to enhance funding operations and achieve sustainable growth. Along with recommendations for maximizing funding request efforts, the Compass team developed a tool to align strategic, operational and financial goals to provide an improved approach to budgeting for growth as MW works toward its goal of teaching 10,000 youth. Mighty Writer’s Executive Director Tim Whitaker saw “the board come alive listening to the report” and stated “Compass gives you another perspective on things, which is invaluable in the nonprofit world.”

Chester County OIC provides adult basic literacy education and life skills programs that prepare individuals for self-sufficiency and employment.  After working with Compass on a Board Development project, Chester County OIC requested another project to optimize its long-term success and effectiveness by ensuring that programs and resources were aligned with the mission and vision of the organization and the needs of the community. Valuable information from community stakeholders and deeper board engagement has helped to establish new partnerships and contracts, secure additional foundation support and increased the number of clients served. In this Strategic Alignment project, Compass provided relevant insights, increasing CCOIC’s ability to deliver on its mission and as noted by Executive Director Joyce Chester, “positively impacted the staff, volunteers and our community.”

Broad Street Ministry is a broad-minded faith community that practices radical hospitality and works for a more just world through civic engagement. Since BSM’s founding in 2005 as an alternative church community, and in 2006 as a nonprofit to guide its mission, it has greatly expanded the scope of services offered. BSM engaged the Compass team to assist in the transition from a founder’s board to a governing board to complement a strategic planning process already underway. Executive Director Mike Dahl noted the “willingness of the team to dive deeply into our needs and develop a customized solution.” BSM now has an “excellent road map for how our governance structure needs to evolve to continue to support our mission.”