Washington Parks & People
Compass Pro Bono and Share Fund:
Multiplying Foundation Impact
Share Fund Foundation recognizes that grants alone aren’t enough to fully support their grantees. Nonprofit leaders navigating sector uncertainty, evolving community needs, and leadership challenges also need access to trusted guidance and expertise that meets them exactly where they are. For Share Fund, this is especially true for smaller nonprofit organizations serving the local community. Since 2012, Share Fund has supported local nonprofits across arts and culture, food and shelter, education and literacy, youth services, workforce development, the environment, and advocacy.
“Share Fund partnered with Compass early in our existence because we saw the value of enhancing the already impressive knowledge and dedication of our grantee leaders through targeted capacity building projects of their choosing. Our grantees greatly benefited from the expertise of Compass’ volunteer consultants, services they never could have afforded on the open market.”
Pamela Nash
Executive Director, Share Fund
The Partnership Model
To provide this critical capacity building guidance, Share Fund partners with Compass Pro Bono to offer grantees priority access to Compass’ high-impact programs: On Track 4 (focused team-based consulting projects), On Demand (targeted one-on-one strategic support), and On Board (board matching paired with board service training). Over the past 13 years, Share Fund’s investment has provided more than 100 grantees support they would not be able to access otherwise.
Compass manages the full lifecycle of each bespoke nonprofit engagement, so Share Fund staff can stay focused on the foundation’s mission and on grantee relationships. What makes Compass uniquely effective is its deep nonprofit expertise combined with the ability to translate volunteers’ for-profit business knowledge into the nonprofit context.
Key Design Elements: Right-Sized Support That Fits Reality
- Tailored engagements: recommendations are adapted to each nonprofit’s needs, and immediately implementable
- Turnkey solution: Compass Pro Bono runs the entire consulting and board matching engagement, from intake to training to presentation of the final recommendations
- Transparent reporting: Compass provides detailed reports on the support received and outcomes of each nonprofit engagement
- Trend identification: by observing themes across projects and needs across nonprofits, Share Fund can better inform future grantmaking direction
- Opt-in for grantees: support is made available to grantees, but is not required
Partnership Outcomes and Impact
Since 2013, Compass Pro Bono has worked with 112 Share Fund grantees, providing more than $10 million in strategic consulting and/or board matching services.
2025 Impact
Nonprofits Served: 28 Share Fund Grantees
Share Fund Investment: $100,000
Total Pro Bono Consulting Value Delivered: $540,000
Quality and Value
100% of Share Fund grantees reported having a valuable Compass Pro Bono experience and a significant positive impact on their organization, with 95% saying the experience was as good as or better than paid consultants.
Strategic Impact
100% of nonprofits reported that they received a set of clear recommendations to resolve their strategic challenge(s) that they can and will implement
Lasting Ties
87% of nonprofits reported they expect Compass volunteers to remain engaged
A Closer Look: Washington Parks & People
Washington Parks & People, a nonprofit supporting DC’s parks and communities, needed a stronger board structure and clearer governance practices to support organizational growth and long-term stability.
Compass Pro Bono strengthened the board’s ability to recruit, onboard, and lead more consistently, so they could spend more time serving the community. The Compass team provided a step-by-step recruitment plan with a timeline and practical resources to bring in the right board members and keep the board’s work moving.
Compass also matched Washington Parks & People with a board candidate who brings deep experience in strategic planning and program management, skills that directly support board-level leadership and execution.
As Washington Parks & People shared:
“If you ever felt overwhelmed, alone, or tired in the face of all the challenges of running an effective nonprofit in difficult times, Compass teams will help you both reconnect with the passion and purpose that drove the launch of your work and deliver lasting impacts for the people, places, and promise of all that you do.”
More Ways Grantees Strengthened Their Capacity
- Dance Place strengthened their strategic planning as they entered a 3–5 year planning process. Deliverables included a competitive landscape review, a SWOT analysis, and a practical four-pillar framework with implementation considerations.
- The Fishing School developed new earned revenue streams. Deliverables included considerations and risks analysis for the new summer program, analysis of market, competitors, and program expenses, and a 2-year budget model.
- Studio Acting Conservatory’s Executive Director was matched with an executive coach to receive structured support, personal guidance, and thought partnership.
“Dance Place has partnered with Compass Pro Bono multiple times over the years, and each experience has been exceptional. Whether through board training or strategic planning, their support has helped us strengthen our leadership and sharpen our focus as an organization. For nonprofits like ours, where every dollar counts, Compass offers the rare opportunity to grow thoughtfully while remaining financially responsible.”
By embedding expert support into their funding model, Share Fund finds that every grant dollar invested has an outsize return. Grantees now gain capacity to navigate complexity, strengthen governance, and scale impact.
Pamela Nash at Share Fund concluded: “We have kept renewing our commitment for more than a dozen years because our annual grantee reports tell us time and again how valuable, effective, and long-lasting the impacts of their Compass projects have been”.
Learn more about how Compass Pro Bono can help your grantees.
