The Compass Client Application for the 2013 – 2014 Project Year is now available.

Compass clients must meet the following criteria:
Have 501(c)3 status
Have a minimum of three paid staff members and a minimum budget of $750,000
Provide services that benefit the Greater Washington community
Not promote a specific religion, or religious or political beliefs
Have an active board of directors

Learn more or apply here: Compass 2013 Client Application

*How the Compass program works
*What kind of project would be best for your organization
*How to apply for a Compass project and get selected

Wednesday, May 8 – 9:00 a.m. coffee; Program 9:30 – 11:00

Location: The Meyer Foundation
1250 Connecticut Ave., NW * Washington, DC 20036

Attendees must RSVP to Compass. Please RSVP by May 1.

The deadline for applications is June 14 at 5:00 p.m. Clients will be selected in August, and projects begin in September.

]]> http://www.compassdc.org/watch-a-compass-team-in-action/feed/ 0 http://www.compassdc.org/blog-post-snapshot-of-a-board-development-project/ http://www.compassdc.org/blog-post-snapshot-of-a-board-development-project/#comments Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:47:26 +0000 admin http://www.compassdc.org/?p=1777 My team and I are in the final stretch of our Compass Board Development project with our client, Education Strengthens Families Public Charter School (ESF).  As defined, the goal of a Board Development project is “to improve board effectiveness and engagement to sustain a high performing board.” Our specific goals for this client are to:

• Create a system that allows for a pipeline of new Board members
• Identify potential Board members who have expertise to fill identified skill gaps
• Increase Board knowledge of best practices through targeted training
• Prepare the Board to engage with and support key ESF strategic goals

So what have we been up to?  And how’s it going? All in all, pretty well.  But before I get into those details, let me share a bit about our client…

If you walk the halls of ESF , or talk to any teacher, student, staff or board member in its vibrant community, one message resonates loud and clear: passion abounds here.  Passion for learning.  For social justice. For continuous improvement.  ESF’s mission is “to provide a high quality education for adults and children that empowers families through a culturally sensitive family literacy model.”  Serving a community of primarily Hispanic, non-native English speakers, ESF embraces an approach through which both adults and children are active learners; children attend preschool and Pre-K while parents take classes in subjects such as ESL and computer literacy.

ESF operates from a position of strength.  Its program is oversubscribed, with a waiting list for enrollment.  It met all of its student achievement targets, the definition, reporting, and monitoring of which are required by DC’s Public Charter School Board.  ESF’s entire community is engaged with and in support of its mission.   Yet the organization is not one to be satisfied with the status quo.  ESF’s culture supports the quest for knowledge and improvement across all stakeholder groups, and the Board is no exception. Its decision to partner with Compass was driven by the desire to seek information, ideas, and inspiration for further strengthening its Board.

We kicked off our project as all teams do, with the Compass Volunteer Orientation, Service Line Training, and initial team meetings where we received our client binder and debrief from our Project Lead.   We initiated our client relationship with an onsite dinner and meeting at one of ESF’s three campuses (see photo), during which ESF’s project stakeholders (including the ED, the Board liaison, and key staff members) provided an overview of ESF and its Board.  This was a valuable opportunity for our team to better understand ESF’s mission; we were able to see ESF come to life as we toured the site and saw classrooms in action.  We also walked away with the realization that this was not a scene of turmoil.  Sometimes in consulting, it’s easier to add value to disastrous situations.  When nothing is working, anything will help.  With ESF, our challenge is to add incremental value and better ways of operating and governing to what is already a well-run organization.  We also realized that we would be benefiting from strong client-side engagement, as the key project stakeholders were accessible and eager to work with us.

As a next step, we determined the project phases and identified the skill sets among our team members that would best serve each phase’s needs.  A divide-and-conquer approach seemed the way to go, with two team members owning each project phase.  I co-led the first phase of assessment, the client interviews.  I found the Compass Toolkit to be a valuable resource, as I was able to see what sorts of interview/survey instruments other teams had employed in the past.  From these documents we borrowed questions, adopted others, and created new ones as we developed our unique instrument.  We also took into consideration the interview style that would work best with our client.  A more informal tone was the best way to put our interviewees at ease and encourage them to share honest opinions and experiences.

Concurrent with the interviews, other team members conducted best practices research.  We then synthesized our findings to deliver a mid-project update to the client.  This was a great opportunity to give them a peek at what we had found and solicit their input as we moved into the final phases of a recruitment plan and training plan (each of which is co-led by two team members).

So here we are, collaborating as a team on the final deliverables, which will be presented at ESF’s May Board Retreat.  What has worked well for our team?  Open communication.  Flexibility.  Strong engagement from the client, so that it feels like a true partnership.  A diverse team that brings a wide range of skills and experiences.

Naturally, we’ve experienced challenges in the process.  Unpredictable and demanding work and travel schedules.  Difficulty in scheduling in-person meetings to accommodate all team members.  A lack of experience in the charter school world.  All in all though, it has been a very rewarding experience, and I look forward to finishing out this project and beginning anew next fall.

Learn more about Education Strengthens Families Public Charter School 

Martha Searby has an MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA and a BA in Political Science from Northwestern University.  She spent 12 years working in Brand Management and Communications at Nestle USA in Glendale, CA before relocating to Washington, DC in August 2012.  She joined Compass in order to give back; make new connections; and explore the nonprofit sector.  Martha lives in NW DC with her husband and three children.

Read the March Newsletter! 

Learn more about Quality Trust for Individuals.

Melinda Salaman is a Higher Education Research Analyst at the Advisory Board Company. She graduated from Williams College in 2011 and lives in Washington, D.C. She is currently working as the Deputy Project Leader for the Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities team. This is Melinda’s second volunteer cycle with Compass.

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