Markita Morris-Louis
CEO
A new vision and refreshed mission
When Compass was founded in 2005, it was done so with a vision that it would one day become a leading, nonprofit financial services organization. I think you will agree with me that under the leadership of our founder, Sherry Riva, and thanks to the heartfelt efforts of Compass’ clients, staff, Board, partners, and supporters, this vision has been reached. Compass is a leader in the field and has had a measurable impact on national practice and policy.
And so, the time has come to set a new vision – a bold, ambitious “north star” for the world we want to live in together. One that builds on our history, is rooted in our values, and challenges us to keep believing that big, transformational change is possible.
Compass’ mission statement has been periodically tweaked and refined over the past 18 years. The heart of it has not changed, and is not changing today. With the help of our stakeholders, including our governing board, client advisory board, and staff, we have simply made some updates to reflect the full scope of our work as the organization has evolved and grown over the past several years.
Our hope and intent are that this new vision and updated mission strike you not as a departure from, but rather as an affirmation of the Compass that you already know, admire, and champion.
Compass’ Executive Team at our State of the Organization event in October, along with Client Advisory Board members Sabrina Nunez-Diaz and Telesha Mervin (4th and 3rd from right)
Our next strategic plan
Over the past few years, Compass has been working to develop proof of concept for breakthrough national scale of the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program. I was brought to Compass in 2019 to help co-create and lead this work. As our country continues to grapple with historical economic disparities further exposed by the pandemic, as well as persistent racial inequities and the racial and gender wealth divides, policymakers and others are paying attention to the importance of asset building. Programs like FSS have drawn increasing support from the federal administration, Congress, state governments, philanthropy, and other stakeholders.
Compass is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this environment with our new strategic plan, which, in part, expands our work on FSS in three areas:
We will work with our current partners to continue to implement our high-impact model for the FSS program, and seek to partner with additional large public housing authorities and private affordable housing owners
We will further explore and refine our field-building, training, and technical assistance offerings for other FSS practitioners
We will increase our capacity to shape policy, leveraging our work on the ground to push for the change we know is possible.
As part of this work, and in keeping with our new vision, we will also pursue a strategy to pilot an opt-out model for FSS, which draws on the success of this approach for increasing participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Our goal is to build the conditions for a broader national demonstration of an opt-out model for FSS within the next seven years.
And finally, we know that FSS is one of many possible tools to support families with low incomes to build assets. In addition to broadening and deepening our work in FSS, we will also explore and test other channels for asset building that have the potential to anchor our work well into the future.
I am excited to get to work on this new plan, and grateful to do so in partnership with Compass’ dynamic Executive Team. Carrying out this new plan, living the Compass mission, and reaching our new vision will take all of us. I look forward to being in conversation with you about these updates and how they will shape our work moving forward.
Sincerely,
Markita Morris-Louis
CEO