Compass represents a revolutionary concept in nonprofit communications—providing comprehensive services to all parts of the sector. They work with grantmakers, with community-based organizations, and with the community members those organizations serve. And they do outstanding work in every area and with every group. That makes possible for the first time the implementation of a totally integrated program-wide communications strategy.

Patricia Simon | Executive Director | Ocean Bay Community Development Center

Compass Communications, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City and dedicated to building the communications capacities of inner-city residents and the agencies that serve them. Compass brings together top communications professionals to create programs and products that strengthen vulnerable communities. From its network of eminent writers, editors, graphic artists, photographers, web designers, public relations and media specialists, and videographers, Compass assembles project-specific teams designed to meet the distinct needs of each client.

The Compass approach to communications is comprehensive. Compass not only offers a complete 360-degree array of communications services, it provides those services to groups working at every level to build strong communities. Through its Nonprofit Express program, Compass works with not-for-profit organizations to develop and implement communications plans that help them fulfill their mission and meet their goals. Through its Communications Corps program, Compass works directly with neighborhood residents to enhance their communications skills and to help them design and operate community-run communications projects that will improve their lives and the life of their communities.

Compass Communications Founder/President Kitty Barnes is a writer and communications specialist with 20 years’ experience working with corporate, government, and nonprofit clients. Among the many innovative publications she has developed are the Philip Morris Globe, the first corporate newspaper in the United States and winner of more than 40 industry awards; Groundwork, a project report on the DeWitt-Wallace Nonprofit Management Initiative, which won the Council on Foundations Excellence in Publications award and is now used as a management text for nonprofit organizations; and the Highbridge Horizon and The Citizen, prototypes for community-run community newspapers nationwide.