Application Guide

How to Apply for Founding Managing Director - New York City

at Compass Pro Bono

🏢 About Compass Pro Bono

Compass Pro Bono uniquely bridges the business and nonprofit sectors through pro bono consulting, board matching, and leadership development, creating lasting partnerships rather than one-off engagements. Their focus on building equitable, resilient communities through deep interconnection makes them stand out from traditional capacity-building organizations. Working here offers the chance to directly shape how business expertise empowers nonprofits in a major metropolitan area.

About This Role

As the Founding Managing Director for NYC, you'll be building Compass Pro Bono's entire presence in the nation's largest philanthropic market from the ground up—establishing operations, fundraising $500K+ in 3 years, and recruiting 30-50 nonprofits and 75-120 volunteers in year one. This role is impactful because you'll create the blueprint for how business professionals and nonprofits collaborate to strengthen New York City's social sector long-term.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day might involve morning strategy sessions on fundraising outreach to NYC foundations, afternoon meetings with nonprofit executives to understand their capacity-building needs, and evening networking at business association events to recruit pro bono volunteers. You'd balance big-picture planning for NYC expansion with hands-on relationship cultivation across all stakeholder groups.

🚀 Application Tools

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Interview Prep

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🎯 Who Compass Pro Bono Is Looking For

  • A seasoned professional with 10-15 years in nonprofit leadership, corporate management, or relationship development who has successfully raised six-figure+ funds from diverse sources
  • Someone with proven experience building strategic partnerships between business and nonprofit sectors, not just managing existing programs
  • A visionary who can both create a strategic plan for NYC expansion and execute the operational details to make it happen
  • A connector who genuinely enjoys cultivating relationships with nonprofit executives, business volunteers, and philanthropic funders simultaneously

📝 Tips for Applying to Compass Pro Bono

1

Quantify your fundraising achievements specifically—mention dollar amounts raised, types of funders (corporate, foundation, individual), and timeframes

2

Demonstrate your understanding of NYC's nonprofit landscape by mentioning specific sectors or organizations you'd target for Compass's programs

3

Show how you've built something from scratch before—whether a program, department, or initiative—with concrete metrics of growth

4

Explain how you'd approach recruiting both nonprofits AND business volunteers, as this dual recruitment is core to Compass's model

5

Research and reference Compass Pro Bono's existing programs in other cities to show you understand their specific service offerings

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

["Your specific experience with multi-year fundraising campaigns and how you've cultivated sustained donor relationships", 'Examples of building strategic partnerships between business and nonprofit sectors, not just managing transactions', "Your vision for establishing Compass Pro Bono as the 'go-to' capacity-building partner in NYC's competitive nonprofit landscape", 'How you would approach the first 90 days: identifying key nonprofit partners, securing initial funding, and building brand awareness']

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Compass Pro Bono's existing programs in other cities—what projects they've done, which nonprofits they've partnered with
  • → The competitive landscape of capacity-building organizations in NYC (like Taproot, Common Impact) and how Compass differentiates
  • → NYC's philanthropic funding trends and major corporate social responsibility programs of NYC-based companies
  • → Current challenges facing NYC nonprofits that pro bono business expertise could help address
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💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Walk us through how you would develop and execute a fundraising strategy to secure $500K from NYC sources within 3 years
2 How would you identify and recruit the first 30-50 nonprofits for Compass's programs in NYC? What criteria would you use?
3 Describe your experience facilitating nonprofit boards or advisory groups and how you'd apply that to building Compass NYC's leadership
4 How would you measure success in year one beyond the numerical targets for nonprofits and volunteers recruited?
5 What challenges do you foresee in convincing NYC business professionals to commit to pro bono engagements, and how would you address them?
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Focusing only on nonprofit experience without demonstrating ability to engage business professionals and corporate volunteers
  • Presenting generic fundraising experience without NYC-specific context or understanding of the local philanthropic landscape
  • Emphasizing program management over entrepreneurial building—this role requires creating systems, not just maintaining them

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Compass Pro Bono!

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