Compass Working Capital

Compass Working Capital (“Compass”) is working to end asset poverty for families with low incomes and narrow the racial and gender wealth divides. Their mission is to partner with these families to build assets as a pathway out of poverty by operating client-centered savings and financial coaching programs, delivering training and technical assistance to other practitioners, and shaping policy solutions that dismantle barriers to asset building.

In Chicago, ​both community feedback and local data consistently highlight that people with low income face limited opportunities to build assets. Many residents struggle to balance high rent costs with saving for emergencies, let alone contribute to a savings account to build assets and save for long-term goals.

Compass takes a unique approach by leveraging the underutilized, decades-old federal, Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program, which allows participating families to accrue savings from increases in rent caused by rising income. Compass combines this opportunity with individualized financial coaching to help families achieve major financial milestones and attain long-term financial security.

In Chicago, Compass will be piloting an opt-out model of The Family Sufficiency Program (FSS), through their partnership with the Chicago Housing Authority. In cities where Compass currently operates, families participating in the program create savings to enable them to pursue meaningful financial goals and achieve lasting stability. Compass is the first nonprofit organization in the country to leverage FSS in this way. With this pilot, Compass will start working with 1,000 families in the Chicagoland area with a goal of 50% of participants increasing their earnings and an average savings of $4,000 among program graduates.