See the whole foundation before you decide.
Compass for Foundations puts giving, spending, investments and trustee duties into one short brief, so the board knows where it stands.
Five lenses, one brief. Every number carries its source and its date.
Built for the people who carry the duty.
- The chair and trusteesA short brief before each meeting, exceptions first.
- The grants committeeWhere the money went, where it is going and what each grantee reported.
- The investment committeeThe portfolio against policy, and the year’s spending obligation on one page.
- The executive director or foundation managerOne source of truth, so the board pack is not rebuilt by hand every quarter.
For private, public and community foundations in Canada, from family foundations to larger grantmakers.
Trustees give their time. They deserve a view they can read in ten minutes.
Duties live in people’s heads
Filing dates, trustee terms and insurance renewals sit with different people and in different files.
Money is reported apart
Giving, payout and investments come from different systems and rarely share a page.
Board packs run long
The one item that needs a decision is on page forty.
Numbers do not match
Two reports give two totals, and nobody can say which is right or how old it is.
Five lenses. One brief.
Select a lens in the live walkthrough. Here is what each one asks.Legal standing and filings
Are we meeting our legal duties?
- Annual charity information return filed on time
- Trustee or director list current
- Books and records kept as required
- Registration details correct on the regulator’s list
Giving and payout
Are we giving what we must, and what we intended?
- Annual spending obligation (disbursement quota) on track for the year
- Grants approved, paid and still to pay
- Multi-year commitments outstanding
- Giving by program and region
Grantee checks
Do we know where each grant went and what it did?
- Grantee status checked before payment
- Written agreement in place where the rules require one
- Reports received on time
- Open follow-ups
Investments
Is the money managed within policy?
- Investment policy approved and reviewed this year
- Portfolio within policy limits
- Holdings checked against the rules that restrict them
- Fees reported to the board
Trustees and board
Is the board set up to govern well?
- Conflict of interest declarations current
- Trustee terms and succession plan
- Insurance in place and renewed
- Annual board evaluation held
Sample indicators and sample statuses for a fictional foundation. The final indicator library is confirmed against Canada Revenue Agency guidance, and your own counsel confirms what applies to you.
Compared with what you use today.
Keep your systems. Change what the board reads.| Grants system and board pack | Compass for Foundations | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Staff who manage applications and records | The chair and trustees, one reader at a time |
| Trust | Totals can differ between reports, with no explanation | One number, one source, with an as-of date and a data-health flag |
| Freshness | A snapshot someone must refresh, so old data can look current | Refreshed on a schedule we agree, date always visible |
| Effort | Every new view needs someone who can build reports | We set it up and keep it running |
These are common patterns, not a verdict on any product. We connect to your grants system, accounting and spreadsheets. We do not replace them.
Four ways to start.
Pricing on request, set after a short conversation about your size and needs.| Way to work | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Snapshot | One build, one report, one conversation. The brief as it stands today. | Testing the idea on one set of numbers |
| Quarterly | We refresh it every quarter and send a short board brief with what changed. | Boards that meet four times a year |
| Monthly managed | Monthly refresh, updated brief and alerts when a number moves out of range. | Foundations steering a tight program budget |
| Partner | Everything in monthly, plus a standing adviser and a session with the board each year. | Boards that want one trusted outside view |
Each way comes as a standard build you own, or as a managed service where we keep it current.
Numbers you can check.
- Primary sourcesRules and benchmarks come from the regulator or the original publisher, linked on each indicator.
- AI explores, humans decideAI helps us find patterns and draft. Humans decide what the numbers mean before you see it.
- Sources on every numberEach figure carries its source and its as-of date.
- Results, not recordsWe hold indicator results, not grantee lists, donor lists or trustees’ personal details.
Questions trustees ask.
See it on your own foundation.
Bring one set of totals, such as giving by program and the year’s payout so far. We will show you how your own brief would look.
Compass indicators reflect published guidance from the Canada Revenue Agency and federal and provincial sources. Rules change and differ by province, so confirm requirements with your own counsel. This page and the instruments are information tools. They are not legal, accounting or investment advice. The foundation, dates and statuses in the previews are fictional samples.