Case study / Compass Institute
Building a growth model around purpose, learning and inclusion.
How I connected brand, revenue, workforce, partnerships and regional expansion into one long-term strategy for Compass Institute.
role
Fractional CMO
organisation
Compass Institute
scope
Enterprise Growth Strategy
horizon
2026 –
the mandate
I approached the Compass brief as an organisational growth challenge, not simply a marketing programme.
Compass already has a powerful philosophy, a trusted community presence, multiple training environments and social enterprises, and a model capable of creating meaningful lifelong outcomes for people with disability.
My role was to connect those strengths into a coherent growth model: how Compass is positioned, how Trainees and families enter the ecosystem, how the right workforce is developed, how commercial and community partners participate, how new recurring revenue is created, and how the model can expand regionally.
Marketing became the connecting discipline between Compass's purpose and its long-term commercial and organisational ambition.
The 2029 direction
Every strategy was designed against three long-term outcomes.
$1.3 million
Recurring revenue generated outside NDIS funding
300+
Compass Trainees across a growing learning community
By end 2029
Regional expansion of training centres and social enterprises
My central strategic idea
Compass can operate as an ecosystem, not a collection of separate services.
I saw Compass as closer to a learning institution than a conventional service provider. Trainees sit at the centre, but their growth is supported by an interconnected network of families, educators, NDIS professionals, mentors, community organisations, employers, commercial partners and advocates.
That changed how I structured the strategy. Instead of developing isolated plans for social media, enrolment, recruitment, fundraising and partnerships, I designed a series of connected growth loops. Each part is intended to strengthen another: stronger positioning builds trust; trust supports Trainee and workforce growth; participation creates commercial value; commercial value supports expansion; and visible outcomes strengthen the brand.
The result is a strategy that links marketing directly to financial sustainability, workforce capability, service growth and future scale.
what i designed
Positioning Compass as a learning and development ecosystem
I positioned Compass around the strength of its Asset-Based Model: lifelong learning, capability, contribution and growing independence. This gives the organisation a category position that is larger than its individual services and creates a clear idea that can guide brand, programmes, partnerships, workforce development and expansion.
Designing growth around the whole stakeholder ecosystem
I mapped eight distinct audiences around the Trainee: families, the NDIS support network, education and transition partners, mentors and skill leaders, corporate partners, community partners and campaign advocates. Each has a different role in the system. Together they create a connected pathway for trust, referral, learning, participation, opportunity and influence.
Creating a diversified commercial model
I developed a matrix approach to non-NDIS revenue rather than relying on one fundraising or partnership channel. The architecture connects six fundraising verticals – individual giving, community participation, corporate and workplace giving, institutional funding, major giving and philanthropy, and legacy and endowment, with business partnerships and social-enterprise growth.
Turning inclusion expertise into a commercial partnership offer
I productised Compass expertise into four areas of business value: Plan it through advisory and strategy; Learn it through education and development; Live it through engagement and culture; and Build it through measurable social impact. I then designed the relationship process, CRM pipeline, ownership model, targets and reporting required to turn that offer into recurring revenue.