Compass Education

What Compass Education does

Compass Education is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2006 and headquartered in Hoover, Alabama, with a secondary operational office in Chiangmai, Thailand. The organization delivers sustainability and systems thinking education through a proprietary toolkit of 12+ conceptual frameworks headlined by the Sustainability Compass (a four-quadrant model: Nature, Economy, Society, Wellbeing) and supported by tools such as Systems Iceberg, Connection Circle, Causal Loop Diagrams, Pyramid Lite, Ladder of Inference, and the Atkisson Accelerator Lite. The toolkit is delivered through a portfolio of online courses (free introductory, 2-4 hour Quick Impact modules, and 7-week Level 1 and Level 2 certification cohorts), onsite workshops (1-2 day formats), and multi-year whole-school transformation programs. Compass Education has served 1,600+ schools and organizations across 42+ countries, working through a network of 25+ certified facilitators and an internal team of 37 employees.

The organization's commercial model is hybrid: fee-based professional development (Level 1 single registration at $419, Level 1 + Level 2 package at $819, with group discounts for school cohorts), tool licensing for consultants and corporations, grants and donations from non-profit funders, and academic credit monetization through SUNY Buffalo ($130 per graduate credit). The primary customer segments are international K-12 schools (Indonesia, Brazil, Cambodia, Guatemala, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Mexico), individual educators, and school administrators. The organization explicitly positions itself as a global movement and has stated a mission to reach one million educators by 2030, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Compass Education is governed by a Board of Directors and led by Executive Director Nicole Swedlow (also a Compass Facilitator). It is not venture-backed or PE-owned, has no subsidiaries, and has no disclosed funding rounds. Its GTM motion is community-led and event-driven, anchored on a facilitator/champion model that converts trained educators into advocates and, ultimately, certified facilitators. The organization has received HundrED recognition in 2025 and 2026 and Learning Planet Institute recognition in 2025. Strategic partnerships span HundrED, Ashoka, Catalyst2030, Learning Planet Institute, Green School Bali, Ocean School, and the Global Schools Program (GC Collective).

Name

Compass Education

Legal name

Compass Education

Website

https://compasseducation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Compass Education is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that trains K-12 educators, primarily in international schools across 42+ countries, in sustainability and systems thinking using a proprietary Compass Toolkit of 12+ conceptual frameworks delivered through certification courses, workshops, and whole-school programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

eLearning & Microlearning Module Development (EDAGAKAD)

Keywords

• Sustainability education
• Systems thinking tools
• Teacher professional development
• K-12 sustainability curriculum
• Whole school transformation

Headquarters

HQ city

Hoover

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Development Courses: Compass Education generates revenue through fee-based professional development courses including Level 1 (Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable World) and Level 2 (Systems Change for a Sustainable World) certification courses. These are offered as 7-week online cohorts, 2-week summer intensives, or 2-day onsite workshops.
2. Workshop and Training Fees: Revenue from customized professional development workshops for school communities, including 1-2 day onsite workshops and virtual delivery workshops.
3. Tool Licensing: Licensing fees for consultants, corporations, or organizations that want to include Compass tools in their for-profit practice. Non-profits and schools may use and distribute the tools for free educational use but require registration.
4. Donations and Grants: As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Compass Education receives contributions from generous non-profit donors and sponsors who contribute to operations costs, enabling low prices and scholarships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Compass Education is a non-profit that designs and delivers sustainability and systems thinking education for K-12 schools and educators. Its core commercial offer is a structured learning ladder — free intro course, Quick Impact courses, Level 1 Practitioner and Level 2 Educator certifications, onsite/virtual workshops, custom workshops, and multi-month whole-school transformation programs — built around the proprietary Compass Toolkit (Sustainability Compass, Systems Iceberg, Pyramid Lite, Connection Circle, Amoeba of Change, Causal Loop Diagrams, Ladder of Inference, and related tools). The toolkit is also licensed for use by consultants and corporations.

Product overview

Compass Education is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering a comprehensive suite of sustainability and systems thinking education tools and programs. The core product is the Compass Toolkit, anchored by the Sustainability Compass—a four-quadrant framework (Nature, Economy, Society, Wellbeing) that serves as the foundational systems thinking tool. The toolkit includes multiple systems thinking tools: Systems Iceberg, Connection Circle, Behavior Over Time Graphs, Causal Loop Diagrams, System Archetypes, Stock and Flow Diagram, Ladder of Inference, Pyramid Lite, Amoeba of Change, and Atkisson Accelerator Lite. Education programs include free introductory courses (Discover the Sustainability Compass), Quick Impact Courses (2-4 hour self-paced modules), Certification Courses (Level 1 Practitioner and Level 2 Educator programs available online or onsite), and Custom Workshops. Whole School Programs offer longer-term School Community Sustainability Transformation. Additional resources include Impact Tracker, School Sustainability Self-Assessment, lesson plans, and action plans. The organization aims to reach 1 million educators by 2030.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Compass Toolkit (anchored by Sustainability Compass)

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,600+ schools and organizations served globally
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and notable.

• HundrEDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHundrED is a global education nonprofit that finds and shares solutions in education. Compass Education has been recognized by HundrED as an innovative education approach in both 2025 and 2026.
• Learning Planet InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLearning Planet Institute focuses on education for sustainable development. Compass Education has received recognition from the Learning Planet Institute for contributions to sustainability education.
• AshokacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAshoka is a global partnership of social entrepreneurs. Compass Education is listed as a partner organization, indicating alignment in supporting changemakers and education transformation.
• Global Schools Program (GC Collective)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal Schools Program works to integrate sustainability into school systems globally. Compass Education partners with GC Collective to spread sustainability and systems thinking education.
• Green School BalinotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreen School Bali is a renowned sustainable education institution. Compass Education collaborates with Green School Bali as a partner organization.
• Ocean SchoolnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerOcean School provides ocean-focused sustainability education. Compass Education partners with Ocean School to support their educational mission.
• Institute for Humane Education (IHE)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHE trains educators in humane education approaches. Compass Education partners with IHE to advance sustainability and systems thinking in education.
• Catalyst2030coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCatalyst2030 is a global collaboration of change makers working to achieve the SDGs. Compass Education is listed as a partner organization.
• Greening Education PartnershipnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreening Education Partnership supports education for sustainable development. Compass Education collaborates with this partnership to advance sustainability education.
• Inspire CitizensnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerInspire Citizens focuses on student agency and citizenship education. Compass Education partners to integrate systems thinking into their programs.
• Raise Change MakersnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerRaise Change Makers supports youth changemakers in education. Compass Education collaborates to provide tools and frameworks for student empowerment.
• SUNY BuffalonotableOthersSUNY Buffalo offers graduate credit for Compass Education courses. Students can earn one graduate credit through SUNY for an additional $130.
• AtKisson GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAtKisson Group developed the original Sustainability Compass methodology. Compass Education owes its name and foundational tool to Alan AtKisson and his colleagues.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights12 records

Direct peers

• Green School Bali: Green School Bali is a sustainability-focused K-12 institution and a partner of Compass Education. It is directly comparable as a sustainability-education brand targeting international and mission-driven schools with systems thinking curricula.
• Ashoka: Ashoka is a global network of social entrepreneurs and a strategic partner of Compass Education. Both organizations operate as non-profit ecosystems advancing changemaker education and sustainability systems thinking across schools worldwide.
• Ocean School: Ocean School is an ocean-focused sustainability education organization and a partner of Compass Education. It is comparable as a digital, mission-driven sustainability curriculum provider serving K-12 learners with structured educator resources.
• Institute for Humane Education (IHE): IHE trains educators in humane education approaches and partners with Compass Education. IHE is directly comparable as a non-profit offering educator certification courses and curriculum frameworks for sustainability and ethics.
• Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education: Cloud Institute is a non-profit that develops and disseminates frameworks for education for sustainability (EfS), with K-12 curriculum, professional development, and a comparable mission to embed systems thinking and SDGs in schools.
• Facing the Future: Facing the Future is a non-profit that creates interdisciplinary sustainability curriculum and professional development for K-12 educators. It is comparable to Compass Education in target audience, content focus, and educator PD delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• HundrED: HundrED is a global education innovation curator that has recognized Compass Education in 2025 and 2026. It is a broader incumbent in the education innovation ecosystem with overlapping audiences but a different operating model (curation vs. direct PD delivery).
• Foundation for Environmental Education (Eco-Schools): Eco-Schools is the world's largest sustainability education program for K-12 schools. It is comparable to Compass Education as a global sustainability-in-schools framework provider with structured curricula, accreditation, and broad geographic reach.

Emerging players

• Catalyst2030: Catalyst2030 is a global collaboration of changemakers working toward the SDGs and a partner of Compass Education. It is comparable as a systems-change network operating in adjacent sustainability education and social innovation territory.
• Learning for Nature (UNDP): UNDP's Learning for Nature initiative offers free online courses and resources for sustainability educators and changemakers. It is comparable to Compass Education's free courses and mission-aligned SDG educator training.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Compass_Ed
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKg6uLngCuVm9IL8--nlkyg
• Facebookfacebook.com/compasseducation.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/compass-education

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Compass Education