Nationwide community problem-solving

Practical knowledge for people building stronger communities

Find current guidance, credible resources, and action tools for the community challenge in front of you.

Explore the resource hub Ask Community Compass

NationwideU.S. guidance
Current-awareverified dates
Location-readylocal rules flagged

COMMUNITY WORK
STARTS WITH A
GOOD QUESTION.

Explore by need

Start with the outcome you need.

Community Compass organizes information around real decisions and next steps, not technical silos or outdated sitemaps.

Browse all topic collections

Start where you live

Improve My Neighborhood

Turn a local concern into a practical project, coalition, or action plan.

NEIGHBORHOODS

Build the right organization

Start a Nonprofit or CDC

Test the idea, choose the right structure, build readiness, and get expert support.

ORGANIZATIONS

Strengthen local housing

Housing & Development

Navigate affordability, abandoned property, revitalization, and development choices.

HOUSING

Understand the rules

Planning, Zoning & Codes

Learn the process, find controlling local requirements, and prepare informed questions.

PLANNING

Build from local assets

Rural & Small-Town Development

Address distance, limited capacity, infrastructure, services, and economic transition.

RURAL

Grow durable opportunity

Economic Development

Support local business, commercial districts, jobs, investment, and community wealth.

ECONOMY

Move ideas toward funding

Funding & Community Investment

Find funding pathways, prepare projects, and understand grants and capital stacks.

FUNDING

Build public power

Public Engagement & Advocacy

Organize participation, work with officials, gather support, and make a stronger case.

ADVOCACY

Protect community conditions

Environment & Infrastructure

Connect environmental health, utilities, transportation, resilience, and public investment.

ENVIRONMENT

Use evidence well

Data & Community Research

Find credible data, assess local conditions, and document community needs.

DATA

Put knowledge to work

Tools, Templates & Checklists

Use practical planning tools, meeting guides, worksheets, and implementation checklists.

TOOLS

Find the right door

Government & Nonprofit Resources

Locate current agencies, programs, technical assistance, and trusted national resources.

RESOURCES

Beyond articles

Resources built for action.

Decision guides

Understand the issue, tradeoffs, and questions to ask.

Action checklists

Move from concern to an organized next step.

Funding pathways

Match project readiness with realistic capital sources.

Data tools

Document local conditions with credible evidence.

Meeting tools

Plan productive public and community conversations.

Agency directories

Find the current office, program, or technical-assistance provider.

Browse the verified national directory

One connected support system

Move from mission clarity to fundable execution.

Community Compass can help you identify what you need next, then connect you to three services designed to work together.

Clarify the direction

Mission Maps

Map the need, mission, outcomes, programs, and funding direction before building the wrong structure.

Start with Mission Maps

Build the system

GrantBox

A grant-writing agency in a box for organizations that need a repeatable funding workflow.

Start the one-week free trial

Get direct support

Mentorship & Accelerator

Work directly with an expert to strengthen the organization, programs, strategy, and funding readiness.

Request direct support

Ask Community Compass

Describe the problem. Get a practical path forward.

Community Compass will separate general guidance from local requirements, ask for your location only when it matters, and show the sources behind time-sensitive answers.

Community CompassNationwide guidance

Tell me what is happening in your community and what outcome you want. If a law or program varies locally, I will ask for your state, county, or municipality.

Current answers cite sources and flag local variation.

Research standards

Useful guidance must also be honest guidance.

Community Compass preserves good ideas without preserving outdated claims.

Preserve the principle

Retain the durable community-development insight and credit its original contributor.

Verify what changes

Recheck laws, programs, data, agencies, links, and funding before presenting them as current.

Label local variation

Never turn a jurisdiction-specific rule into a nationwide statement.

Show the sources

Give users verification dates and direct authoritative links for time-sensitive guidance.

Foundational contributor

Original community-development guidance by Nancy Thompson.

Community Compass draws in part on material Nancy Thompson created and edited for A Good Community. Relevant resources credit that contribution. The platform independently researches, rewrites, expands, and dates current guidance rather than reproducing the former website.