Grant writing services not delivered, office closed...
Interesting information: I filed a complaint with BBB (Complaint Case#90062398) regarding Compass National on 09.02.11. I received the following email from an associate affiliated with Compass National on 09.15.11.
Hope all is well there. I apologize for the delay in responding to you. I have been out the last several months on a leave of absence taking care of some family matters. I do however want to update you on your status here. First, let me assure you, we are still working on your project. We did move offices, but are still in business. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
I think it's important that I explain the process and the ESTIMATED time line that takes place. The reason for the emphasis on ESTIMATED is because just like it states in the SERVICE AGREEMENT, "The foundation involved in the project has complete power over funding amount, usage of the money, and time frame of funding." The normal steps are as follows. Once we receive the profile from clients, it is forwarded to our Research Department who will then go through the nearly 200,000 different funding sources to match your project with groups that typically give funding to your specific type of project. This process can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the complexity of your project. Once a suitable number of matches have been found our letter writers will draft your Letters Of Intent. The LOI's are a brief description of your project, and a simple introduction of that project to the funding source. It briefly tells them about your project and why it should be considered for their funds. At this point we go into what I call the "Holding Pattern". The reason I say this is because at this point we are entirely at the mercy of these groups as to when we will get a response. There are no set guidelines or requirements as to when they must respond. Each funding source is different. Some groups meet once a week, some once a month. Others on the other hand might only meet once a year. Because of this, if we do not get a set amount of positive responses within a set amount of time, we conduct another set of research, and another set of letters goes out. It is a continual process that will be repeated as many times as necessary until we get the needed amount of positive responses. But again, this is the part of the process that we have no control of. We simply must wait to hear from these groups. Once we do receive a positive response from a funding source they ask us to submit a Request for Proposal. An RFP is a detailed description of your project, which will explain in detail how the funds are expected to be spent. Once the funding source has received the RFP they will ask us to submit a grant. This is when our certified grant writers go to work on the actual grant itself. The Grant is the legal document that describes in detail how every penny of funding will be spent. These steps can take as little as 4-6 months, or anywhere up to a year or more. It just depends on the project itself. I have seen projects that have taken up to 24 months to get completed. Always keep in mind that we are working as hard as we can to get you funded as quickly as possible. You can always reach our Customer Service Department at 1-800-819-0829 and one of our representatives will be happy to assist you. Again, I apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you.
Christopher Harvey
Director Of Quality Assurance
1-800-819-0829 Ext 265
[email protected]
To date, I called the 800 # and let a message on a voice messaging system. I also sent an email to Mr. Harvey asking for their physical address as I plan to visit their location again. (FYI, I had face to face meetings with several individuals before paying for their services) No response as of 09.21.11; more to come...
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