2026: A Year of Growth, Connection & Purpose
Transformative service-learning experiences that help learners of all life stages cultivate purpose, community, faith, and character. By making life-changing travel accessible to all, we empower participants to become global citizens who live their purpose, serve with joy, and make change in their home communities.
Up from 134 in 2025, with programming that stays personal and relationship-centered.
3.7× growth since 2022
+33.6% from 2025 to 2026
So growth, service, and connection aren’t limited by a participant’s circumstances.
Who We Served
Demographics drawn from registration records for all 179 participants. Response totals for each measure are noted below.
Age
were age 24 or younger (100 of 175). Two grant-funded adult-leadership cohorts through the YTN network also brought 36 established leaders into Compass in 2026, deepening our intergenerational reach.
Gender · 179 records
Race & ethnicity · self-reported, 179 records
Participants could select more than one identity, so totals exceed 100%. Four did not report.
Geographic reach
From communities across the U.S. and beyond.
& Grenada
Largest states by participant mailing address. Mailing addresses are not necessarily permanent hometowns, and nationality is not inferred.
The Impact of Compass
Participants came home with more courage, clearer purpose, and a deeper commitment to others, in their own words and ratings.
“How happy are you with your decision to participate in Compass?” 149 valid ratings; preliminary.
reported substantial growth in at least one area of confidence or personal agency.
134 of 156 · any of 4 measures
reported substantial growth in at least one area of purpose or hope.
127 of 156 · any of 3 measures
reported substantially greater willingness to step outside their comfort zone.
119 of 156
reported substantial growth in openness to different perspectives.
110 of 156
How we define growth: After their program, participants rated how much they changed compared with the start of their Compass experience. A rating of 7–10 on this 10-point retrospective question counts as substantial self-reported growth.
Substantial self-reported growth, by measure
Share rating 7–10 on each retrospective change question; 155–156 responses per measure.
Where participants finished · post-trip ratings of 7–10
These reflect where participants stood after their program, not measured increases from pre-trip scores.
No one will come out of this trip the same person. It challenges in all the right ways.Participant, Hendrix College
As we expand our destinations and anticipate hosting 220+ participants and serving 20+ partners in 2027, our commitment remains steadfast: creating opportunities for young people and leaders to discover purpose, build meaningful connections, and translate transformative experiences into lives of service.
Compass has made me realize what I had in me the whole time. It cracked open an aspect of my identity that I thought I lacked. I learned that my internal thoughts can push me to continue if I let it, and that I should let it push me more.Participant, Boston College
Compass has changed my life. There’s no way to explain the ways that this trip has impacted my life course. This has been absolutely profound and there’s nothing that could’ve truly told me the ways I’d be impacted on this trip.Participant, Trevecca Nazarene University
Our approach to measuring impact
Compass collects participant evaluations before and after its programs to assess personal development, connection, reflection, and service orientation. The 2026 findings presented here draw from post-trip evaluations and self-reported measures of growth. Substantial reported growth represents ratings of 7–10 on retrospective change questions. Participant counts and valid response totals vary by measure.
Figures reflect working analysis of post-trip evaluations from all 2026 programs, pending final data reconciliation.