Understanding Us

Community Understanding & Cultural Resilience Initiative

A program of Compass CBS Foundation that strengthens communities, and the institutions that serve them.

About the Program

Understanding Us is a community-based educational initiative that uses accessible, place-based experiences to foster shared understanding, civic connection, and cultural awareness. We believe that lasting economic resilience requires more than opportunity, it requires shared history, cultural trust, and social cohesion as its foundation.

Through partnerships with museums, cultural institutions, libraries, and community organizations, we help institutions preserve community memory, promote empathy across differences, and engage the public in meaningful ways, while strengthening their long-term sustainability and economic impact.

How We Support Cultural Institutions

Exhibition Development

We work alongside institutions to design and develop educational exhibitions focused on local history, identity, and cultural resilience — creating experiences that deepen community connection and drive public engagement.

Oral History & Archive Development

We help institutions build community archives and oral history collections that preserve the voices and stories of the people they serve — strengthening their collections and their mission.

Public Humanities Programming

We develop and deliver workshops, facilitated discussions, and intergenerational learning programs that bring communities together and position institutions as vital civic spaces.

Financial & In-Kind Support

We believe in investing in the institutions that serve our communities. Through monetary contributions, artifact donations, and program funding, we provide direct support to cultural organizations working to fulfill their mission and grow their impact.

Capacity Building

We help cultural institutions strengthen their organizational foundation — supporting collections management, program development, and community partnerships that contribute to long-term institutional health and economic sustainability.

Our Work in Action

Compass CBS Foundation has partnered directly with cultural institutions to develop exhibit programs, grow archival collections, and deliver public humanities programming — expanding their capacity to serve their communities and strengthening the civic and economic fabric of the neighborhoods around them.

We understand that a thriving museum, library, or cultural center is not just a place of learning — it is an economic anchor, a community gathering point, and a keeper of the stories that make neighborhoods resilient. Our support is designed to honor that role and help institutions grow into it.

Who Is This For?

Understanding Us is designed for institutions ready to deepen their community impact, including:

Museums and cultural centers
Public and community libraries
Historic preservation organizations
Community archives and oral history projects
Schools and educational institutions
Nonprofit organizations serving diverse communities

Partner With Us

Bring Understanding Us to Your Institution

Whether you are looking to develop a new exhibition, launch a community oral history project, or build programming that connects your institution more deeply to the people it serves — we are here to help.