Nonprofit Q&A

A service of Jeane Vogel and Fund Raising Innovations

April 16, 2004

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Here is this week’s question:

My board is working on our mission statement – again! The mission seems so broad and impossible to accomplish. When I commented during the meeting, the board president asked me to write a draft.  What should be included in a good mission statement?

You don’t mention whether you are a board member or staff. Staff often gets stuck with this job and it’s major annoyance of mine. One of the board’s primary responsibilities to it set, implement and fulfill the mission. While some boards ask staff to provide input, this is a job that the board should take responsibility for. It’s too important to job out.

Ok. Lecture over.

The easiest way to determine your mission is to look at your “elevator speech.” This technique is an oldie but a goodie! Someone asks you what your organization does. You have time between the lobby and the 10^th floor to tell him. What do you say? That’s the core of your mission.

Some groups confuse their mission with their “vision.” Simply put, your mission is what you want to do, your vision is the overarching change you want to make, and your goals are how you want to do it.

As you craft your mission, keep it simple and easily understood. Try to compress your thoughts into 25 words. Avoid jargon and phrases that are so broad or open to interpretation that it’s impossible to know what the organization really does.

While you’re at it, it’s also a good idea to spend some time crafting a Values Statement – a philosophy of how you operate. A values statement can be seen as your organization’s Ten Commandments. What’s important to you? What are your guiding principles? For example, an environmental group might include a commitment to recycling at every event in their values statement. Maybe your group has strong ties to unions and wants to patronize only union printers.  Include in your values statements philosophies that are important to you as a group and can guide your growth and operations.

These four – mission, vision, goals and values – will be invaluable in keeping your organization on task and helping through difficult decisions. Seen through the lens of these four statements, most controversies will have clear solutions. Toss them aside, however, and your organization might never meet the need it was founded to serve.

 © 2004 by Jeane Vogel and Fund Raising Innovations

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