Читать книгу Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership - Garry Joan, Joan Garry - Страница 28

Let me be crystal clear. A mission statement is not a story. Neither is it an elevator pitch. A mission statement is a written declaration of purpose. It should state clearly whom you serve, what you do, and why you do it.

A mission statement is not a story. Neither is it an elevator pitch. A mission statement is a written declaration of purpose. It should state clearly whom you serve, what you do, and why you do it.

A mission statement rarely changes. (If the need for a new one exists, it is as a result of some kind of significant strategic shift. More on that topic in Chapter 5.)

The organization named charity: water, for example, will likely always exist to bring “clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries.”

That's to the point, eh? The mission statement articulates the problem and offers hope with charity: water on the job.

Here's part of NPR's mission statement:

The mission of NPR, in partnership with its member stations, is to create a more informed public, one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and culture within the United States and across the globe.

What I like about this one is that it's aspirational. I desperately want the public to be well informed, and I only have to hit the Scan button on the car radio or graze the TV news to know that NPR represents hope. I know what this organization stands for. I know that it will lead me deeper into the news and help me better understand and appreciate the world around me.

Sadly, mission statements often don't rise to the occasion.

That last sentence was oh‐so‐kind. Many mission statements are simply big, hot messes.

They're developed by a group of type A folks (board and senior staff) who become frighteningly tied to individual words and phrases. Words like facilitate (weak), integrate (unclear), and change‐agent (let me guess — you represent people who make change).

It can become ugly. And the outcome, uglier still.

As a result, precious few of the 1.5 million nonprofits in the US have five‐star mission statements. Typically, your best hope is that they're clinical and soulless; at worst, they're completely incomprehensible.

So, in that context, how does a mission statement fare in the telling?

Well, first things first. Mission statements often come across sounding a lot like the Girl Scouts' or Boy Scouts' pledge recited with three fingers in the air and hand over heart: memorized, regurgitated, and often lacking meaning.

By the way, try opening any conversation with a possible stakeholder with the words “Our mission is… .” and watch the stakeholder's eyes roll into the back of their head — then watch your opportunity fly away.

A clear mission statement is absolutely critical to every single stakeholder group and is one of the key ingredients in a healthy nonprofit.

But a story it is not.

And that's OK. You've only entered the lobby.

A mission statement is OK to present in the lobby. But if your nonprofit is one of the unlucky ones that has a long, incomprehensible mission statement, offer the one you'd write if you were solely in charge.