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IN THIS CHAPTER

❯❯ Identifying the key components of a strong mission statement

❯❯ Creating an effective mission statement with the help of your board, staff, and volunteers

❯❯ Using your statement to make organizational decisions

A good mission statement clearly states a nonprofit’s purpose – including who benefits from its work – and how it works to fulfill that purpose. The process of developing your mission statement is important because it can help you refine your ideas, test them with other people, and inspire those involved in the mission-writing process.

Mission statements can be one-liners or long declarations that go on for two or more pages. We suggest aiming for something between these two extremes. A mission statement contained in one line resembles an advertising slogan, and a long, rambling statement is rarely read or remembered, even by the board of directors and staff members.

Take some time to think about what you want to include in your mission statement because it defines what your organization hopes to accomplish. After you’ve decided on your organization’s mission statement, you can use it as your go-to reference when making decisions about your nonprofit’s activities. You’ll also include your mission statement in your 990 tax report to the IRS, in brochures, and in grant proposals. You may even print it on your business cards or coffee mugs.

In this chapter, we give you some guidance about how to create a simple yet compelling mission statement.

Check out File 3-1 at www.dummies.com/go/nonprofitkitfd5e for a list of web resources related to the topics we cover in this chapter.

Mission Statement Basics

The mission statement is an organization’s center. We were tempted to use the word heart rather than center, but we think that’s stretching the metaphor a little. We also could have said that mission statements are living, breathing organisms from which all organizational life flows, but that’s really going too far. People are at the heart of and bring life to an organization. Mission statements just help give this human energy direction.

Can organizations operate without good mission statements? Yes, and some do. We’re sure that some nonprofits out there haven’t looked at their mission statements since the first Bush administration, and they’re still doing good things. But the world has changed since the early 1990s, and organizations have likely adapted to those changes. An organization’s chances of success in making that adaptation are better if the nonprofit and the people associated with it know exactly why it exists, what they’re trying to do, and how they’re going to do it.

A mission statement should state what the organization’s purpose is, how the purpose will be achieved, and who will benefit from the organization’s activities. It may also include organizational values and vision. In addition, the mission should be

❯❯ Memorable: You want to carry it around with you at all times.

❯❯ Focused: You want it to be narrow enough to focus the activities of your organization but broad enough to allow for growth and expansion.

❯❯ Compelling: You want to communicate the need your organization addresses and the importance of doing something about it.

❯❯ Easy to read: Your statement should be written in plain language so folks don’t need a set of footnotes to decipher it. Be sure to limit your use of adjectives and try to avoid jargon.

JARGON IS NOT YOUR FRIEND

Jargon is a term for words that have specialized meaning within an industry or profession. When you’re communicating with colleagues, everyone knows the meaning of the specialized words you use. But when you’re writing for the general public – the people who are the target of your mission statement – you should use words that have a common meaning for everyone.

For example, if you’re an educator, you’re probably familiar with the term scaffolding. In education, the word is used as shorthand to describe the process of using the skills a student already has to help him learn new skills. If you’re a housepainter, it means something entirely different.

Think about the words you use to describe your mission and make sure everyone knows what they mean.

Homing in on your purpose

When thinking of your organization’s purpose, think of your desired end result. What would you like to see happen? What would the world (or your community) be like if your organization were to succeed?

To say that you have to have a purpose seems almost too basic. Maybe you’re thinking to yourself, “Of course I have a purpose. Why do you think I bought this book? I want to start a nonprofit to [fill in the blank].” But we bring up this point because clarifying the purpose is basic to a mission statement. Why should your nonprofit exist?

For example, you may know that you love cats and dogs and have always wanted to work with them, but that isn’t the same thing as identifying a nonprofit organization’s purpose. The mission statement for a fictitious humane society might be:

Friends of Animals provides temporary shelter and medical care for homeless puppies, dogs, kittens, and cats until responsible, loving homes can be found.

This sentence doesn’t describe the humane society’s facilities or how it recruits and trains volunteers, but it does clearly state which animals it serves and that it doesn’t intend to foster them as long as they live but rather to place them in good homes. And if someone came to Friends of Animals with a ferret, a pony, or a tarantula, its staff would know to refer that person to another shelter.

Knowing and understanding your organization’s purpose is essential to making important organizational decisions. It’s also a fundamental tool to use when asking for money, recruiting board members, hiring and motivating staff, and publicizing your activities.

Specifying your beneficiaries

If you’ve determined your purpose, you probably know the primary beneficiaries of your activities. Their needs – whether they’re kittens or refugees – make your mission compelling. Defining who will benefit from your nonprofit helps to focus your organizational activities and is an essential ingredient in your mission statement.