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How to Write a by Janel M.
Radtke Every organization has a mission, a
purpose, a reason for being. Often the mission is why the organization
was first created — to meet a need identified years ago. Sometimes, the
same problems that the organization initially tried to address continue to
haunt generation after generation. In that case, the organization's
purpose doesn't change — although how it does business has probably
evolved. Other times, even 10 or 20 years can change the landscape so
markedly that the original mission must be updated, altered, or changed
dramatically in order to address those new realities. That your organization's mission is
current, alive, and well, however, doesn't necessarily mean that the
organization has translated that purpose into a clear, concise mission
statement. A good mission statement should accurately explain why your
organization exists and what it hopes to achieve in the future. It
articulates the organization's essential nature, its values, and its
work. This should be accomplished in a brief
paragraph that is free of jargon and "terms of art." In
other words, it should avoid the kind of shorthand that you may be in the
habit of swapping with others who work in the field, but is unfamiliar to
anyone who is outside the organization or the field in which it works. Another important consideration is how
recently your mission statement was reviewed by board or staff members.
If it has been more than five years, now is probably a good time to review
and, if necessary, fine-tune or even rewrite your mission statement.
All too often an organization's mission statement, which has been handed down
over the years, loses relevance and ceases to speak to staff, board members,
or supporters. An effective mission statement must
resonate with the people working in and for the organization, as well as with
the different constituencies that the organization hopes to affect. It
must express the organization's purpose in a way that inspires commitment,
innovation, and courage -- not an easy task!
At the very least, your organization's
mission statement should answer three key questions: 1. What are the opportunities or needs
that we exist to address? (the purpose of the organization)
2. What are we doing to address these
needs? (the business
of the organization) 3. What principles or beliefs guide our
work? (the values of
the organization) You can begin the process of drafting a
mission statement by creating a worksheet based on these
questions Ask staff, volunteers, and constituents to list any words,
phrases, or ideas that come to mind with respect to the organization and
these various categories. Do not edit at this point. Give
everyone a chance to be heard. Look for language and concepts that
enjoy broad consensus. Here are three mission statements that
do attempt to answer these questions. Let's see what they have in
common. 1. The mission of Big
Brothers/Big Sisters of America is to make a positive difference in the lives
of children and youth, primarily through a professionally-supported,
one-to-one relationship with a caring adult, and to assist them in achieving
their highest potential as they grow to become confident, competent, and
caring individuals, by providing committed volunteers, national leadership
and standards of excellence. The purpose: to make a positive difference in the lives of children
and youth so that they'll achieve their highest potential The
business:
providing and supporting committed volunteers who have one-to-one
relationships with children and youth The
values:
individuals who are confident, competent, and caring; leadership and
standards of excellence
2. The National Conferrence, founded in 1927 as the National Conference
of Christians and Jews, is a human relations organization dedicated to
fighting bias, bigotry, and racism in The purpose: to fight bias, bigotry, and racism in The
business:
advocacy, conflict resolution, and education
The values: understanding and respect among
all races, religions, and cultures
3. Planet 3000 is committed to
healing the earth. Using research into natural ecosystems, Planet 3000
develops policy recommendations and pilot projects that apply these underlying
principles to human ecosystems that are in harmony with other life on the
planet. By bringing the human social order into balance with ecological
principles, diversity of all living things can be sustained and the
evolutionary process that has guided and nurtured life on this planet for
millions of years can continue unabated. The purpose: to "heal" the planet
The
business:
advocacy, research, and demonstration projects The values: ecological principles;
protecting balance, diversity, the evolutionary process, and harmony with
life on the planet Your express
your organization's purpose in a way that inspires support and ongoing
commitment motivate
those who are connected to the organization be
articulated in a way that is convincing and easy to grasp use
proactive verbs to describe what you do be
free of jargon be
short enough so that anyone connected to the organization can readily repeat
it Excerpted from Strategic
Communications for Nonprofit Organizations: Seven Steps to Creating a
Successful Plan, Copyright © 1998, Janel M. Radtke. Reprinted by permission of the publisher,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. To order a copy of this work, call
1-800-225-5945. ************* Oh – just for fun you
can go to the site below and it will generate a (Hint: Don’t really use one of the above Mission
Statements.) |