January 07, 2008
Why Bother With a Mission Statement?
Creating a mission statement can sometimes feel as “difficult and unrewarding as having a root canal,” writes Kelly Kleiman on her blog The Nonprofiteer. But that doesn’t have to be the case.
Ms. Kleiman writes that charities can simplify the process by spending an hour — or even just 15 minutes — drafting a single sentence that outlines their mission.
The statement, she says, should take the following form: “We do [activity] so that [result will occur].”
Among the examples she gives: “We conduct educational campaigns so the public will demand legislation outlawing smoking,” and “We commission and perform new plays so we can keep alive a sense that it’s important to experience things in other people’s company and not just alone at our computers.”
Avoid replacing “so that” with “because,” Ms. Kleiman writes. “If you use the word “because” you’ll end up with statements like, “We produce plays because drama is important,” that is, ideas at a level of generality too great to be useful,” she says.
While mission statements need not take forever to write, they can help charities bring in more money. Ms. Kleiman writes of donors: “Either they’ll think your activity is valuable in and of itself (and will pay for it); or they’ll agree with your reasoning that your activity will lead to your outcome and they like both (and will pay for it); or they’ll be so gung-ho about your outcome that they’ll be willing to gamble that your activity will actually produce it.”
What do you think? Are mission statements valuable? And would Ms. Kleiman’s advice on how to craft them work for your charity? Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.
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I was once told that Pepsico’s Mission Statement was “Beat Coke!” I suspect that this tale isn’t true but, nonetheless, this pithy phrase has real appeal. I sometimes suggest that non-profits begin with their motto: affirm, create or re-write the motto’s text. Wheter “Lux et Veritas” or “We try Harder” mottos can inspire and clarify.
www.strategicgov.blogspot.com
— Phil Deely Jan 7, 03:17 PM #
My first response is that the statements generated by this formula are overly-simplistic and can lack emotional appeal. When I visited the blog, I found this: “We commission and perform new plays so we can keep alive a sense that it’s important to experience things in other people’s company and not just alone at our computers.” Wow! Look at all those nifty clauses stuck all over! Suddenly, the question of “why are we bothering” is addressed, but maybe, just maybe, this might take 10 or 12 smart people more than an hour to figure out. If as a sector, we’re going to suck up $35 billion in forgone tax revenue, we might try for a little more than an hour to articulate why. In the end, if you can boil it down to a sentence that packs a punch, identifies outcomes, and defines a constituency, that’s probably a useful tool to have. I’m [commenting on this article] so that [people will think twice].
— Chris Casquilho Jan 7, 03:44 PM #
I agree with the author that succinct and “to the point” mission statements are most effective. It usually takes more than 15 minutes when working with a group to develop an effective mission statement, but it shouldn’t take numerous meetings and rounds of comments/changes to develop something that will appeal to a diverse range of potential donors, members and volunteers. I believe that the organization’s mission statement is a very important part of its public image.
— Debbie Dyer Jan 14, 02:54 PM #