The Anatomy of the Mission Statement! Yes, there is a scientific formula to it.
The mission statement is one of the most important sentences outside of your vision statement that you will ever create for your nonprofit organization.
Creating this statement is not something that you should rush through or produce on your own. You should sit with your team and come up with several version of the statement, mull over it for a couple of days, and say them out loud to yourself several times and to others before deciding on the final mission.
The mission statement along with the vision statement is the foundation for which your nonprofit organization will be built. It is the guiding force of your strategic, financial, and program planning.
The nonprofit mission has 3 main parts that let donors and your audience know who you intend to help, how you will be helping them, and the problem that your organization will be solving.
Action: What will your nonprofit be implementing.
Results: What is the intended result that your organization hopes to achieve by the actions they take.
Cause: The “Who” (group of people that you will be helping), “What” (the particular cause that you will be working on), “How” (what will you be providing), “Why” (what’s the purpose of the services being offered).
A Good vs. Bad Statement
An example of a well written mission statement and its breakdown.
I hope that this has helped you understand the anatomy of the mission statement and has made you more confident to take on the challenge of creating your own.
Note: Although this is the best order to arrange your mission statement, you can choose to put your cause before your results and it will be just fine.
Don’t forget to sign up for “The Nonprofit ER” if you have an ailing organization (financial strapped, disorganized infrastructure, programs that need to be restructured and have no clearly defined outcomes, etc.). This program is definitely the cure for what ails your organization.
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