Mission Statements And Your Belief Systems

Everyone involved with nonprofits know that mission statements are essential for an organization's existence, but do they know exactly what needs to be included?

In his book "Protecting Donor Intent," Jeffrey J. Cain wrote that the best statements go above and beyond what is required. They describe the principles and beliefs that inspire your philanthropy in addition to the main goal of the organization. Whether you think it's fair or not, your belief systems play an important role in how people perceive your organization.

Cain wrote that it's not enough to simply state the beliefs that are behind your goals. You must explain them so that those carrying out your mission can consider them. He recommended asking the following eight questions about your beliefs when crafting a mission statement:

• Are you religious? Do you want your faith to be reflected in your philanthropy? If so, how?
• What are the ideas, traditions, persons, events, and circumstances that shaped you as a person?
• Why are you establishing a philanthropic entity? What are your motivations?
• What would be the worst thing that could happen to the assets you’ve dedicated to the charity?
• What good are you trying to achieve?
• How important is family involvement to you?
• Over time your values might come into conflict with each other, with your heirs, or with your society’s changing mores. How should such matters be resolved?
• What parts of your foundation’s mission and grant-making would you like to remain constant over time? What aspects are nonnegotiable?

Advocacy: Five Ways To Highlight Your Mission

It's easy for nonprofit managers to lose focus of their mission with the day-to-day concerns of running an organization, but that doesn't mean it's alright for advocacy to be thrown aside.

The truth of the matter is that it is crucial that constituents, donors, and anybody else you meet are constantly aware of what your mission is. Thanks to things like social media (and the Internet in general), there are many different sources organizations can use you promote their cause.

So now that you have the means to get the word out, what's the best way to go about doing it? Dalya F. Massachi wrote in her book, "Writing to Make a Difference," that nonprofits shouldn't be afraid to repeatedly highlight their mission to an audience. She provided the following five tips to do just that:

• Highlight the outstanding strengths of your mission, not of the organization, of the mission. Continually remind people of what is innovative about your mission. Show that you play a special and essential role in your field.
• Describe how your work embodies your guiding principles. Back away from practical specifics and take a bit of a philosophical approach. Ask yourself what fundamental values or concerns lead your readers to your organization and its mission.
• Evoke a vision of what your community will be like once your organization has fulfilled its mission. Mission is not only about short-term results. It is also about your long-term vision.
• Connect the dots over time. Show donors how they create an ongoing story for accomplishing your mission.
• Use your mission and vision as overarching themes. Over time, organizations often develop programs, products and services that can be quite diverse. If this describes your organization, help readers keep track of how your mission and vision provide the unifying theme for your various projects.