What is your nonprofit’s mission? The answer may seem obvious, but if you’ve ever tried to distill your organization’s goals and purpose into a succinct response, you know that articulating your mission is harder than it seems.
A strong nonprofit mission statement is critical to driving organizational success, engaging stakeholders, and raising awareness within your community. However, writing one can be a daunting task.
What is a Nonprofit Mission Statement?
A nonprofit mission statement is a single sentence that outlines your organization’s purpose and values. It should answer three questions:
- What does your organization do?
- Who does your organization benefit?
- How do you make this impact?
A nonprofit mission statement serves as both a marketing tool—a clear way to inspire and communicate your value to volunteers, donors, board members, and other stakeholders—as well as an organizational guidepost. Everything your nonprofit does should serve your mission.
The Importance of Nonprofit Mission Statements
A strong nonprofit mission statement sets your organization up for success. Nonprofit mission statements help you:
- Focus your energy and resources for maximum impact
- Effectively communicate your purpose
- Inspire staff, volunteers, and board members
- Market your nonprofit to community members, supporters, and other stakeholders
- Make better strategic decisions that align with your goals
One simple sentence can make a big difference!
Mission Statements vs. Vision Statements
It is important to distinguish your mission statement from your vision statement. Both are useful for a nonprofit, but they serve distinct purposes. Simply put, vision statements are aspirational, whereas mission statements are practical.
A vision statement looks forward and projects your organization’s potential impact, showcasing the world that you want to help create. Vision statements challenge you to think big and imagine the change you can drive.
A mission statement is rooted in the present; it articulates what you are doing now to realize your vision. For example, if your vision is to end food insecurity in your local community, your mission may focus on increasing access to fresh produce.
How to Write a Nonprofit Mission Statement
Now that you understand the purpose and importance of a nonprofit mission statement, it’s time to start the writing process. Writing one sentence may seem easy at first, but summarizing your entire organization in clear, concise, and powerful writing will take time and dedication.
Follow these steps to write a strong nonprofit mission statement:
- Get a Team Together: Organize a group of stakeholders who will work together to write the mission statement. If your nonprofit is on the smaller side, you can get your entire team involved. If you have a larger organization, create a focus group with a variety of supporters, including staff, volunteers, and board members.
- Start Talking: Have your team start the writing process by just talking about your organization. What makes your nonprofit stand out? What are your most impactful programs? What values guide your actions? Encourage everyone to give an “elevator pitch” and consider important case studies.
- Find Commonalities: As your team talks, identify the common themes and terms that appear over and over again. Consider factors like the people you help, the services you provide, and the problems you solve.
- Write Some Drafts: Ask each of your team members to take a stab at writing a mission statement. While your final mission statement should only be one sentence, allow your team up to 3 sentences at this point in the drafting process. Try using this format: “We [verb] to [beneficiary] because [why].”
- Share and Discuss: Have each team member share their mission statement drafts. Discuss as a group what you like and don’t like about each one.
- Refine Your Ideas: Work together to take the best ideas and combine them into one, strong mission statement.
- Get Feedback: Before you finalize your mission statement, get feedback from other stakeholders outside your writing team, such as volunteers, beneficiaries, and donors.
If you follow these simple steps, you will create a stellar nonprofit mission statement!
Nonprofit Mission Statement Best Practices
When you’re writing your nonprofit mission statement, keep these best practices in mind:
- Keep it clear and concise. Your mission statement should lay out your purpose as simply and directly as possible. Avoid buzzwords and jargon, and don’t worry about making your mission statement “catchy.”
- Be informative. Your mission statement should give your audience important information about your organization. If your mission statement isn’t educational, it’s time to head back to the drawing board.
- Use action words. Strong action verbs help you articulate impact and engage your audience.
- Consider multiple stakeholders. Your mission statement plays a dual function: internal navigation and external marketing. Ensure that your mission statement resonates with multiple audiences, including staff, volunteers, beneficiaries, donors, community partners, and other supporters.
- Keep an open mind. The mission statement writing process can lead to spirited debate and conflicting opinions. These complex discussions are critical to defining your organization’s purpose and future! Embrace them and see what you can learn.
- Review your mission statement frequently: Revisit your mission statement from time to time to ensure that it still reflects your organization’s goals, values, and programs. Since a mission statement is tied to the present, it has to stay current, even as your organization scales and changes.
Sample Nonprofit Mission Statements
To get you started, here are a few nonprofit mission statements that we love!
Rhode Island Community Food Bank
"To improve the quality of life for all Rhode Islanders by advancing solutions to the problem of hunger."
"We serve our neighbors in need with nutritious food, education, and community partnerships."
"Mercy Chefs is a faith-based, non-profit disaster and humanitarian relief organization. We exist to provide professionally prepared, restaurant-quality meals to victims, volunteers, and first responders in natural disasters and emergencies, and we partner with existing like-minded organizations to further their mission by providing food service in underserved communities across the country and around the globe."
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