Analyze the Effectiveness of Organizational Mission Statements

october / november / december 2017 nonprofitworld.org  |  17

clear as a bell

Organizations waste so much time writing mission statements like that one. It’s hard to believe how many really bad ones there are. Take a look at your own mission statement. Consider editing it so that it will capture people’s interest. Keep it brief and straight to the point. Limit it to one sentence and include a distinctive trait that makes your organization stand out. Tell what it does – but not everything it does. That’s what stakeholders, volunteers, donors, and media outlets need to know. Don’t make them beg for it. Put it where they trip over it. Don’t try to say everything. Omit broad claims and elegant philosophy. Then you’ll have an invaluable reference point for everything you want to do. 

Max T. Russell (maxt@maxtrussell. com) is owner of Max and Max Communications. He improves marketing messages for alternative medicine, lawyers, nonprofits, and business intelligence.

T wo dozen sharp educators were asked to compose a mission statement for their school. They all took turns adding key phrases to the white board at the front of the meeting room.

What they came up with doesn’t differ in character from most nonprofit mission statements:

“We will equip our students with a foundation to function effectively in society and the marketplace, and to become lifelong learners.” That doesn’t even deserve to be read. It doesn’t tell you what the school does or how it’s different from others. Many schools have longer mission statements that do no better. The educators immediately found themselves disagreeing over phrases and words. Someone said “equip” wasn’t the right word, that it was too passive. Others argued that

“foundation” sounded as though they taught nothing but bare-boned requirements. They said “subject matter” or perhaps “topics” would be best. After a long spell of tweaking, these highly intelligent professionals arrived at their masterpiece – a paragraph of philosophy and compromise that no reader would want to suffer through more than once.

Sharpening Your Mission Statement Is it time to redo your mission statement so that it rings bright and true? By Max T. Russell

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