Mission Possible

1. Mission Possible How to transform what you do into meaningful words.

2. Strategic Framework Mission Possible April 28 What you do Once Upon a Time June 2 Where you want to go Shape your actions Vision Quest October 20 What you would like to accomplish Organizational Yardstick Dec. 8 Measure your impact

3. What Is a Mission Statement? • Purpose for existence. • Something to measure every activity against. • Branding tool. • Promotional tool. • Conveys the essence of what you are all about.

5. Mission = Purpose • “Our mission is to provide free books to local schools.” “We stimulate love of learning and reading in young people.” • ”Our mission is to assist people in searching for their roots and draw their genealogy chart.” “We enrich people's lives by helping to enhance their link to their past.” • “Our theater is the venue for the most contemporary and avantgarde ballet creations.” “We enlighten, excite, and educate the audience through dance.”

6. The Benefits of a Well-Defined Mission Statement • It focuses your energy and clarifies your purpose. • A well-defined mission statement can and should motivate board, staff, volunteers, and donors. • Helps to attract people and resources.

7. Who wrote the current mission statement and when? • Mission statements are often written by group consensus to address what they believe the organization does. • Many organizations never change or even review their mission statement. • Does your mission statement match your founding mission statement?

8. 3 Keys to a Meaningful Mission Statement 1. Pass the Mother Test: A mission statement must be a concise paragraph describing what your company does and for whom. Show your mission to your mother, if she does not understand it, start again.

9. 2. Self-Igniting: The mission is for your staff and your business. It does not have to be an earth moving statement, but should inspire you and others to work for your cause.

10. 3. Value Alignment: Be who you are: Try to achieve your core competency. Know what your organization values and stick to it.

11. Name that Agency • Our mission is to provide a developmental program for children including special needs children when appropriate. We will not discriminate against individuals for reason of race, color, national origin, religion, disability or gender. We will operate as a non-profit organization financed by contributions, grants, and fees adjusted to family income.

12. Name that Agency • To provide safe, structured and warm environment for daytime care of dependent adults and support for caregivers.

13. Name that Agency • To improve the mental health of our community by providing education, advocacy and service access.

14. Name that Agency • To strengthen our community’s response to child abuse and neglect in Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County through a multidisciplinary team approach to investigate, assess, educate and provide services of prevention, intervention and awareness toward making our community a safe place for children to grow and thrive.

15. Name that Agency • To assist the community in strengthening and enriching training opportunities by providing individuals the education and skills that will enhance their growth potential in a technical competitive world.

16. Name that Agency • To help communities and agencies within the Central Shenandoah Valley work together by providing high quality planning technical assistance and facilitation services that address local, regional and state needs in an innovative, timely and cooperative manner.

17. Name that Agency • To achieve and maintain optimum personal and community health promotion, disease prevention and environmental protection.

18. Name that Agency • Improving the Quality of Life

19. Name that Agency • To help individuals become literate so they can be independent, thriving and successful members of our community who are able to reach their personal goals. We provide a one-on-one trained volunteer tutor for anyone 18 years old or older in the Staunton, Waynesboro, Augusta County area who wants to learn basic reading and writing or English for Speakers of Other Languages. Tutoring is confidential and free.

20. Name that Agency • To assure that all children who want and need a mentor will have access to a professionally supported mentoring relationship.

21. Name that Agency • To develop positive connections between youth, their families and communities, and to build a strong foundation for a successful future.

22. Where to start? • Why was the organization started? • The answer will be your first try at writing your mission statement. • What do we do? • For whom do we work in the community-clients?

23. Some Tips for Writing Your Mission Statement • Bring in many perspectives. • Allow enough time. • Be open to new ideas. • Write succinctly and briefly. As Tony Ponderis of the Fund-Raising Forum says, the mission statement should be "...short enough to remember and easily communicate. Strong enough to inspire." • Review your mission statement frequently

24. What is a tagline?

25. Big Sky. Big Land. Big History. • Whose tagline is this?

26. Montana Historical Society • Mission Statement:“The Museum collects, preserves, and interprets fine art, historical, archaeological, and ethnological artifacts that pertain to Montana and its adjoining geographic region.”

27. "Building community deep in the hearts of Texans"

28. TexasNonprofits • Mission Statement:"TXNP strengthens Texas communities by providing up-to-date data and other resources and support via the Internet to help build stronger and bigger nonprofits that can perform and operate professionally, efficiently, and with greater accountability...”

29. "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste®

30. UNCF -The United Negro College Fund • Mission Statement:"Our mission is to enhance the quality of education by providing financial assistance to deserving students, raising operating funds for member colleges and universities, and increasing access to technology for students and faculty at historically black colleges and universities." The mission is a sublink on the about us page. It is a bit institutional and more descriptive than active.

31. Ultimate Goal • To have the community recognize either your tagline or mission statement, so that when they see it, it reminds them of your organization’s good work. • To have a statement that drives what you do and inspires all to perform at their optimal level for the constituents you serve.