Mission, Vision and Values

Mission

A Mission Statement is a reflection of an organization’s purpose, its reason for being, generally written in short, pithy sentences.

Discussions behind the creation of a Mission identify whom an organization will serve, what services it intends to provide and the fundamental values that lie behind how it will operate. The details of these are not always found in the final Mission statement.

A sustainable non-profit organization will have a written Mission Statement that:

• Is consistent with the Organization’s Bylaws;
  
  
• Acknowledges and responds to the needs of the larger community;
  
  
• Is widely known and understood by stakeholders;
  
  
• Is reviewed regularly;
  
  
• Is robust enough that it can endure for several years; and
  
  
• Is reflected within organizational materials.

Vision

A Vision is a picture of the future an organization seeks to create.

A sustainable non-profit management organization will have a Vision that:

• Describes, in the present tense, where an organization wants to go and what it will be like when it gets there;
  
  
• Is commonly understood and supported by stakeholders;
  
  
• Is reviewed on a regular basis; and
  
  
• Is reflected within organizational materials.

Values

Values describe how an organization intends to operate, on a day-to-day basis, as it pursues its Mission and Vision. Non-profit organizations develop because a group of people with similar values decided to “make a difference”. Values are the fundamental “glue” that holds the organization together. Values and Beliefs are closely related.

A sustainable non-profit organization will have a set of governing Values that:

• Express how members are expected to behave with each other and stakeholders
  
  
• Express what is important to the organization.