The Soul of the Organization
Any organization, yours included, remains a group of individuals who agree to work together for a common purpose. When you peel away all the legal documents and budgets and rules, you will still have what you started with:a group of firmly committed individuals.
The actual people will change over time. However, those changes will be moderated to some degree by the systems you establish in your by-laws on filling or by replacing board members to ensure that the board will be made up of people who continue to share the basic beliefs of the founders.
Ask potential board members to explain their philosophies as they relate to your mission statement. It is the board's responsibility to maintain the standards set by the statement, so new board members need to be in full agreement.
To understand the soul of the organization requires understanding the people who attend the meetings, write the press releases, make the phone calls to volunteers, and consistently raise the money necessary to operate. It is your soul and the souls of those directly involved in the creation of the organization that must be explored and understood.
Time for ResearchDeveloping a clear, concise mission statement is difficult, especially when you are working with smart, passionate people who want the very best for the organization. Mission statements are not the depository for the wishes and desires of every person involved in the group; rather, they are a place to synthesize those ideas down to their essence. They need to be presented clearly, concisely, and in a manner that either internal or external audiences can easily understand.
Look at the mission statements of other organizations. Try to understand how the work they do lines up with their mission statement.
The Statement Can Always EvolveSometimes a group simply gets stuck or finds it is unable to agree on precise wording. Sometimes, as your organizations grows, your mission may shift, or the way you view the work may adjust. This is completely natural.
Many nonprofit organizations have their mission statements on their websites, often in their “about us” sections. This section of a site may also include information about the organization's history and founding principles. Locate and compare at least a dozen mission statements. You'll look at them differently now that you can understand the tremendous work that went into each one.
If the mission statement is no longer accurate, or the wording you settled on a few months ago is simply not correct, review it and make the needed changes. The adjustments must go through your board of directors, who will very likely have their own input and who need to agree to the changes.
