Mission Statements

Who are you? What do you do? And, why?

Arguably the most important sentence or two in your policy manual, on your website, and in your communications, is the Mission Statement.  You will want this statement to be clear and concise enough that it can be readily viewed and understood by your constituents. The mission statement should follow basic journalism rubrics (who, what, where, why), while remaining compact. This will allow for easy dissemination of the statement whether in print or on the web.

An effective mission statement will be helpful in not only communicating who you are and what you do to listeners and potential donors; it will also be beneficial while seeking tax-exempt status from the IRS. Your missions statement, will in fact, be an important aspect while seeking to acquire 501 (c) (3) status during the application process.

Resources

Good and bad mission statement examples from nonprofithub.org

On the importance of a good mission statement from the Houston Chronicle