When is it Time to Revise Your Mission Statement?
By Tamara Berry
Few nonprofit organizations don’t recognize the importance of their mission statement. It is your organization’s purpose - your shout out to the world (and to potential funders) about what you are and what you do. It is the binding factor that keeps all your employees, volunteers, and community partners in line with your goals and accomplishments.
However, over time, it’s very easy to start taking a mission statement for granted. The amount of time and effort that almost invariably goes into constructing one makes complacency very easy, and if a few words are no longer pertinent to your underlying goals as an organization, who’s going to be the wiser? Right?
Wrong.
Your mission statement is the foundation of your nonprofit organization. Chances are, it appears on every single grant you apply for, every single brochure that goes out to the public, and your website. In a word, it is the face your organization presents to the world. As you undergo internal changes, it is imperative that your face reflects this growth.
Organizational Changes
Regardless of whether you have undergone a change in leadership or you are reaching out to a new constituent base, changes should always be accompanied by a second look at your mission statement. Are you directing a new campaign to help your surrounding community? Make sure your mission statement includes local interest. Are you expanding your corporate contacts to increase funding? Make sure your mission statement appeals to them (and their pocketbooks) while still remaining true to your organization. If a mission statement is supposed to be who you are, it has to be who you are no matter what your stage of development.
Funding Difficulties
If you are continually being turned down for grants or if you’ve encountered a sudden drop in financial contributions, there is a chance your mission statement has something to do about it. Granted, there are infinite other reasons why your funding may be dropping, but don’t overlook this one simple factor. You may be too vague, too specific, or simply alienating a certain demographic with your word choice. It’s a mistake that could cost you quite a bit of money.
Renewed Vigor
Having employees, volunteers, and other involved parties excited about an organization is one of the primary reasons we all stay in the nonprofit game. You love what you do and want to share that passion, and what better way to do this than with a mission statement that accurately captures and conveys that emotion? Getting key players involved in the process (i.e., drawing on multiple opinions and ideas when revising your mission) is a great way to increase enthusiasm even more. Nothing motivates like contributing to the larger picture.
Focus Your Concentration
Oftentimes, if your mission statement is too broad and vague, so is the work you are trying to accomplish. Striving to reach too broad of a range or serve too large of a population is one of the largest contributing factors to failed nonprofits. Use your mission as a way to reflect on and check on your nonprofit; if your mission statement is overwhelming in its contents, look for parallels within your organization (or vice versa). It’s a great way to do a self-check.
Aid in Evaluation
Speaking of self-checks, mission statements have the added bonus of serving as a way to create measurable outcomes. Because most nonprofits seek to accomplish goals that aren’t quantifiable, a good mission statement can double as a measuring post. Making a few small changes might help to give you a new direction and allow you a way to double check your progress.
Topics: Internal Issues | No Comments »
Volunteer Recruitment Basics
By Lorna Doone Brewer
For many nonprofit organizations, volunteer recruitment is an ongoing struggle. The need to find qualified volunteers is great, but the tactics necessary to seek them can be a little elusive. Because sometimes the most obvious solutions to problems are also the most difficult to see, today we’re just going to recap a few of the go-to places for finding enthusiastic volunteers.
- Run an ad in the local paper. Some of them even offer this as a free service to nonprofits.
- Utilize online volunteer recruitment resources.
- Set up booths at community events and job fairs.
- Work your personal network (and those of your employees).
- Appeal to your current donors.
- Transform clients into volunteers.
One of the most important aspects of recruiting volunteers, no matter what your method of finding them, is to “make the ask.” Again, this is fairly obvious information, but how many times do we just simply forget to ask people to volunteer?
Topics: Volunteers | 1 Comment »
Volunteer Recruitment Resources Online
By Lorna Doone Brewer
This week is going to be all about volunteer recruitment for nonprofit organizations. Since we’re using this topic as one of the foundation blocks of the new Nonprofit Perspective blog, it seemed only fitting to begin with online resources. Thanks to Robert Brewer of Spokane Mountaineers Search and Rescue for compiling this list.
Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Resources
Corporation for National and Community Service
Their mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. Go to The Resource Center for tools, documents, and training for volunteer programs.
Free Management Library
The Library provides easy-to-access, clutter-free, comprehensive resources regarding the leadership and management of yourself, other individuals, groups and organizations. Look under Staffing for information related to Recruitment and Retention.
ServiceLeader
ServiceLeader.org is a project of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs of the University of Texas at Austin. Look under For Volunteer Managers for relevant information.
Idealist
Idealist is a project of Action Without Borders, a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 with offices in the United States and Argentina. Idealist is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, and take steps toward building a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives.
Energize! Inc.
Energize, Inc. is an international training, consulting and publishing firm specializing in volunteerism.
VolunteerResource.org
VolunteerResource.org is a comprehensive library of resources and effective practices on volunteering and volunteer management.
Topics: Online Resources, Volunteers | 1 Comment »
Reaching Out to the Blogosphere
By Lorna Doone Brewer
Throughout the experience of authoring this blog, I have no doubt that we will bombard you with the idea that your nonprofit should have a blog of its own. We’ll lay out zillions of reasons that it’s good for your organization, most of which will somehow be connected to marketing your nonprofit organization. In addition, we’ll probably give you a fair amount of information on how to get your own blog started.
But not today. Today we’re going to tell you why you should have other people blog about your organization. If there are a zillion reasons that you should be blogging yourself, then at least five billion of those can be accomplished by having someone else blog about you. Some of these include:
- Their endorsement will give you more credibility.
- A link to your site gives it “Google Juice.” (You’ll rank higher in search engine results.)
- They might have a whole new audience you’ve never catered to before.
- New audience = New donors and volunteers
- You can get “clips” to include in grant applications.
- It’s FREE advertising.
- You’ll have an excuse to read all those blogs you were reading anyway. (AKA, “It’s research.”)
While blogging hasn’t replaced traditional media altogether, many people get their news and information from the blogs they read. When more eyes are seeing your nonprofit’s mission and work, more people are going to be educated about why they should support it.
Don’t know how to go about getting others to blog about your nonprofit organization? Britt Bravo at Have Fun*Do Good has you covered with her post “10 Tips for Asking Bloggers to Write About Your Cause.”
Topics: Blogging, Marketing, Networking | 1 Comment »