How to Develop Your Organization's Mission Statement

When changing your organizational or group structure or setting up the structure for a new organization or group you need to define its scope and meaning and tells others its reason for existing. This is where your mission statement comes into play.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. The parameters of your mission statement should be broad enough that it will not need to be changed too frequently yet specific enough to describe your organization or group.

2. Your mission statements should identify the customer for whom services will be provided, define the services being provided, and describe the goals and outcomes resulting from the delivery of services.

3. In order to capture the attention of other organizations or groups who may want to become affiliates and any potential customers your mission statement should also be short and memorable.

4. Your mission statement should also be clear, concise, and compelling.

5. Once your mission statement has been written and adopted you can begin to build your organizational structure, goals and outcomes, and by-laws and policies and procedures around it.

Tips & Warnings

• The mission statement is only the beginning.
• In addition to the organizational structure, goals and outcomes, by-laws, policies and procedures that you will draft to help define your mission statement there will be other pieces that will follow like your membership.
• Always take plenty of time to develop, define, and write your mission statement. It is the first thing that others will see and react to.