Mission statements can connect you with your audience and show them what your values are.
If you're currently working on creating a nonprofit organization, among your first goals should be to develop a mission statement that will define what your company is about and what your future goals will be. A mission statement is designed to act as a summary of the values that an entity holds and the aims that they have as a company, individual, or organization. Mission statements can be highly effective at connecting with your audience and showing them what your values are.
While a mission statement doesn't necessary make or break a company, it can be very helpful when you're trying to grow and bring in as many customers as possible. For nonprofit organizations, mission statement are more important than they are with other types of companies. Since your organization won't be focused on making profits by selling products or services, your mission statement should tell people why it's important to donate time or money to the cause you're advocating for.
The following article provides a thorough look at nine mission statements by nonprofit organizations that are particularly inspiring and effective. These organizations include:
| Organization | Mission Statement |
|---|---|
| Teach for America | One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education |
| Alzheimer's Association | A world without Alzheimer's disease |
| Human Rights Campaign | A world where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people are ensured equality and embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community |
| Khan Academy | To provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere |
| Make a Wish America | Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses |
| The American Red Cross | The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors |
| Feeding America | To feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger |
| Planned Parenthood of New York City | Building a world where all communities have full access to innovative, high-quality, affordable, evidence-based sexual and reproductive health services, which will always include abortion whenever, wherever, and however they are needed |
| The Trevor Project | To end suicide among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, & questioning young people |
Teach for America aims to recruit teachers who will work for two years or more in low-income schools. Their mission statement is "One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education".
This is an effective mission statement because it's short and to the point while also addressing the problem that they want to provide a solution for. It tells the world what their end goal is, which is to make sure that all children in the U.S. have a premium education. They aim to achieve this goal by finding qualified teachers who will work for a couple of years in low-income schools, which assists in raising the bar of educational standards.
Alzheimer's Association is a nonprofit organization that's dedicated towards providing support, research, and care for those who suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Their mission statement is "A world without Alzheimer's disease".
This is a very simplistic and straightforward mission statement that displays what the organization wants to help achieve. Since this nonprofit is dedicated entirely towards providing care, research, and support for anyone who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, the mission statement tells anyone who reads it what their primary goal is.
Human Rights Campaign is an advocacy group and lobbying organization that focuses on furthering LGBTQ causes. Their mission statement is "A world where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people are ensured equality and embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community".
While not exactly the briefest mission statement around, this particular statement is effective at telling people what kind of world they want to eventually live in, which is one where members of the LGBTQ community are able to be full members of society in every regard. As an advocacy group and lobbying organization, they have the power to raise awareness for this goal, which is why the mission statement is perfect.
Khan Academy is an organization that helps educate students by providing them with a wide range of online tools. Their mission statement is "To provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere".
This organization focuses entirely on providing students with online tools that can bolster their education, which is why the mission statement says everything it needs to for individuals to become interested in learning more about the organization. All of the resources and content that they provide is free, which ties in directly with their mission statement that states that they want to provide everyone with a free education.
Make a Wish America is an organization that focuses on making a child's wish possible. Their services are available to children and adolescents with a critical illness who are between the ages of 2-18. Their mission statement is "Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses". This is a succinct mission statement that tells everyone what their organization strives to provide to children who are suffering from critical illnesses.
If anyone wants to know what this organization does, all they need to do is look at the mission statement. The beginning of the mission statement is also important since it highlights that only together can they grant the life-changing wishes that these children ask for, which indicates the need for people to donate.
The American Red Cross is an organization that provides disaster relief, disaster preparedness education, and emergency assistance throughout the United States. Their mission statement is "The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors".
This is a comprehensive mission statement that's wholly effective because it covers everything that The American Red Cross does in the event of an emergency. This statement displays the need for preventing and alleviating human suffering before focusing on the generosity of donors and the power of volunteers, which are the two ways that they can provide relief when needed.
Feeding America is a vast network of over 200 food banks that's able to feed more than 45 million people via soup kitchens, food pantries, and shelters. Their mission statement is "To feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger".
This is a mission statement that gets to the point quickly by telling anyone who's reading that their goal is to feed the hungry individuals throughout the country via food banks and other solutions. The statement also does well to touch on the fact that they want to engage people throughout the country to work on ending hunger once and for all.
Planned Parenthood of New York City is a nonprofit organization that provides sexual health care to individuals who request it. Their mission statement is "Building a world where all communities have full access to innovative, high-quality, affordable, evidence-based sexual and reproductive health services, which will always include abortion whenever, wherever, and however they are needed".
This is likely the lengthiest mission statement on this list, which surprisingly doesn't work against it. This particular mission statement is effective because of how detailed it is. The statement shows that they want to provide every community with complete access to the best reproductive and sexual health services no matter the location or reason. The Planned Parenthood organization wants individuals to request help when they need it, which is why they created a mission statement that's strong and direct.
The Trevor Project is a suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth that's available on a 24/7 basis. Their mission statement is "To end suicide among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, & questioning young people".
This is a great mission statement that centers entirely around the goal of the organization to end suicide among young members of the LGBTQ community. As a suicide hotline, this organization requires a straightforward mission statement that matches the service that they provide. By displaying their goal front and center, prospective donors know exactly what their money is going to.
Nonprofit mission statements are important because of the impact that they can have throughout the world. These mission statements tell prospective donors what the organization is all about, which allows them to bring in money and resources that can help them achieve their goals. For instance, the money that Make a Wish America receives from donors goes directly towards granting the wishes made by children with critical illnesses, which certainly helps to make the world a better place.
When looking at an organization like The Trevor Project, the donations they obtain allow them to expand their work by answering more calls, texts, and chats that they receive through their suicide hotline. These mission statements are a way for these organizations to bring in new donors while also showing what the world will be like when these organizations are no longer needed.
The mission statement that a nonprofit organization makes is typically the first thing that people will see when looking for more information about the company, which is highly beneficial for a nonprofit's branding. These statements are usually simple and straightforward, which makes it easy to spread their message.
While the aforementioned mission statements differ somewhat from one another, they also share some traits. For instance, most mission statements on this list show what the world will be like when hunger ends or equality is reached for the LGBTQ community. The majority of statements are also short and succinct, which allows them to get their message across without issue. When you're attempting to create a mission statement for your nonprofit organization, it's recommended that you look at these for inspiration.
Revised 11/13/2020
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