Strategic planning for charities and non-profits: how to write your vision and mission statements

For even the most experienced charity leaders, there is often confusion surrounding vision and mission statements. What are they? What are the differences between them? And what is their role in the strategic planning process?

In this article, we explain the key principles behind an effective vision and mission statement, why they are important to your organisation, and how you can approach writing your own.

Vision vs mission statements: what are they and how are they different?

A vision statement describes the long-term aspirations of your organisation. It paints a picture of how the world will look once you have achieved your mission: directing you towards a clearly defined destination.

It is typically short, simple and easy for your team and supporters to remember. It should also be inspiring and challenging – articulating the fundamental difference you will make to the world.

A couple of great vision statement examples that we have come across are:

Building a future in which people live in harmony with nature. – WWF

A world of hope, inclusion, and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and all people live in dignity and security. – CARE International

A mission statement outlines the reason for your organisation’s existence. It articulates what your charity does, who you do it for and how you do it.

A well-crafted mission statement will clearly communicate your purpose: it should be specific and action oriented, providing the roadmap to achieving your vision.

Some mission statement examples that we like include:

We’re here every day and night of the year for anyone struggling to cope. We make sure people have somewhere to turn and support when they need it most. We work with communities to let people know we’re here for them and we campaign to make suicide prevention a priority. – Samaritans

Together, we create joy, happiness and magical memories through life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. – Make A Wish

In essence, your vision statement is what you are going to achieve, and your mission statement is how you are going to do it.

Benefits of effective vision and mission statements

Uniting your organisation towards a common goal

Probably the most important benefit of having a clearly defined vision and mission is that it creates a sense of intentionality: your vision specifies the destination, and your mission lays out the path to get there.

Charities must often engage a complex system of stakeholders in their strategic planning process, including programme delivery teams, trustees, volunteers, funders, and beneficiaries. Your vision and mission statements can be incredibly valuable when it comes to getting everyone on board and pulling in the same direction.

Streamlining the decision-making process

When faced with challenges, your vision and mission statements can provide a reference point for decision-makers to determine the best course of action at every level of the organisation. This will help to ensure that all decisions are aligned with your overarching purpose and contribute towards achieving your vision.

Building a strong and consistent brand

Finally, having a clear vision and mission can help to build your brand. When a charity’s vision and mission align with its actions and behaviour, it builds a strong sense of identity which resonates with your stakeholders and the wider world.

How to write your vision and mission statements

Every team will take a different approach to vision and mission development, but we have a couple of recommendations to help you get started:

• Involve your team and stakeholders. To make sure your vision and mission statements are as representative as possible, consult your stakeholders throughout the process.
• Know what makes your organisation special. Understand the unique value you offer to the world, and make that the focal point of your vision and mission.
• Keep it simple. Your vision and mission statements should be easy to understand and remember. Avoid over-complicated language or jargon.
• Test it out. Once you have drafted your statements, test them out on your team, volunteers, beneficiaries, and supporters. Ask for feedback and adjust as necessary.

One powerful method for helping you craft your vision and mission is Future Basing: a creative way of building a compelling vision of your desired future and starting the journey towards it. It was first used by a commercial team in a military aircraft manufacturing organisation and has since been widely adopted by businesses around the world.

Essentially, you start at the point where you have achieved the desired outcome and work backwards:

1) Stimulate your imagination by ‘reviewing the future’. Working with your team, place yourselves at the point in the future where you have accomplished your goals. What does this world look like? Describe the desired future as though it is already real and assign it a date and time.

Can you boil this down into a single sentence? This is your vision statement.

2) Think about what the future version of your organisation is successful at. Think about who you have impacted through your work. Generate a series of short headings describing your success areas – approximately 3-5.

3)  Identify your accomplishments. Under each heading, list specific achievements that have taken place to make these successes happen. How do you feel, having achieved these goals? Phrase the accomplishments in the present tense with positive terms.

Examples:

‘We are proud to have completed…’

‘We are excited to have succeeded in…’

4) Map out how you get to this ideal future. Remaining in the imagined future, look at each of your success areas. ‘Remember’ at least one critical action or event that has taken place to make each of these successes happen.

step back and look at the map you have created to your desired future. The success areas are what your organisation does and who it does it for, the accomplishments are how it does it, and the feelings are what make your mission inspiring.

Strip this map back to 1-2 sentences describing its essence: this is your mission statement.

5) Consult your stakeholders again. Now is the time to test out your new vision and mission statements! Make sure they are representative of the entire organisation and the people you serve.

Your vision and mission statements form the centrepiece of your strategic plan: their importance cannot be overstated. However, by breaking the process down into simple steps, developing your vision and mission can also be incredibly exciting. The outcome is an image of the world you could build through your work, and a clear roadmap to make this a reality