Stan Hutton - Nonprofit Kit For Dummies

Adhere to Robert’s Rules of Order. To adhere to proper board meeting protocol, follow these rules to conduct efficient, effective, and well-documented board meetings. You can download a copy of Robert’s Rules for free at https://diphi.web.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2645/2012/02/MSG-ROBERTS_RULES_CHEAT_SHEET.pdf , and check out Robert’s Rules For Dummies by C. Alan Jennings, PRP (Wiley).

Stick to the agenda. Don’t allow people to wander off topic. Some agendas set the time allowed for discussion after each item. You don’t have to do this, but if your meetings have been veering off course, setting time limits may help control them. Files 3-6 and 3-7 at www.wiley.com/go/nonprofitkitfd6e are samples of common agenda types you can use as models.

Follow an orderly procedure. You don’t need to be overly formal in your meetings (many board meetings are casual), but having a basic knowledge of when to make a motion and when to call the question is helpful.

Thank your board. Board members are volunteers who give time and money to your organization. Take every opportunity during meetings to make sure they’re appreciated. Mention their names when appropriate in newsletters and media releases. Small gifts are sometimes useful, but don’t be extravagant. You don’t want to be accused of wasting the organization’s money.

Chapter 4

IN THIS CHAPTER

Identifying the key components of a strong mission statement

Creating an effective mission statement with the help of your board

Using your mission and vision statements to make organizational decisions

Every nonprofit needs well-crafted mission and vision statements. A good mission statement clearly and succinctly states a nonprofit’s reason for existence — including who benefits from its work — and how it works to fulfill that mission from day to day. A vision statement is a lengthier statement that looks to the future and describes what you want your nonprofit to achieve in the long run.

The process of developing your mission and vision statements is important. Don’t feel like you have to come up with these statements on your own. Instead, we recommend that you take some time to discuss your ideas with your governing board and encourage their input and feedback. Doing so can help you refine your ideas, test them with other people, and inspire those involved in the writing process.

Read on for more guidance about how to create simple yet compelling mission and vision statements.

Check out File 4-1 at www.wiley.com/go/nonprofitkitfd6e for a list of web resources related to the topics we cover in this chapter.

The mission statement is an organization’s heartbeat (see Figure 4-1). In anatomy, your heart is the engine that fuels your entire body. For your nonprofit, the mission conveys the passion in your existence. Your mission statement impacts every stakeholder and is the reason your staff shows up at work. It’s the reason your board members work hard to support the nonprofit’s work in the community. The mission statement is the driving mantra for your volunteers who show up day after day to roll up their sleeves and carry out their job descriptions. Finally, your mission statement is the living, breathing, actionable reason that other organizations in the community want to be partners and step up, when needed, to fill gaps in services. Most importantly, a succinct and compassion-filled mission statement speaks to the hearts (and wallets) of potential donors.

FIGURE 4-1:A strong mission statement is an organization’s heartbeat.

A mission statement should state what the organization’s reason for existence is, how the mission will be achieved, and who will benefit from the organization’s activities. The mission should be

Memorable: You want to carry the statement around in your mind — at all times. Stakeholders should be able to remember it with ease and help your organization live it in their daily contributions.

Focused: You want the statement to be narrow enough to focus on the reason our organization exists but broad enough to support organizational growth and expansion.

Compelling: You want to communicate the need your organization addresses and the importance of doing something about it. (Bonus points if it also attracts potential board members to want to join your board and be a part of ongoing inspiration and change.)

Easy to read: Your statement should be written in plain language so that folks don’t need a set of footnotes to decipher it. Be sure to limit your use of adjectives, and try to avoid jargon.

After you decide on your organization’s mission statement, you can use it as your go-to reference when making decisions about your nonprofit’s activities. Add your mission statement to your Form 990 tax report to the IRS, in brochures, and in grant proposals. You may even print it on business cards for your board members and staff.

Jargon is a term for words that have specialized meaning within an industry or profession. When you’re communicating with colleagues, everyone knows the meaning of the specialized words you use. But when you’re writing for the general public — the people who are the target of your mission statement — you should use words that have a common meaning for everyone.

For example, if you’re an educator, you’re probably familiar with the term scaffolding. In education, the word is used as shorthand to describe the process of using the skills that students already have to help them learn new skills. If you’re a housepainter, it means something entirely different.

Think about the words you use to describe your mission and make sure everyone knows what they mean.

Times have changed from when nonprofit organizations had long, drawn-out mission statements that spanned pages and read like a rambling fact sheet. Instead, we suggest keeping your mission statement short and succinct — aim for one or two memorable sentences that speak about the present and can be easily remembered by your board members, staff, volunteers, and community stakeholders. That way, everyone can remember why your nonprofit organization exists, what it does for the community, and how they can help it stay on focus daily. Save your lengthy writing for the vision statement.

Here’s a sample mission statement with the most important words bolded to amplify the nonprofit’s reason for existence, intent, and focus.

The mission of the Grant Writing Training Foundation is to educate, empower,and enlighten nonprofit staff through affordable professional development training.