Your One-sentence Mission Statement

If you get ten nonprofit consultants in a room and ask them how to write a mission statement, you may get ten different answers. Writing a mission statement tends to be more art than science. Which can lead to a lot of frustration.

A mission statement needs to do two things:

1. Briefly describe what you do.

2. Briefly describe the group you do it for.

To me, a one-sentence mission statement does this best.  The brevity of the statement helps to ensure that the statement will actually get used and not just posted on the wall in a nice frame.

Turns out that lots of others feel the same way. Check out this list of 50, one-sentence nonprofit mission statements.

If you like the one-sentence approach, here is a worksheet that you can use to create your own mission (and vision!). I got this worksheet from the Top Nonprofits website.

All of that said, a one-sentence mission statement doesn't do a good job of describing the depth of an organization. With that in mind, some organizations present their mission statement and then follow it up with additional information. Check out these sites to see what I mean:

• Vida Verde Nature Education

• Audubon Society

• Ducks Unlimited

Hope this helps you in your mission statement efforts!

(Also, check out this video called How to Write Mission Statements That Don’t Suck. It’s from the author of one of my favorite books!)

How Much Money Do You Make?

Guidestar Compensation Report

As a nonprofit leader you may face an ongoing question:  what is fair compensation for the staff?You'd like to pay them at least what they'd get at a similar organization. But finding salary rates for other nonprofits can be difficult.That's where the Guidestar Nonprofit Compensation Report comes in.Established fourteen years ago, the report is a comprehensive overview of nonprofit salaries. Based on IRS data, the report provides salary information broken down by:

• Top organizational positions (executive director, development director, programs director, HR director, IT director, etc.)

• Organization size by revenue ($250k or less, $250K - $500K, etc.)

• Organization type (education, environmental, civic, etc.)

• Geographical area (state and metropolitan area)

• Gender

You can view a sample report here. Here's the kicker.  For most small nonprofits, the $374 starting price is steep. That said, if you could use some accurate salary guidance then the investment may be worth it.  

The One-page Revolution

About ten years ago I was introduced to an intriguing idea: what if you captured your strategic plan on just one piece of paper?

Like most people, I was used to seeing large, multi-page strategic planning documents. I thought that a one-page document would be too simplistic and “dumbed down.” My thoughts were wrong. I’ve learned that the one-page approach is one of the most important components of successful strategic planning. It forces a team to focus and prioritize, greasing the wheels of implementation. Simply put, one-page plans are an especially effective tool for teams and small organizations.

I’m not the only one that believes this. Take a look at these authors that argue the same thing:

The One Hour Plan for Growth: How a Single Sheet of Paper Can Take Your Business to the Next Level by Joe Calhoun
The One Page Business Plan for Nonprofits by Jim Horan. (Visit Jim’s site where he notes that his one-page “methodologies are becoming a “best practice” around the world.)
Silos, Politics and Turf Wars by Pat Lencioni. Lencioni describes the “thematic goal” approach whereby he helps leadership teams simply focus on one strategic goal over the period of several months.
60-Minute Strategic Plan: Planning and Problem Solving for the Real World by John E. Johnson and Anne Marie Smith
Mastering the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish. Although I absolutely love Harnish’s book, I think his one-page planning template is just a little too complex for most small nonprofits to start out with.
Simplified Strategic Planning: The No-nonsense Guide for Busy People Who Want Results Fast by Robert W. Bradford and J. Peter Duncan.
Your Best Year Yet by Jinny Ditzler. This book is different than the others on this list in that it’s about personal leadership. That said, Ditzler’s approach helps you create a one-page version of a personal strategic plan for your life. Learn more here.

And, in the next few years I plan on releasing my book where I’ll present my version of the one-page plan. Stay tuned...