Whether your organization is a business or a charity, you have values and goals that are important to you and the people you serve. Maybe you are developing a revolutionary new product, planning exciting events, or working with underprivileged community members. Whatever you do, you need a mission statement to communicate who you are and what you are striving to achieve.
A mission statement can take various forms, but it is usually a relatively short summary of what you offer and why your organization matters. It encapsulates your purpose, your raison d’être—your reason for existing. This is what drives you, what makes your company or non-profit important and worthy of support.
Putting all this into words can be challenging. People often feel intimidated by having to communicate their dreams and ambitions in a paragraph or even a single sentence. This article gives you 5 key suggestions that will make this task less daunting, helping you capture the essence of your organization’s identity.
1. Decide Why You Need a Mission Statement
You may choose to write a mission statement for many different reasons. You might be a business, a government organization, or a charity. Maybe you want to create a letter that you can give to clients or community members and need an opening statement that will capture the heart of what you do. You could also be creating content for your website and need a summary that people can see when they arrive on your landing page. Or perhaps you are applying for a grant, and the funders ask for your mission in one of the application questions. The form your mission statement will take and where it will appear can influence its content. Deciding why you are writing in the first place will help you better understand what you need to create and what you are hoping to accomplish.
2. Consider Your Audience
Whatever your reason for starting this task, it is crucial that you consider the audience for which you are writing. If you are writing for the general public, you should make sure your words are free of jargon and can be understood by as many people as possible. You might have more flexibility in terms of how long the statement can be and what it looks like. You may also have more freedom to describe your services, choosing how you best want to represent yourself to a wider range of people. Usually, a great mission statement can be reused in various contexts, but if you are sending it to specific clients, you might adjust it depending on who you are communicating with, choosing ideas and words that will appeal to their interests.
If you are applying for a grant, there may be word or character limits that you must follow. Funders may also expect you to touch on certain vital ideas, and you may decide to tailor your words to their requests. Including keywords from the grant instructions may make it clearer how your mission aligns with their goals.
3. Decide What You Want to Emphasize
Once you have decided who your audience is, you will also need to think about what you want to emphasize. Maybe your company does dozens of different things, offering all sorts of products and services. Choosing what defines your organization and how your offerings connect is critical to writing a mission statement. For example, if your business sells various technologies, you may write about how you seek to meet the needs of modern life. Or, if your charity holds a variety of events, you can focus on the people you serve and how you help them. Regardless of what your organization does, this step involves brainstorming all the things you do, why you do these things, and for whom you do them. You should maintain a strong focus on what you seek to achieve and how your actions create positive effects for those who rely on your work. You may even find that your main goals are different than what you originally thought they would be, learning something new about your organization during this process.
4. Find Your Voice
Depending on what your organization does, you may strive to set a certain tone while writing, creating feelings in your reader that you want them to associate with your services. For example, if you sell surfboards, you can use words that capture the fun and excitement of riding the waves on a sunny summer day. Or, if you are a BIPOC organization that seeks to combat racism, you may set a more serious tone, focusing on the profound importance of your services and how they help underserved communities. The words you use can define your organization for the people who are reading, leaving a lasting impression that they will continue to connect to your brand long after they have finished your mission statement. Whatever your goals, you should communicate with passion and professionalism, capturing the significance of your work and how you are committed to being the best in your field.
5. Be Clear and Concise
Once you have decided why you are writing, who you are writing for, what you plan to communicate, and what emotions you hope to inspire in your readers, you should write your mission statement in a clear and concise manner. Sometimes a mission statement is only a sentence long; other times, it may be a full paragraph. It is a short summary that clearly and effectively communicates your key ideas, getting to the point, so readers have an immediate understanding of who you are and what you offer. This means avoiding flowery language or overly complicated descriptions. It also means only including the points that are absolutely necessary and cutting away any extra thoughts that aren’t essential. Finally, avoiding mistakes and following proper grammar rules are vital to maintaining a professional tone. The last thing you want is to ruin your passionate and informative mission statement with a glaring spelling error!
Conclusion
Writing a mission statement can be a great way to communicate your purpose quickly and effectively. It is often the first thing customers, clients, and community members read when they are learning about your organization, and it can leave a lasting impression. Creating the perfect summary of who you are and what you strive to achieve is an important but often challenging task. Contact iPlume Writing today to learn how we can help you write an excellent mission statement!
