Staying Focused: Mission Driven Work Must Be Driven By the Mission

Let's take a look at how nonprofits can stay focused.

A nonprofit must have a well-crafted, well-understood and supported mission statement that drives everything the organization does. Before any partnership is entered into, before any new product or service is offered, before anything is done, there is a question that must always be asked and answered (with justification) – Is this helping to further our mission?

If this question goes unasked (or unanswered for that matter), an organization can find itself engaged in activities that have nothing to do with its mission.

For example, would it help an organization whose mission it is "to promote physical activity and reduce childhood obesity in urban communities" to apply for funding where the priority is to "increase the number of college graduates in disadvantaged communities"? Sure, a grant proposal could be submitted outlining a strategy to incorporate higher education promotion in the organization's activities, but what would that have to do with physical activity or childhood obesity? Also, how would the organization follow the children and ensure that they not only enrolled in college but also graduated? And how would any of these activities help to further their mission to promote physical activity and reduce childhood obesity? Luckily, an organization in this situation would most likely not have to worry about any of these issues because it is highly unlikely that they would get funded.

In these tough economic times, many nonprofits find themselves desperately seeking to replace funding that has been lost due to budget cuts and drops in donations. I can understand the inclination to go after funding "wherever we can get it". But this strategy-- applying for funds when it is clearly a s-t-r-e-t-c-h to link the organization's mission with the funder's mission and priorities--is a waste of time and resources. Organizations in this situation would fair better by looking for opportunities to partner, to consolidate, and/or to develop new streams of income, such as selling products or services.

Is your organization having to make up lost funding? What strategies have you used to close the gap? Please share your successes and failures. What didn't work for you might work for others?

 PS. Here is a great article, "How to Avoid Nonprofit Mission Creep"

http://nonprofit.about.com/od/nonprofitmanagement/tp/Mission-Creep.htm

Michelle Nusum

The Word Woman