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Step 1: Revisiting Vision, Mission, & Values
Evaluation is integrally connected to the changes that nonprofit organizations
want to make in the world. However, before your organization can undergo
an evaluation, it is important to revisit the overall mission of your
organization and think about how the organization is seeking to change
(or stay the same) over the next few years.
All nonprofit organizations should have a vision for what it wants to
accomplish and a mission statement that defines this vision. The mission
statement can be one sentence or one paragraph, but a well-crafted mission
statement will allow anyone reading it to understand exactly what it is
the organization is going to accomplish through its activities or in other
words, why the organization exists. A strong mission statement prepares
the organization to undertake an evaluation of this mission.
As stated by North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service (www.ces.ncsu.edu/resources/education/sd7):
"An organization's mission defines its reason for existing and
forms the foundation for its operations and functions. A mission statement
sets forth an organization's purpose, and helps clarify and define the
organization's goals and program thrusts."
Revisiting vision, mission, and values is important because you need to
start from what you know. The vision, mission, and values of your organization
are an important guidepost for thinking about how to accomplish your evaluation.
There is a link between what you are evaluation and how you define yourself
as an organization. In other words, how do the vision, mission, and values
of your organization influence the kind of evaluation you conduct? Once
your organization has an articulated vision and mission, you will be in
a better position to move the organization forward and to employ the most
appropriate type of evaluation.
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Examples from Practice: Organization Mission Statements
The mission statement for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service is "…to help individuals, families, and communities
put research-based knowledge to work to improve their lives."
This mission statement is the basis against which they form their
educational programs.
YouthBuild USA (www.youthbuild.org)
begins with an articulated vision and mission. YouthBuild USA's
vision is:
To help build a movement toward a more just society in which
respect, love, responsibility, and cooperation are available for
all people in all communities to fulfill their own potential and
contribute to the well-being of others.
The organization enables that vision with an articulated mission
statement:
YouthBuild USA's mission is to unleash the intelligence and positive
energy of low-income young people to rebuild their communities and
their lives.
Boys and Girls Club of Boston www.bgcb.org
also has an articulated mission statement "The mission of
the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston (BGCB) is to help boys and girls,
especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, develop the qualities
needed to become responsible citizens and leaders."
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Tools for Vision,
Mission, and Values:
Innovation
Center for Community and Youth Development - Reflect and Improve
The Reflect
and Improve tool kit is a resource for community-based organizations
looking to engage youth and adults in the evaluation of community and
youth development initiatives. This activity from the tool kit helps organizations
verify that activities and outcomes are in line with the organization's
stated mission and goals.
Also see http://www.theinnovationcenter.org
Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development - Building Community:
A Toolkit for Charting Assets and Creating Change
Visioning and Planning section (PDF)
This tool is for use in community development efforts to create a shared
vision of the future among the people of the community. The tool includes
content for planning and facilitating a shared vision. While focused on
community development efforts, many of the exercises can be adapted for
nonprofit organizations. Also see http://www.theinnovationcenter.org.
The Grantsmanship Center:
How to Write a Mission Statement by Janel M. Radtke
This article offers advice for how to write a new mission statement or
revise an exiting mission statement. It also gives examples of organizations
that follow the suggested framework for organizations.
Also see http://www.tgci.com.
Connect with others
Talk with others in the field
who are doing similar work or who have experiences to share. Share your
experiences in Revisiting Vision, Mission, and Values through the Practitioner
Database
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