Mission: The Heartbeat Of The School

‘Not What A School Does, But The Difference A School Makes’

The Mission Statement of an independent school provides the ‘why’ an organization exists, and is the basis for the long-range strategic process or architectural plan for implementing the school business. Strategic process evolves out of mission and provides the scaffolding for direction. An organizational development plan emerges next with steps to take the school toward its intended direction. Specific fund-raising campaigns are launched in support of it all.

The strategic process needs to be clearly articulated and needs to define defensible programmatic initiatives and their respective costs.  This well defined process allows for the creation of overarching fund-raising plans from which specific fund-raising campaigns are organized and implemented.  In this way, a school secures annual giving, endowment, and major gifts/capital funds.  However, an organization’s mission statement is the HEART of the process and defines it all.

So developing an understanding of how to establish an effective mission statement is vital.  The priority is ensuring that your school has a lucid mission statement and that it is revisited and reviewed regularly.

The mission of each independent school should come from its core competitive advantages. Therefore, it must be clearly articulated, fully understood, and completely embraced by the school’s diverse constituencies. It must elucidate the difference the school community will make for all those it serves, rather than simply providing a description of what the school’s function. Finally, it needs to convey all of this as succinctly as possible.

1. Establish limits “What is our reason for existence?”
2. Motivational to constituents.
3.  Succinct enough to remember and easily share.
4. Strong enough to inspire.
5. Helpful in measuring the school's success —The mission statement helps in the process of organizational effectiveness- a school’s mission statement becomes a measure against which results and benefits of the services provided are assessed.
         

“Ends, not means

Does your mission statement address what difference your organization will make for those you serve, or does it merely describe what your organization does? Remember, your mission statement doesn’t relate how, but rather why. It should focus on the results your organization accomplishes through its programs and services.”  Center for Not For Profit Organizations