The Philantrepreneur Journal Vol2 Spring2016 | Page 12

How might yours miss the dotted lines?

different facets of each to reflect on. This can prove helpful if you get stuck.

The 5-Pronged Checkup

The Mission Statement: Check whether the mission remains relevant to the
current environment and work. I think of the “mission” as metaphorical socks
to the shoes that are charities. We set them intentionally. We hope they stay
put. But every once in a while they might get uncomfortable and we’ve got to
finagle with them.

Things to Think About:
•

Is each program or service on target to further the mission? Or is there
a bit of deviation?
• If programs or services deviate, why is that? Does a program need readjustment? Or do you need to revise the mission?
• If the mission feels too ambitious, too vague or too constricting definitely start there.
• Is the mission difficult to measure? There are too many great mission
statements out there to count. But sometimes the rhetoric can make
it hard to contextualize and measure. Making it harder for you to
translate impact to funders, donors and clients; on things like grant
applications and annual reports.
The Legal Setup: Typically, organization’s insist on little involvement
here. You can, and should, work with an attorney on the legal logistics. But
understand what impact the legal setup has on your operations and whether it
serves its best interests. Look at all the different asp V7G2