AD Mission Statements (Due 1.31)
Wk 3 Readings: See Schedule
For Discussion:
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Additional Wk 2 Readings:
- Chung, Elizabeth. “Ten Killer Nonprofit Mission Statements to Learn From.” Classy. Class, 23 June 2015. Web.
- “Fifty Example Mission Statements.” Top Nonprofits. Top Nonprofits, LLC, n.d. Web.
- Kolowich, Lindsay. “Twelve Truly Inspiring Company Vision and Mission Statement Examples.” Hubspot. Kolowich, 4 August 2015. Web.
- Starr, Kevin. “The Eight-Word Mission Statement.” Stanford Social Innovation Review. Stanford University, 18 September 2012. Web.
References from Grobman:
- http://www.missionstatements.com/nonprofit_mission_statements.html
- http://www.leader101.com/?tag=leader-to-leader-institute
From Chung:
- What is it about Possible Health’s MS that makes Chung say it “rolls easily off the tongue”?
- Chung says “rapidly” is a “key word” in Team Rubicon’s MS. Do you agree?
An excerpt from Starr:
Mission statements in the social sector are often the same kind of word-salad, but there isn’t a common raison d’etre. As investors in impact, we—the Mulago Foundation—don’t want to wade through a bunch of verbiage about “empowerment,” “capacity-building,” and “sustainability”—we want to know exactly you’re trying to accomplish. We want to cut to the chase, and the tool that works for us is the eight-word mission statement. All we want is this:
A verb, a target population, and an outcome that implies something to measure—and we want in eight words or less.
Why eight words? It just seems to work. It’s long enough to be specific and short enough to force clarity.
– See more at: http://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_eight_word_mission_statement#sthash.xeOlWexZ.dpuf
What differences do we notice between the writing styles of Grobman and Starr?
Razor-sharp clarity about where you’re going allows you to ask three critically important questions: 1) Is this the best way to get there? 2) Is there anything else we should be doing to accelerate along the path? and 3) Is everything we’re doing really focused on getting there? The first question helps prevent the bane of startups, fixing too early and rigidly on a specific idea; the second pushes evolution of models and activities; and the third helps you avoid or get rid of stuff that is a distraction or waste of bandwidth.
(A classic example of the last issue is an organization that is doing, say, poverty work in Africa, but putting a lot of effort into “educating” people in the United States. That’s like installing a mile-long rubber band between effort and impact. The education effort needs to become part of a cost-effective, fund-raising program or a laser-focused effort to change specific policy—or it needs to be killed.)
– See more at: http://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_eight_word_mission_statement#sthash.xeOlWexZ.dpuf
How can we articulate the stylistic difference between Grobman and Starr?
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Mission Statements: Campus Carry Controversy
Background Reading:
NPOs with stake in the campus carry controversy:
- National Rifle Association
- Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
- Everytown for Gun Safety
- Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
- Students for Concealed Carry
- Keep Guns Off Campus
- Georgia Tech Students for Concealed Carry on Campus
EX MS Revisions