What's Your Mission?

What's my mission? I didn't really know. I just wanted to help some kids stay away from gangs, the drug scene and unwanted pregnancies. After sitting down with a friend I crafted the following:

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Say Yes To Tennis is dedicated to building character and personhood, beyond the game of tennis for Summit County youth, particularly those from lower income communities by providing athletic, academic and life-skills activities that teach discipline, build self-esteem and facilitate academic enrichment.

Having a mission statement is critical to the success of your organization. It will provide focus and clarity as your organization grows and evolves. Inevitably you will add new programs and services, having clear, concise direction will keep you on track. Additionally the lure of the almighty dollar will tempt you to expand outside the parmaters of your stated objectives. Grants are very competitive. Sometimes we are tempted to go after the money and try to build a program around it. What happens is that you may offend the very people who have struggled with you to make your stated objectives become a reality. And worse you may be left with a staff that is not competent in the new direction you have chosen. I’ve seen many organizations go beyond the scope of their stated purpose to their detriment.

A mission statement clearly states what your organization will do, for whom you will do it, and the ways in which you will do it. To word it with a positive flavor wouldn't hurt either.

Take Say Yes To Tennis for example. What can you learn from our mission statement?

What will we do?
Say Yes To Tennis will be dedicated to building character and personhood, beyond the game of tennis.

Who will we serve?
Say Yes To Tennis will serve Summit County youth, particularly those from lower income communities.

How will we accomplish this?
Say Yes To Tennis will accomplish this by providing athletic, academic and life-skills activities that teach discipline build self-esteem and facilitate academic enrichment.

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