Trustees’ Week - Day 2: Clear Mission, Vision, and Values

Mission, Vision and Values – what’s the difference?

It’s day 2 of Trustees’ Week, and today we’ll be looking at the foundation of a resilient charity: mission, vision, and values.

It’s important to open up discussions on these three things to your trustees, staff and volunteers. Having a mission, vision and values that is informed by a range of opinions and experiences will better represent and serve your beneficiaries. Ensuring that these are clear and easily understood are a key part of good governance.

I’ll be the first to admit that I sometimes get into a muddle trying to explain the difference between a charity’s vision and mission! So here is short summary to help focus your discussions.

Mission

Your charity’s mission is defined by your charitable purposes or objects, as set out in your governing document. It is the core reason your organisation exists. In other words, a declaration of your purpose.

Trustees are legally obliged to adhere to its charitable purposes and so it’s necessary that your mission is clear and well-defined. Furthermore, the mission and charitable purposes must be clearly aligned. Trustees should be able to how explain how the charity’s mission supports and furthers its purposes. A good starting point is to ask yourselves, “what does the charity do, and why?”

Trustees must ensure that the scope of activities falls within the charity’s mission, and that it has the required expertise, funding and capacity to act. Ensuring that the mission is clear and being able to justify how the charitable activities further the purposes and mission are crucial to good governance.

Vision

Your charity’s vision is the future or the change that you are trying to bring about. It needs to inspire and motivate people to act. Without a compelling vision, your stakeholders – whether donors, volunteers, or beneficiaries – will struggle to stay engaged over time.

In the corporate or private sector world, a company’s vision can sometimes be associated with corny catchphrases lacking in authenticity. But in the charity and third sector, your vision is often a part of your identity and a way of communicating your ambitions in a positive way.

Think about what it is your charity is hoping to achieve in the longer term, perhaps many years down the line. A clear vision ensures that trustees carry out their duties through a long-term lens. Trustees must consider the sustainability of the charity when acting in accordance with its vision and long-term goals.

So how do we go about writing a vision statement? Start by thinking about what organisational values matter to your charity. Again, you can engage the trustees, staff and other stakeholders in this process. Consider, what is the difference your charity would have made, if it had already achieved its mission. Then condense that down into an inspirational, clear and concise statement.

Values

Your charity’s values are the core principles and beliefs that govern how your charity operates. They define what your charity stands for and are backed-up by the work you carry out. It’s crucial for good governance that these values reflect the beliefs held by the trustees and senior staff of the charity, which are then filtered down throughout the charity to staff, volunteers and stakeholders. So to ensure full buy-in, you should also try to include these people in the discussion. The best values are gathered from a range of perspectives and experiences.

It might be hard to come up with original ideas and in reality, no one single value will be unique to your charity. But try to settle upon a set of values that illustrate your priorities and what your charity stands for. Usually around three to five separate values will be enough.

Keep these brief and concise. Unclear values will cause your governance to suffer, as the general public will not be able to determine what your charity stands for, and potential donors may not be certain if the work you are doing aligns with their own beliefs. Additionally, without stakeholder buy in and engagement, your internal and external relationships will be at risk of breaking down.

Once your values have been defined, spread the word. They should be on your website, social media and grant applications.

Trustees of a resilient charity will make decisions based on its values. Along with the charitable purposes, these values form part of the foundation of your charity’s governance.

Conclusion

Good governance for Trustees means regularly revisiting your mission, vision, and values to ensure they remain relevant and aligned with your charitable purposes. Receiving input from key stakeholders fosters buy-in and commitment at all levels and allows for a diverse range of opinion. A resilient charity ensures its mission, vision and values are at the core of its governance.

Just one final word, the charity’s mission, vision and values should be guided and determined by the charitable objects or purposes, not the other way around. However, discussions on these matters will also likely involve a review of your objects and whether these are still fit for purpose. If not, these may need to be amended (with Charity Commission consent).

Tomorrow we are looking at the relationship between strong leadership and a resilient charity. We hope you’ll joins us again.

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