Nonprofit Challenges: Connection to Mission

Your nonprofit’s mission is more than your fundraising theme; it needs to be the backbone of what your organization is all about. Its purpose is to provide a clear and complete statement of what you do, how you do it, and its intended achievement. And if that mission statement is your backbone, the heartbeat that brings it all to life are the employees dedicating themselves to the service of this mission.

“Service to the community” is why most people find themselves in the nonprofit sector to begin with. It certainly isn’t the fat paycheck, company executive perks, or free trips abroad.

This means, if your organization isn’t clear on its mission, hasn’t defined how each department is in service to it, or loses its way by attempting to become the “one-stop-shop-we-can-do-anything-you-want-us-to-if-funding-is-in-it,” you will end up with a confused, overloaded, and stressed-out team, trying to be everywhere at once, chasing unicorns for funding options, and killing themselves to deliver the moon as promised by their side-tracked Executive Directors.

Far too easily, and far too often, service to the mission slides into service to the “organization.” That way lies its frequent death knell of massive turnover.

The organizational leadership may at some point forget precisely why and for whom they serve, but the boots-on-the-ground underpaid staff putting in long hours running two desks of workloads at a time never will. As the laborers in the trenches, they see and serve the client base directly, and they know more than anyone where the programs lack structure and focus and where the clients genuinely thrive.

The disconnect between leadership and staff is not unlike the disconnect between mission from operation when communication begins to break down. The longer that break settles in, the wider the gap of discord, distrust, and frustration, eventually bleeding out your most talented and resourceful staff members. They move on to give their much-needed expertise and dedication to someone who listens, has a clear and concise view of their mission, and provides the satisfaction of a place to serve the community.

In short, beyond the need to pay an actual living wage to your nonprofit staff, not displacing their trust by continuing to lead and serve what they signed up for is also a responsibility of Executive leadership. Taking to heart that these talented people have chosen this organization with this mission for a reason--despite any possible corporate-world perks and salaries they could have chosen instead--means you have a responsibility to serve that mission not only for the clients you serve, but the staff members dedicated to making it happen.