1. Industry

Five Ways to Sabotage Your Nonprofit Mission Statement

By , About.com Guide

1 of 5

Use words that only insiders understand
Young woman trying to understand.
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Example

"It is our mission to ensure high academic achievement for every student by attracting and preparing outstanding leaders and supporting the performance of the urban public schools they lead at scale."

The Problem

This mission statement got off to a shaky start, but then lost it at completely with that last word, "scale." What does that mean? It is a term that is used by nonprofit insiders to mean growth or growing. A layperson is probably stopped cold by it. The lesson: don't use your profession's jargon.

The Solution:

XYZ ensures high academic achievement for every student by attracting and preparing outstanding educational leaders and supporting the urban public schools that they lead.

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