Nurturing Your Mission

with Joshua Studor, office of the Washington Attorney General

Nonprofits start with an idea that grows into a mission. Indeed, one of the few requirements in forming a nonprofit corporation is that the group state its purpose.

The IRS relies on the purpose to determine if the organization should be tax exempt. Donors, grant makers, and contract managers review the nonprofit’s purpose when making funding decisions. And state regulators place a great deal of weight on what a corporation says its mission is.

But is your organization nourishing that mission? Does its leaders and volunteers have a clear understanding of the mission? Do its practices align with the mission? Does the mission or purpose statement in your organization’s governing documents match your current mission?

This presentation will (1) educate attendees about how the law uses a nonprofit’s purpose and risks associated with not exercising mission fidelity, (2) provide instructions on how leaders can bring their organizations’ purposes in line with their activities, and (3) explore how a clear and well-understood mission can help that original idea (the root) flower into the results.