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50 EXAMPLE MISSION STATEMENTS

An organizations mission statement should clearly communicate what it is that they do.
Many mission statementssuccumbto an over use of words in general, but especially
jargon. Good mission statements should be clear, memorable, concise. Some might also
add inspiring to the list of descriptors. We dont altogether disagree, but we find that
including this as an upfront criteria often ends up with a Frankenstein that is part mission,
part vision statement (https://topnonprofits.com/examples/vision-statements/) (desired
end-state), and almost always too long.
The following are 50 mission statements selected from thetop 100 nonprofitslist
(https://topnonprofits.com/lists/best-nonprofits-on-the-web/) (based on a series of web,
social, and financial metrics).

Details on how this list was compiled can be found by scrolling down to the bottom of the
page.

General Findings
The best mission statements are clear, memorable, and concise
Avg length for the full 50 organizations listed here isonly 15.3 words(excluding
brandreferences)
Avg length for the first 20 organizations below is only 9.5 words (excluding
brandreferences).
The shortest contains only two words (TED)
The longest contained 235 words (UNHCR)

50 Mission Statements from Top Nonprofits

TED:Spreading Ideas. (2 words)

The Humane Society: Celebrating Animals, Confronting Cruelty. (4 words)

Smithsonian:The increase and diffusion of knowledge. (6 words)

Wounded Warrior Project: To honor and empower wounded warriors. (6)

Best Friends Animal Society: A better world through kindness to animals. (7)

Livestrong: To inspire and empower people affected by cancer. (8)

Invisible Children:To bring a permanent end to LRA atrocities. (8)

Public Broadcasting System (PBS): To create content that educates, informs and inspires.
(8)

USOlifts the spirits of Americas troops and their families. (9)

National Wildlife Federation: Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our childrens
future. (9)

American Heart Association: To build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and
stroke. (10)

Oxfam:To create lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and social injustice. (10)

Environmental Defense Fund: To preserve the natural systems on which all life depends.
(10)

New York Public Library: To inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and
strengthen our communities. (10)

The Nature Conservancy:To conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.
(11)

CARE:To serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. (12)

Monterey Bay Aquarium:The mission of the non-profit Monterey Bay Aquarium is to

inspire conservation of the oceans. (12)

National Parks Conservation Association: to protect and enhance Americas National

Park System for present and future generations. (13)

JDRF: To find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.
(14)

Heifer International:To work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for
the Earth. (14)

charity: water: Were a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to
people in developing countries. (14)

ASPCA: To provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout
the United States. (15)

Defenders of Wildlifeis dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in
their naturalcommunities. (15)

Amnesty International:To undertake research and action focused on preventing and

ending grave abuses of these rights. (15)

Human Rights Campaignis Americas largest civil rights organization working to achieve
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. (15)

Creative Commonsdevelops, supports, and stewards legal and technical infrastructure

that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation. (15)

Kiva:We are a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending
to alleviate poverty. (16)

March of Dimes: We help moms have full-term pregnancies and research the problems
that threaten the health of babies. (16)

American Diabetes Association:To prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives
of all people affected by diabetes. (16)

Habitat for Humanity International:Seeking to put Gods love into action, Habitat for
Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope. (16)

In Touch Ministries: To lead people worldwide into a growing relationship with Jesus
Christ and to strengthen the local church. (17)

Cleveland Clinic: To provide better care of the sick, investigation into their problems, and
further education of those who serve. (18)

The U.S. Fund for UNICEFfights for the survival and development of the worlds most
vulnerable children and protects their basic human rights. (18)

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkins disease and
myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. (18)

Teach for Americais growing the movement of leaders who work to ensure that kids
growing up in poverty get an excellent education. (20)

Save the Children: To inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to
achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. (20)

San Diego Zoois a conservation, education, and recreation organization dedicated to the
reproduction, protection, and exhibition of animals, plants, and their habitats. (20)

Ducks Unlimitedconserves, restores, and manages wetlands and associated habitats for
North Americas waterfowl. These habitats also benefit other wildlife and people. (20)

Make-A-Wish:We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions

to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. (21)

American Red Crossprevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies
by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. (21)

National Multiple Sclerosis Society:We mobilize people and resources to drive research
for a cure and to address the challenges of everyone affected by MS. (21)
Doctors without Borders (Mdecins Sans Frontires) works in nearly 70 countries
providing medical aid to those most in need regardless of their race, religion, or political
affiliation. (21)

Feeding America: To feed Americas hungry through a nationwide network of member

food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger. (22)

Susan G Komen for the Cureis fighting every minute of every day to finish what we
started and achieve our vision of a world without breast cancer. (24)

Audubon:To conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife,
and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earths biological diversity. (24)

Mayo Clinic: To inspire hope and contribute to health and well-being by providing the
best care to every patient through integrated clinical practice, education and research.
(24)

The Rotary Foundation:To enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill,

and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the
alleviation of poverty. (24)

AARP:To enhance quality of life for all as we age. Welead positive social change and
deliver value to membersthrough information, advocacy and service. (25)

Boy Scouts of America:To prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over
their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. (25)

NPR:To work in partnership with member stations to create a more informed public
one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events,
ideas and cultures. (28)

What does this mean for you?

Is your mission statement longer than 20 words? Can you get it below 15? Below 10?
Design it to clearly communicate what you do in such a way that people can remember it
and communicate this to others. If you cant get a mission statement below 15 words,
consider also creating a mission tagline (2-6 words) which people can more easily
remember.
How the list was compiled
Mission statements were gathered for each of the top 100 nonprofits
(https://topnonprofits.com/lists/best-nonprofits-on-the-web/) (based on a series of
web, social, and transparency metrics) and then evaluated for content and length.
The top 50 were then selected for this list based on length and
organizedroughlyfrom shortest to longest (based on number of characters).
The number inparenthesisat the end of each line depicts the number of non-
branded words included in their mission statement.
In order to standardize the list, we removed things like [Brands] mission is or The
mission statement of [Brand] when it createdredundancy.

Related Articles:
30 Example Vision Statements (https://topnonprofits.com/examples/vision-statements/)
Guide to Creating a Mission (https://topnonprofits.com/vision-mission)Statement

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