This paper evaluates the mission statement of United Way Worldwide against four standard criteria: brevity and comprehensiveness, description of products or services, geographic scope, and consistency with actual organizational activities. The analysis finds that while United Way's mission statement is concise and identifies a global geographic focus, it falls short by omitting specific services, failing to define "the common good," and providing no measurable outcomes. The paper concludes with recommendations for expanding the statement to better reflect the organization's purpose and allow stakeholders to assess whether its goals are being met.
United Way describes its purpose as follows: "United Way improves lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good" (Mission and Goals, 2011).
The mission statement of United Way is very brief. It gets right to the point by stating what the organization does and for whom, but it fails to go into any detail about how it will carry out that purpose.
Is the mission statement all-encompassing yet relatively brief? It is certainly brief. However, whether it is truly all-encompassing is debatable, given that it leaves several fundamental questions unanswered about the organization's methods and measures of success.
The mission statement does not identify the products or services United Way will offer or employ in order to achieve its goals. There is also no definition of what "the common good" means in this context, nor any indication of how progress toward it will be measured.
This omission makes it difficult for stakeholders — donors, volunteers, and community partners — to understand concretely what the organization does or how they might evaluate its effectiveness.
The mission statement does define the organization's geographic operating parameters, identifying its reach as global — "around the world." This aspect of the statement is clear and accurate.
United Way Worldwide is a guidance and support association consisting of almost 1,800 community-based organizations operating in forty-five nations and territories. Its vision is a world in which all people and families achieve their human potential through learning, income stability, and healthy lives. In pursuit of the common good and in order to mobilize the caring power of communities worldwide, the organization pledges to:
Ignite an international social movement, mobilizing millions to give, advocate, and volunteer in order to improve the conditions in which they live.
Galvanize and connect all sectors of society — individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and governments — in order to create long-term social change that produces healthy, well-educated, and economically stable people and families.
Raise, invest, and leverage billions of dollars annually in charitable contributions in order to develop and sustain innovative programs and approaches that make a lasting impact in local communities.
Hold themselves accountable to this cause through an unwavering commitment to continuously measure improvements in education, income, and well-being (About United Way Worldwide, 2011).
"Suggested revisions for clarity and accountability"
"Cited United Way sources"
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