A mission statement fosters a shared commitment and purpose across generations. For family foundations, this is especially useful in preventing mission drift and supporting the donor’s intent. Without a mission statement, contradictory views from future generations can convolute the donor’s original goals in establishing the foundation. As the intergenerational distance between the donor and heirs grows, a mission will help to keep the efforts of the foundation focused, ensuring that the intent of the family’s giving remains consistent over time.
Philanthropy is a powerful way to express your family’s closely held values. If you are just starting on your philanthropic journey or would like to refine your approach to giving, articulating a mission behind your efforts is the best way to ensure long lasting impact. Senior Relationship Associate Elise Johnston sat down with Head of Philanthropy Drew Rabe to learn more.
What is a mission statement?
A charitable mission statement is your vision for change, and how you intend to support that vision. It is generally a sentence or two that details the purpose, values, and focus behind your charitable giving. It outlines why you want to give, who you want to give to, and the desired impact you want to make.
Why does your mission statement matter?
By reflecting on what drives your giving efforts, you can make your giving more intentional. For families, a mission statement encourages cohesion, participation among family members, and helps instill values and a commitment to philanthropy in future generations.
A mission statement is more than just a formality – it serves as a compass that directs philanthropic efforts and fosters continuity across generations. Whether for individual giving or a family, a clear and concise mission statement helps ensure philanthropy is intentional, focused, and impactful.
It is important to take time to get this right because a mission statement serves as the foundation for philanthropic decisions and helps donors maintain focus, especially as giving landscapes and family dynamics evolve.
Today, most information, including estimates of a person’s net worth and the sale price of a private business, is one click away. The specifics around the cash proceeds of a business sale, from what was previously illiquid ownership value, can become public. We find that with many business owners who have a liquidity event, the requests for capital post-sale come rolling in quickly – whether they be to support a less fortunate family member, invest in a local business, or donate to a friend’s favorite charity. In fact, according to our second annual Private Business Owner Survey, 77% of owners are concerned about the impact of their wealth on their children.
Establishing a mission provides a framework to evaluate donation requests, allowing you to decline those that don’t align with the values outlined in your mission statement. While many donors find it important to reserve a portion of charitable funds to support the causes championed by others, focusing the bulk of contributions on the issues that resonate most with you is essential. A clear mission can help clarify these priorities.
How to craft your mission statement
Understanding the reason behind your charitable giving ensures that your contributions reflect your personal values and beliefs. The values that are most important to you often have deep roots and trace back to experiences throughout one’s life. Looking back on childhood or other early life stages can reveal formative experiences that shape a person’s perspective on charitable giving.
For example, consider an individual who received a full scholarship to go to college, which in turn led to her successful career in finance. This background might inspire that individual to support financial literacy programs for the rising generation.
Before writing your mission statement, ask yourself three questions:
- What values are most important to you?
- What causes or issues resonate with you personally?
- What specific goals do you want to achieve through your philanthropy?
Scattering resources across many areas may dilute the impact of your support. By focusing your efforts on causes and organizations that most strongly represent your values, you can achieve your goals in a meaningful and directed way. Although you do not want to focus all your efforts on requests from those around you, it is understandable that you will want to give back to other causes.
BBH Head of Philanthropy Drew Rabe says a good unofficial rule of thumb is the 70/20/10 way of giving: 70% reserved for donations that align with your mission, 20% for reactive donation requests (i.e., requests to donate to an alma matter or a friend’s organization), and 10% for emergency responsiveness (i.e., natural disaster relief).
Having a clear direction enables you to establish actionable goals for your charitable giving, enhancing your ability to measure impact. By refining your philanthropic intent, you can transform your vision into reality over time, resulting in a more fulfilling and rewarding giving experience.
A mission statement should reflect your values, focus areas, and intend impact, while being concise, intentional and adaptable over time.
Your mission statement should be straightforward. Try to avoid jargon and complex language to provide a clear vision that guides your giving. Be sure to include the four W’s: who, what, where, and which.
- Who: Are you targeting a specific age demographic, minority group, or population?
- What: What is it that you want to change? What categories of philanthropic giving align with your values and priorities (e.g., religion, environment, education, etc.)?
- Where: Is there a geographic area that you want to target? If you are contributing to a systemic issue, is there a specific region in which you want to make an impact?
- Which: Are there particular values driving your goal (e.g., diversity, respect, equity)?
Let’s look at how a charitable mission statement can become more powerful with some minor adjustments:
A family just sold their private business and wants to create a family foundation to give back with the proceeds from the sale. The patriarch of the family has long since valued the role that teachers play in children’s development. In fact, this individual accredits one of his teachers as being the catalyst for his successful career. As a result, the family wants to help as many children as possible obtain access to dedicated and well-trained educators. They write the following mission statement: “Our family foundation wants to help students everywhere get access to good educators.” It is often more impactful to be as specific as possible in your mission statement. How can this statement be improved? “The mission of our family foundation is to empower underprivileged high school students (WHO) in the tristate area (WHERE) by providing access to exceptional educators and high-quality educational resources (WHAT). We are committed to fostering an environment for all students to thrive academically and reach their full potential (WHICH).” This example does not leave room for speculation. It is clear and provides a direct guide for the foundation to follow. |
Engaging future generations helps identify common values and goals, fostering a sense of unity and a commitment to the foundation’s mission. Involving different family members can bring new viewpoints and perspectives to the table, enriching the mission and ensuring it resonates with everyone involved. By thoughtfully selecting participants for this conversation, you can lay a solid foundation for a meaningful and effective charitable mission.
Engaging the next generation
Parents should get their children involved in philanthropy as early as they feel comfortable. The younger that a child is when he or she engages in philanthropy, the more it becomes a matter of practice that continues into adulthood. There are many strategies that can be used to achieve this, depending on the family’s comfort levels.
One study shows that more than 80% of parents find success in modeling philanthropic behavior for their children – growing the next generation of givers and directly translating to increased participation among their children.
Modeling can be done in a variety of ways. You can allow your children to observe a family foundation board meeting, exposing them to the why behind charitable giving. You can also bring them along to volunteer activities that you are involved in, allowing the impact of your charitable efforts to be felt firsthand.
A great way to further engage future generations is to align charitable giving with their interests to foster personal investment. For example, if your child is passionate about animals and the environment, she may find fulfillment by supporting local wildlife organizations.
To facilitate this, you could create a giving allowance for your child, providing them with a certain amount of money for a charity or charities of their choosing. By doing this and allowing your children to decide, you are encouraging your children to start thinking about what causes they want to support the most, research different organizations, and allowing them to experience the power of giving back.
Creating a junior board for your family foundation gives the next generation the chance to gain hands-on philanthropic experience at an early age. As mentioned above, early involvement is key to ensuring continuity of the family’s philanthropic legacy.
A junior board may be advisory only, making recommendations to the family foundation for funding, or they may have certain grants and initiatives to manage within a specified budget. This path can be an effective way to transition future generations into leadership roles within your family foundation.
Taking the next step
Crafting a thoughtful and intentional mission is vital for the success of your giving efforts. A succinct and directed mission statement helps ensure that you and your family’s values are reflected in your philanthropy, allowing you to give effectively and consistently across generations.
BBH has helped countless families with their philanthropic interests. To learn more about the tools and resources available, contact a BBH relationship manager or the Philanthropic Advisory team.
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