<aside> What’s this about? The foundations of your organization are its vision, purpose (or mission), values, and theory of change. These describe why your organization exists, its broad strategy, and the heuristics it uses to get there.

What do I need to do? Take some time to clarify your organization’s vision, mission, values, and theory of change before proceeding with entity setup. Values are less crucial at this stage, but will become increasingly important as you begin hiring.

Contents

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Further reading

Simon Sinek: Start with why
Top Nonprofits: Mission & Vision Statement Worksheets
Nonprofit Hub: Nonprofit Mission Statements: Good and Bad Examples
Charity Entrepreneurship: Nailing the basics — Theories of change
Amber Melanie Smith: How to Create a Nonprofit Theory of Change
Nonprofit AF: Why Organizational Values are So Awesome
Leslie Crutchfield: Forces for Good: Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits </aside>

Key concepts

Although not strictly operational requirements, which are the focus of this guide, the elements on this page are key for planning, prioritization, and aligning your team and/or other stakeholders. We recommend familiarizing yourself with these concepts and digging deeper with the many online guides, resources and experts available, some of which are listed in Further Reading above.

Vision

Your organization’s vision answers the question: “What will the world look like when our organization succeeds?”

This is an inspirational statement that articulates the desired future state of an organization in terms of its strategic direction.
Examples:
- **Code for America:** Government can work for the people, by the people, in the digital age.
- Good Food Institute: A world where alternative proteins are no longer alternative.

Mission

Your organization’s mission answers the question: “How do we achieve our vision?”

It defines your organization’s broad strategy: who it serves, what it does, its objectives, and its approach to reaching those objectives.
Examples:
- Code for America: Code for America works shoulder to shoulder with community organizations and government to build digital tools and services, change policies, and improve programs.
- Good Food Institute: We are developing the roadmap for a sustainable, secure, and just protein supply. We identify the most effective solutions, mobilize resources and talent, and empower partners across the food system to make alternative proteins accessible, affordable, and delicious.

Values

Your organization’s values answer the question: “What do we stand for, and how do we behave?”

They are the heuristics you’ll use to achieve your organization’s mission.
Avoid bland, generic platitudes like “Ambition” or “Transparency.” Instead, focus on opinionated values that require a sacrifice, or recognize a trade-off. Good values are polarizing to an extent, and that polarity lets you screen out people who won’t be a good fit for your organization.
Consider the following examples of weaker vs. stronger values. We don’t necessarily endorse or recommend the stronger values, but they’re demonstrative of how to write values. (If you find yourself disagreeing with some of the strong values, that means they’re doing their job!)
Example from Code for America:
- Listen first: Empathy is at the core of our work. We know we don’t have all the answers. We listen carefully and try our best to understand and meet people where they are today.
- Include those who’ve been excluded: We strive to reach people and communities who have been left out by leveraging our resources to create a more just and equitable world. We believe that we all do better when we all do better.
- Act with intention: We don’t hesitate to go after big, complex problems—and we build together with those who have been doing this work for decades. We find our way over obstacles, and we make it work.

❌ Weaker value	✅ Stronger value
Fast-paced
We emphasize quick decision-making, rapid execution of tasks, and the ability to adapt swiftly to changes and new information.	Ship fast and fail faster
We operate with speed as a habit in order to learn and improve as quickly as possible. We’re in a hurry to prevent global catastrophes.
Focus
We prioritize directed effort, minimizing distractions, and maintaining a clear sense of purpose.	Get comfortable saying no
We take on new projects deliberately, and we’re comfortable saying no. We’re honest about our areas of expertise and capacity.
Excellence
We strive for superior performance, delivering outstanding results, and consistently exceeding expectations.	Hold customers to high standards
We’re a small agency by design, which means our capacity is limited. So we choose to support projects with the greatest positive impact.
Global
We embrace diversity, inclusivity, and a broad international perspective. We’re open to international staff and stakeholders.	Excel remotely
We’re a globally distributed team, with members across three continents. We don’t care where you choose to live and work, as long as you produce exceptional results.
Impact-focused
We prioritize actions and decisions that drive meaningful, positive outcomes.	Hedge our bets
Emerging technologies, like AI and engineered pathogens, sure are scary — but so is climate change, global poverty, and factory farming. We support projects across a range of cause areas, as long as they’re doing great work.

Theory of change

A theory of change (”ToC”) explicitly articulates the cause-and-effect steps for how your organization can turn inputs into a desired impact on the world.

A theory of change generally includes:
- Inputs: Which activities the organization does to create change (e.g. “Distribute bednets”).
- Outputs: The tangible effects generated by the inputs (e.g. “Beneficiaries have access to malaria nets”).
- Outcomes: The outputs’ effects, including benefits for the beneficiary (e.g. “Reduced incidence of malaria").
- Goal: The impact you’re ultimately hoping to achieve — and why the outcomes matter (e.g. “X lives saved”).
Once you’ve established a theory of change, it’s important to determine how measurable each step is. For example, the number of bednets distributed and the number of cases of malaria in the population.
Consider this example of a theory of change from J-PAL, which uses uses cash transfers to increase child immunization rates in India.

J-PAL’s theory of change example

**A theory of change is even more persuasive if it includes assumptions and evidence for each step. This is not essential when you are just starting out, but it can often be highly useful for choosing the most effective path to your organization’s goal(s).**

Here’s an example of a theory of change from Charity Entrepreneurship, which launches high-impact nonprofits by connecting entrepreneurs with effective ideas, expert training, and funding.

Charity Entrepreneurship’s theory of change

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