The Blueprints

Would you construct a building without blueprints? Probably not, because your structure may never get off the ground if no one understands what you are trying to create and how to build it. Or your structure could crumble because important elements were missed. You might even find that you end up with a building that is unrecognizable because you have strayed so far from the blueprint.

The mission statement and strategic plan are your blueprints as you build and expand your mentoring program.

The mission

Your mission statement answers "Why are we here?" and "What outcomes do we hope to achieve?". In other words, it states the organization's highest purpose or reason for being. This becomes the guidepost for all plans, decisions and activities related to the program.

The mission statement should succinctly say:

• Who the organization is,
• What it does,
• For whom, and
• Where.

The plan

Your organization not only needs a mission, but also a strategic plan for achieving its mission. Simply put, a strategic plan outlines the organization's strategic goals and objectives, along with a set of detailed steps or tactics to pursue each goal. The strategic plan should simply state:

• What to do,
• Why to do it, and
• How to do it.

If you are looking for examples of strategic plans, search the Mentoring Canada online library.

The strategic plan is a bit different from the program plan. Program planning is like taking a snapshot of the program to provide an overview of your program's entire operations and where they are headed. Strategic planning, by contrast, is an ongoing process that involves examining internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats. Based on this analysis, focused priorities and strategies for reaching these goals are set.

If your mentoring program exists as a stand-alone organization, your board of directors is responsible for establishing the mission statement and strategic plan. With a mentoring program that depends on another organization for its administration, it is important that the program clearly fits within that organization's mission and is included in its strategic plan.

If you are responsible for your program's "blueprints", you can check out more information on mission and planning in the Board Training Module that is included on this website.

Now let's have a look at who will carry out the mission and plan: the workers.

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