Literacy Basics - Community Literacy of Ontario

Your Mission Statement or Statement of Purpose

Mission statements or statements of purpose are often underused tools. Many of our agencies have spent time, effort and money developing these statements, only to have them lead a static existence in a frame or drawer. What is your mission statement? Is it current? Relevant? How does it relate to your day-to-day activities? An effective mission statement should play an important role in our reflection because the marketing we undertake should align us more closely with our mission. Our mission or purpose should keep us – and our marketing – pointed in the right direction.

The mission statement is a pre-developed tool that we bring into our marketing plan. As you know, the mission statement's purpose is twofold: it is a public articulation of your agency's goals, and it determines whether or not new ideas fall within the scope of your particular literacy agency. A mission statement should help to define the guidelines for a marketing plan, and in turn, the marketing plan should implement the mission statement. Marketing brings the mission statement off the plaque and into the three-dimensional realm of execution.

If your mission statement is in need of some tweaking or a major overhaul, check out:
nonprofit.about.com/od/nonprofitbasics/a/mission.htm.

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Your Strategic Plan

If you have a strategic plan or even the beginnings of one, your plan will influence your marketing decisions. Where are you heading in the next one to three years? What are your strategic planning goals? How will your marketing further these goals and objectives?

For more information on this important topic, check out Community Literacy of Ontario's online self-directed training module on strategic planning at www.nald.ca/litweb/province/on/litbasic/strategc/intro/01.htm.

Staff, Volunteer and Learner Experience

Remember that no single person has to make all of the marketing decisions. Ask your staff, students and volunteers about your programs. Often a staff member will mention something in passing. Volunteers often bring valuable external perspective. Do you have a place to record important observations and insights? Hold an open forum with learners. Do they know your agency's mission statement? What do they think would positively contribute to the programs offered by your agency?

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Program Evaluation

All literacy agencies perform some evaluation of their programs, and the analysis of this material should influence marketing decisions and directions. One of the many benefits of CIPMS (Continuous Improvement Performance Management System) is that we can use our findings to promote our programs. By deliberately and comprehensively tracking our results and continuously working towards improvement, we can highlight exactly what we do well and areas that need improvement. If you feel that you could learn more about this process, please visit Community Literacy of Ontario's online self-directed training module on Program Evaluation at www.nald.ca/litweb/province/on/litbasic/evaluate/program/01.htm.

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