The Importance of Mission Statements for Corporate Community Involvement Programs

A well developed mission statement is the first step in creating and managing a successful volunteer/community involvement program. Companies need to "set the stage" by defining how, and to what degree, they plan on encouraging, promoting and supporting their employees' community service initiatives. Mission statements should try to accomplish three things: state why the company values volunteerism; outline what the company sees as the benefits that will be generated for the community, employees and business, as a result of volunteering; and suggest how the company will support employee volunteers.

Research shows only 45% of companies that support formal corporate volunteer programs maintain mission statements relating to volunteerism. Corporate value statements that mention community involvement or corporate citizenship are not the same thing as volunteer mission statements. Companies need to go farther than simply state they believe in or support volunteers. If companies wish to establish and maintain a truly "formal" corporate volunteer program, then like any other "formal" business function, they need to develop a comprehensive mission statement that touches on and includes those three components listed above.

Excerpts taken from "Corporate Volunteerism Innovative Practices for the 21st Century" published by LBG Associates.

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