Vision. Mission. Values.

Developing vision, mission, and values statements is fundamental to the success of lifelong community initiatives, as these will be the guideposts that you'll follow as you build — and share — your Action Plan.

It's not uncommon for organizations to use terms like "vision", "mission", and "values" interchangeably, but each has a specific meaning and purpose in your work.

• Vision explains what the future will look like if your organization achieves all its goals.

• Mission explains why your organization exists — its purpose.

• Values are the guiding principles that shape your decision-making and tell everyone what you care about.

As sources of inspiration, we share a selection of vision and mission statements from Maine's Lifelong Communities:

Note: Below, and throughout our site, underlined text indicates a live link.

• AARP. Age-Friendly Guide. This short guide offer guidance in every aspect of your lifelong community work - from organizing a core team to evaluating change and celebrating success. 

• AARP Roadmap to Livability, a series of 6 workbooks about lifelong community development. Book One of the Roadmap to Livability digs into building your core team.

• Community Toolbox. In addition to the Proclaiming Your Dream section of the Community Tool Box (including the slides to the left), we've found the following websites help us craft vision, mission, and values statements:

• Non-Profit Vision Statements: The Ultimate Guide (Prosper Strategies)

• Writing a Mission Statement vs. a Vision Statement for Nonprofits (video from The Whole Whale)

• Mission and Vision Statements Organizational Toolkit and Crafting Nonprofit Organizational Values (donorbox)