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For non-profits, there is a fine balance to strike between adhering to the scope of the mission, and offering services that are needed in the community.
For example, an organization may have a mission to identify new cases of HIV and connect them to care. In order to do that the organization provides HIV testing. However, a barrier to doing this is that the clients who could benefit from this service are hungry, and unable to sit through the assessment and test. Therefore an organization may decide to start offering a small meal so that clients can be comfortable during the test. By providing services that are ancillary to the mission but needed in order to achieve the mission, this organization doesn’t get distracted from the original mission—they are not working on becoming a soup kitchen—they are merely addressing a more pressing human need that their clients experience. In this way, they are preventing mission creep while being responsive to the needs of their community.
Unfortunately, it can be difficult for some organizations to prevent mission creep. This is due to a few reasons. First, leadership can be pulled in a lot of directions. They may have competing interests and priorities, or people who influence them, like funders and legislators, who may put pressure on them to shape their organization in certain ways. In addition, if you’re in the “helping” business, the needs are great and it can be tempting try and meet them all. This urge can be especially strong in a world that embraces a one-stop shop model, where a client can access everything under one agency. While this can be good for the client, it shouldn't be the only way to meet their needs. In other words, an agency shouldn’t have to compromise it’s mission to be everything to every client. Another way to meet client needs can be forming strong partnerships with other organizations who do work that complements, but doesn’t mirror your work. This way each organization can remain the strongest in their respective field, and client care doesn’t have to suffer.
If you want to eat pizza, you go to a pizzeria, not a catch-all restaurant like a diner that has pizza on the menu. This is because if you attempt to do too much, the quality of each thing will suffer. However, if you focus on a singular mission, you can more easily demand and maintain the highest level of service.
How do you manage mission creep while being responsive to the needs of your community? Share your experience with us in the comments below.