How to use ChatGPT to write mission and vision statements for your organization
In Part I of this series I covered the basics of getting started with ChatGPT. In this Part II I want to walk through one practical, high-leverage use that social-service organizations can apply almost immediately: drafting a mission statement and a vision statement.
Most nonprofits I work with put off this exercise for years because it feels like the kind of thing that needs a half-day strategy retreat. ChatGPT doesn’t replace the retreat, but it gets you to a 90%-there first draft in about ten minutes, and that draft is something a board can react to and refine.
Setting up
Head to chat.openai.com and sign in or create a free account. The basic chat interface is enough for everything below.
Why prompt detail matters
The power of ChatGPT comes from knowing what to ask and how to tailor your prompt. A vague prompt produces a generic statement that could belong to any nonprofit. A specific prompt produces something that actually reflects your organization.
Three habits that make a real difference:
- Write a lot, even free-form. The more context you give about your history, your clients, your funding model, and what makes your work distinctive, the more nuanced the output. Don’t worry about polish; the model handles structure.
- Iterate surgically. If 90% of what ChatGPT delivers is acceptable, just tell it which 10% to change. You don’t need to resubmit the whole prompt. ChatGPT remembers the context for the rest of the session.
- Ask it to double-check itself. Tell it explicitly to verify accuracy and avoid plagiarism. When in doubt, generate a response and then summarize it yourself in your own words.
My prompt
Here’s the actual prompt I used to draft mission and vision statements for Gaither Dynamic:
About five years ago I started working at a place called the Charlotte County Homeless Coalition as an HMIS data analyst, helping the organization prevent and end homelessness. Within a year I became CTO for a Continuum of Care operating out of the same building. As CTO I was responsible for all IT, websites, HMIS administration, federal reporting, and working closely with HUD, veterans, chronically homeless people, and survivors of domestic violence.
As I worked more in social services I began to care more about people and how I could impact their lives. After I had trouble at work due to internal stress and too much responsibility, I resigned and started my own company, Gaither Dynamic. I work with quasi-government agencies called Continuums of Care (CoCs), but also some direct-service agencies like the Charlotte County Homeless Coalition. I work for myself building data dashboards for these organizations so they can transparently show the good work they’re doing in the community.
My company focuses on advocating not just for the individuals who need help, but also the organizations that support them. We fill a niche that nobody else does. I created a web form and software that lets client organizations upload federal reports and HMIS data into a Google Sheets database that a Tableau dashboard reads every 24 hours. The whole upload takes about 5 minutes; the dashboard refreshes overnight.
Please write me a mission and vision statement based on this. If you need more information to make it unique, ask. I’m not looking for cookie-cutter language. Feel free to research HUD, HMIS, CoCs, and data dashboards. Double-check your response. Avoid buzzwords but stay clear and concise.
What ChatGPT produced
Mission Statement:
At Gaither Dynamic, we navigate the intricate paths of data to illuminate the labors of organizations fighting homelessness. We enhance the visibility of their endeavors, advocating for both the individuals they support and the organizations themselves. We believe in empowering through knowledge, by making intricate data accessible and actionable.
Vision Statement:
We aspire to stand distinct in the landscape of data interpretation, reshaping the operations of social service organizations. By demystifying data and presenting it in an understandable format, we dream of a world where every act of kindness is acknowledged and all helping hands are guided by the beacon of knowledge to create a community free from homelessness.
Was that 100% perfect? No. But it was 90% of the way there in about a minute, and the parts I disagreed with I asked ChatGPT to revise in follow-up messages instead of starting over.
Doing the same for a client
Once ChatGPT understood the framing, I asked it to do the same exercise for the Charlotte County Homeless Coalition, the organization where I used to work:
These are great. Can you generate similar statements for the Charlotte County Homeless Coalition based on any information you have on the organization?
Mission Statement:
Charlotte County Homeless Coalition is devoted to compassionately addressing homelessness in our community. We provide a supportive environment, practical resources, and targeted services to empower individuals and families towards self-sufficiency and a better future.
Vision Statement:
We strive to foster a community where every individual has access to safe shelter, essential services, and opportunities for personal growth. Our vision is of a Charlotte County free from homelessness, where every resident enjoys the security of a stable home.
Again, a useful starting point. The CCHC’s actual statements (which they wrote separately) are different and more specific, but if you were a board member sitting down to draft from scratch, having this in front of you is a head start.
Where to take it from here
This is just one application. ChatGPT also handles:
- Grant narratives and case-for-support drafts
- Job descriptions
- Board meeting agendas and minutes summaries
- Plain-language explainers of complex federal regulations (HUD, HMIS data standards, CoC NOFO requirements)
- Stakeholder communications and press releases
The pattern is the same every time: give it a lot of context, ask for a draft, iterate surgically, and double-check the output.
If you’d like to talk through how AI could help your organization, you can book a meeting or reach me at gaither.stephens@gaitherdyn.com. I also host a free Slack community at CoC Alliance where people in the field swap notes on AI, dashboards, and federal reporting.
This post originally went out as a Gaither Dynamic email newsletter in June 2023. An HMIS is just a database. It’s what you do with the data that matters.