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.