Writing a Vision Statement Meeting Agenda(50 minutes)Purpose of activity:This is an exercise to help your coalition create a shared idea about what you hope to accomplish together.

A vision statement is a sentence, or up to a few sentences, that sets out your ultimate goal and shows the meaningfulness of your work to the world. A vision statement should highlight your coalitions aspirations for the kind of change you want to achieve and provide motivation for others to join your cause.

Materials needed:

Flip chart MarkersPart 1: Sharing your ideas (20 minutes)

Have a large group discussion about the following questions. Write your answers on a flip chart.

What is the mission of our coalition?

What values, beliefs or other important ideas do we want our work to reflect?

What will happen if we are successful?

Part 2: Refining your ideas (10 minutes)

As a large group, look over your flip charts and highlight any key words or phrases, or important ideas, which you want to include in the vision. Make note of any themes that emerge.

Part 3: Creating the vision (20 minutes)

Use the highlighted key words and phrases to come up with one to three sentences that describe:

The importance of the issue you are addressing.

What positive change you hope to see because you are addressing the issue.

How everyone can be a part of the change you hope to see.

Tips: Use basic, clear language that everyone can understand. Avoid complicated words and jargon.

Keep it simple. A vision statement does not need to be long or fancy to be powerful.

Think about whether your vision statement would appeal to different kind of people. Who would feel excited by your vision statement? Who might feel left out?