The Big Idea

Nonprofits are suffering from dangerous mission creep, expanding far beyond their core expertise in ways that undermine their effectiveness and impact.

Why it Matters

When organizations try to do everything, they often accomplish nothing. This phenomenon is particularly damaging in today's polarized environment, where taking positions on every issue narrows your coalition and reduces your ability to create change.

Context You Need

Greg Berman, former head of the Center for Justice Innovation, initially resisted creating a mission statement for his organization. But after watching countless nonprofits struggle with organizational discipline, he's changed his tune. His new book "The Nonprofit Crisis: Leadership Through the Culture Wars" argues that precise mission statements are essential guardrails against scope creep.

The Evidence

Recent examples of mission creep abound:

• Planned Parenthood issued a Gaza statement that pleased no one, including their own staff.

• The Wende Museum (focused on Cold War artifacts) announced plans to build homeless housing.

• The Sunrise Movement (climate) started hosting police defunding trainings.

Research backs up the risks. Political scientist Matt Grossmann found that groups like the ACLU and Sierra Club historically "performed way above their organizational weight" because of their strong single-issue reputations that differentiated them from generic partisan positions.

What's Driving This

Berman identifies several culprits behind the "disease of more":

• Funder Pressure: Foundations favor short cycles and project funding, incentivizing new program creation

• Success Syndrome: Successful initiatives face pressure to scale or expand

• Compassion Overreach: Daily exposure to systemic failures makes nonprofits want to "jump into the breach" everywhere

• Progressive Bundling: Modern activism expects organizations to take stances on all progressive causes

The Cost

When climate organizations also take positions on Gaza, policing, and trans rights, they effectively signal they're partisan organizations. This dramatically shrinks their potential coalition. As researcher Jeremiah Johnson notes: "Your issue ceases to be something that people across the ideological spectrum can work together on."

What Smart Leaders Do

• Craft sharp mission statements that function like the U.S. Constitution—providing clear boundaries while allowing flexibility.

• Embrace institutional neutrality on issues outside their expertise (following the University of Chicago's 1967 Kalven Report).

• Say no strategically to well-meaning staff and funders pushing scope expansion.

• Focus on core competencies rather than trying to solve every problem they encounter.

The Bottom Line

Many nonprofits would accomplish more by publicly committing to do less. A narrow focus isn't a limitation—it's a competitive advantage that preserves organizational effectiveness and maximizes impact.

Go Deeper

• Read The Nonprofit Crisis: Leadership Through the Culture Wars by Greg Berman