By: Carrie Fox, Mission Partners CEO

As a purpose-driven B Corporation^TM, our values are the heart and soul of our company. They drive our growth and inform our hiring processes.  But it’s easy for those words to become empty promises if we’re not holding ourselves accountable to them.

So, this fall, we decided to go a layer deeper on the values that guide our work. We led our staff through a process we often do for our clients.  And in doing so, we were able to solidify certain key values while strengthening others. I’m proud to share them with you here:

• We value people first.We are more than what happens during our office hours. We are people first, and we strive to show a deep respect for human beings inside and outside our company.
• We value equity. We acknowledge that our current social, economic, and political systems are unjust, predominantly due to a history of racism and oppression. We marshal our resources to advance equitable opportunities and outcomes for all.
• We value integrity. We are honest, open, ethical, and fair. People trust us to adhere to our word, and we work hard to earn and maintain that trust.
• We value kindness. We are guided by gratitude, and we take extra measures to appreciate one another.
• We value courageous leadership. We act with courage, challenge the status quo, and find new ways to grow our company and each other.
• We value progress. We are continuously moving forward, innovating, and improving.  We do this work because we believe in it and we allow that belief to inspire our actions.

We know with certainty that when we live these values—fully and universally across our team— we can achieve our greatest impact, and 2019 was a solid reminder of that.

• We supported more than 30 nonprofit organizations, foundations and social enterprises who are advancing breakthroughs in children’s health, housing, education, journalism, technology, and the workforce, and who share our commitment to building a more just and inclusive society. Read more about our work here.

• We re-engineered our own financial investments to be impact-oriented, in line with our core values and with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

• We hosted a powerful community conversation on the soaring maternal mortality rates among Black and Brown women in the United States—led by and featuring the experiences of Black women. Learn more about Hear Her: A Call to Action on Maternal Mortality.

• We created communications tools designed for social impact professionals to lead systems change efforts through an anti-racist framework. Stay tuned for opportunities to access these tools in 2020.

• We partnered with Slack, The Last Mile, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation who trusted us to document the findings from their inaugural cohort of Next Chapter, a bold and transformative initiative to help formerly incarcerated individuals secure wealth-building jobs in tech. Read their powerful story in this week’s edition of The Atlantic.

• We launched an application-based Social Impact Fellows program at Loyola University Maryland. Ten students agreed to a year of vulnerability as we worked together to identify inequities where we live, learn, work, and serve, and then spent the rest of our cohort year using Design Thinking to address and advocate for more equitable programs and policies within their institution. Learn more and listen to the students closing presentation here.

• We cemented our commitment to build a more just and inclusive society by joining on as a founding signatory of #WeTheChange, 400+ women leaders of certified B Corporations and other purpose-driven enterprises who share our belief that capitalism should work for everyone, and for the long-term. Read more about our commitment to building business as a force for good at wethechange.net.

The work we do each day— on behalf of our clients and partners— is at its most powerful when we live these values. In 2020, we intend to go deeper still, working to align our business intentionally with the UN Sustainability Goals, and further advance our commitment to high-impact initiatives that lead to a more just and inclusive society. If you’re interested in doing the same, I hope you’ll drop me a line ([email protected]) so we can take on this important work together.

To each of our clients, and to every one of you, I thank you for your impact and for the purpose you bring to our work, every day.

Wishing you peace and love in the New Year.

Carrie Fox

On behalf of our clients, friends and colleagues, Mission Partners has made a monetary contribution to The Next Mile and The National Birth Equity Collaborative for their transformational impact on us, and our year.