Our vision, mission and values

Our vision is to see strong, healthy, diverse and thriving communities. 

Our mission is to strengthen and champion Dorset’s voluntary and community sector (VCS).

Our strategic goals

  • Empower VCS organisations to deliver high-quality services sustainably.
  • Enhance collaboration and influence to improve community well-being.
  • Increase volunteer engagement and positive impact.
  • Strengthen the (VCS) infrastructure through member-led leadership.
  • Promote equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Why? We believe everyone deserves to live happy, healthy lives in a good society that promotes fairness and social justice.

Our values inform our actions

Co-produced by trustees and staff, and aspiring to NCVO Charity Ethical Principle, they demonstrate the behaviour we expect from ourselves and others.

You will see us being collaborative, compassionate and inspirational, and acting with integrity and respect.

They are all important – so we share them alphabetically:

Z

Collaborative

  • We are clear about our vision and mission as an organisation;
  • Proactively involving members and stakeholders in our work, enabling their views and experiences to be listened to and taken into account;
  • Developing our policies with our members in mind;
  • Being committed to collaboration and partnership working.
Z

Compassionate

  • You will see us being kind and compassionate to each other and everyone we meet;
  • Creating an inclusive culture, where people’s wellbeing and mental health are valued and promoted;
  • Standing against abuse of trust and power, including bullying, intimidation, harassment, discrimination or victimisation;
  • Being an open organisation, where everyone can see how we work, deal with problems and spend funds.
Z

Inspirational

  • You will see us being outward-looking, bold and proactive;
  • Empowering our sector and being passionate about their worth;
  • Challenging the status quo to make a positive difference in our local community;
  • Being relentless in our mission to achieve our vision;
  • Remaining independent and professional;
  • Being a role model for best practice.
Z

Integrity

  • You will see us behaving ethically and upholding the highest levels of institutional integrity and personal conduct at all times;
  • Being honest and accountable to our members and stakeholders;
  • Having good governance and systems in place to ensure all decisions are robust, defensible and free from conflicts of interest;
  • Considering the effects of activities conducted in private life on the reputation of the charity and of our sector in general;
  • Ensuring our resources are managed responsibly.
Z

Respect

  • You will see us being sensitive to the impact of our activities on both the natural and human environment;
  • Celebrating diversity – valuing people from all different cultures, backgrounds and races for the uniqueness that makes everyone an important part of the community;
  • Promoting equality of opportunity – understanding that some groups may face additional barriers, and take steps to remove them;
  • Supporting our staff and volunteers to reach their full potential.