A Message from Our CEO:
SCORE remains dedicated to our mission of fostering vibrant small business communities through mentoring and education. These past few months have taken a toll on many of the small businesses and communities we serve. SCORE’s network of 10,000 volunteer men and women stands ready to support the small business owners we serve. Entrepreneurs are, by nature, courageous and resilient.
Small businesses can and will rebuild, and SCORE is here to help when you need it most.
During these tumultuous times, SCORE’s SLATE mentoring methodology, which all SCORE mentors must know before providing services to our clients, provides continued guidance on how we do business and interact with the business owners we serve:
- Stop and Suspend Judgment
- Listen and Learn
- Assess & Analyze
- Test Ideas & Teach with Tools
- Expectations Setting & Encouraging the Dream
We at SCORE remain committed to applying SLATE in all aspects of how we operate. We will continue to stop and suspend judgment and listen and learn. One of our core values is, “Diversity Matters.” This means that SCORE believes in the importance, value, and power of diversity – diversity of people and diversity of thought – and our Code of Ethics prohibits SCORE from discriminating against any person.
In 2018, SCORE created a volunteer-led Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee. That committee has delivered diversity training to SCORE volunteers across the country and continues to guide SCORE Headquarters and chapters on how we can improve our diversity and inclusion efforts. That committee’s responsibilities remain to:
- Monitor and evaluate the progress of SCORE in creating conditions that advance diversity and inclusion that will best support its mission to foster vibrant small business communities.
- Lead efforts to evaluate and promote a healthy organizational climate, one that reflects the diverse nature of SCORE’s small business clients.
- Offer solutions to assist in the resolution of diversity and inclusion issues.
And we know there are always improvements to be made. One way we achieve this is through open communication. Your perspectives are critical to informing us as we assess and analyze, test, and teach. With your feedback, we can look to SCORE’s future with a renewed focus on inclusion. We will be better equipped to encourage entrepreneurial dreams, so that SCORE can continue to grow and support all business owners.
Now, more than ever, we need your voice to be heard. I invite anyone to share their thoughts and perspectives on how we move forward into the future as One SCORE.
Please share your comments on this form, and we will use this information to make continuous improvements to how we serve all small businesses.
Our Mission
SCORE’s mission is to foster vibrant small business communities through mentoring and education.
Our Vision
We aim to give every person the support they need to thrive as a small business owner.
Our Values
At SCORE, we hold that:
Clients matter
Our clients' success is our success. The quality of their experience at SCORE is the truest measure of our success as an organization.
Small business matters
Small business drives our national economy through business formation, job creation, and wealth building. Small businesses are critical to vibrant communities in our society.
Giving back matters
We are proud to enable volunteers, stakeholders, and sponsors to give back to their communities.
Volunteers matter
Volunteers give freely of their time, energy, and knowledge to help others – and they are pivotal to the continued success of SCORE’s mission. SCORE volunteers donated more than 4.9 million hours of service in 2019 to support their communities. In return, we aim to make their time at SCORE engaging and satisfying.
Experience matters
A volunteer’s experience matters; their relevant knowledge, wisdom, and experience serve our clients through mentorship and education.
Relationships matter
In relationships, we act with integrity, respect, honesty, purpose, and professionalism. We listen with an open mind, encourage, and openly communicate with all people seeking business help from SCORE. Personal, long-term relationships – including those between mentors and business owners – are a driver of small business success.
Diversity matters
We believe in the importance, value, and power of diversity – diversity of people and diversity of thought. Diversity of race, gender, ethnicity, geography, and experience among SCORE volunteers, employees, board members, and clients enables SCORE to effectively execute its mission of helping all small business owners.
Lifelong learning matters
We believe that small business owners who are lifetime learners adapt to change more readily and are more successful. Volunteers as lifelong learners remain relevant and achieve personal satisfaction and growth.
