A Special, Set-Apart Place No Longer?

Abstract

Preoccupation with the "blurring of boundaries" is often framed as a concern to preserve the functions of nonprofit organizations as separate from private business and government, but is better understood as a sign of ontological uncertainty. The discourse of mission and meaning in contemporary nonprofit organizations is investigated by a rhetorical analysis of newsletters published by 21 nonprofit organizations over a five-year period. The findings demonstrate the decohering tendencies of postmodernism. These rhetorical accommodations illustrate a unique double-bind that constrains nonprofits in their pursuit of their special place in the social order—in other words, their search for legitimacy.