Synonyms
Definition
A shift in the fundamental public purpose of a nonprofit or nongovernmental organization.
Introduction
Nonprofits exist to pursue specific public purposes, their missions. A nonprofit mission thus serves as justification for all nonprofit activities and as the source of their legitimacy. It occupies the dominant position for justifying nonprofit activities, defining nonprofit social value, distinguishing the sector, and establishing differentiation between organizations. Missions influence strategy, goals, programs, and motivation and mobilization of stakeholders. Nonprofit missions are most clearly visible in formal mission statements but may also appear in other formal or informal forms. Formal mission statements are written as nonprofits are founded and serve as critical documents in applications for tax exemption. These statements may later be revised, but even when they remain intact, a nonprofit’s mission may...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Berlan DG (2013) Taking nonprofits at their word: the role of conflict over mission in organizational change and response to environmental pressures. Public Administration – Dissertations. Syracuse University: Paper 89. http://surface.syr.edu/ppa_etd/89
DiMaggio PJ, Powell WW (1983) The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. Am Sociol Rev 48(2):147–160
Froelich KA (1999) Diversification of revenue strategies: evolving resource dependence in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit Volunt Sect Q 28(3):246–268
Hwang H, Powell WW (2009) The rationalization of charity: the influences of professionalism in the nonprofit sector. Adm Sci Q 54(2):268–298
Jones MB (2007) The multiple sources of mission drift. Nonprofit Volunt Sect Q 36(2):299–307
Koch BJ, Galaskiewicz J, Pierson A (2015) The effect of networks on organizational missions. Nonprofit Volunt Sect Q 44(3):510–538
Meyer JW, Rowan B (1977) Institutionalized organizations: formal structure as myth and ceremony. Am J Sociol 83(2):340–363
Minkoff DC, Powell WW (2006) Nonprofit mission: constancy, responsiveness, or deflection. In: Powell WW, Steinberg R (eds) The nonprofit sector: a research handbook. Yale University Press, New Haven, pp 591–611
Moore MH (2000) Managing for value: organizational strategy in for-profit, nonprofit, and governmental organizations. Nonprofit Volunt Sect Q 29(s1): 183–208
Padaki V (2000) Coming to grips with organisational values. Dev Pract 10(3):420–435
Phills JA (2005) Integrating mission and strategy for nonprofit organizations. Oxford University Press, New York
Voss GB, Cable DM, Voss ZG (2000) Linking organizational values to relationships with external constituents: a study of nonprofit professional theatres. Organ Sci 11(3):330–347
Young DR (2001) Organizational identity in nonprofit organizations: strategic and structural implications. Nonprofit Manag Leadersh 12(2):139–157
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Berlan, D. (2016). Mission Change in Nonprofit Organizations. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2604-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2604-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences