Competing contexts: The evolution of a nonprofit organization's governance system in multiple environments

Using a historical case study, this article presents an analysis of the evolution of a nonprofit organization and its governance structure as it was transformed from a grassroots and advocacy agency into a multimillion dollar contractor with the state. The case illustrates how board functions, composition, and board management relations significantly changed in response to an environment increasingly organized around government's contracting out for services. The article argues that these changes can be understood as responses to contradictory logics embedded in the nonprofit's environment whereby competing beliefs and ideologies eventually led to the creation of two distinct but loosely coupled organizations.