Date of Award

9-16-2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Rhetoric and Writing

First Advisor

Huey Crisp

Abstract

In this investigation, I analyzed the websites of three community foundations and interviewed communications personnel from each foundation to determine how and to what extent their websites address the rhetorical challenges implied by ongoing changes in the field that necessitate a more collaborative, community-oriented approach. The stated key messages of the personnel I interviewed emphasize community involvement and partnership, yet their comments indicate that they view their websites as tools for informing rather than interacting. The sites' structure and functionality foreground institutional information and push community-oriented and interactive content to the periphery. Additionally, the sites' formal language and use of institutional jargon reinforce the impression that community foundations are merely banks for charity rather than active community partners. By re-envisioning the purposes of their websites to incorporate more interactivity and foreground community-oriented content, and by revising their language to create a more friendly, collaborative discourse, these community foundations--and likely others--can increase their websites' capacity to facilitate their community leadership goals.

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