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  • 18 - Nonprofits as Creators of Transformative Symbolic Reality

  • from Part III - New Directions
  • Edited by Eva Witesman, Brigham Young University, Utah, Curtis Child, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • Book:
    Reimagining Nonprofits
    Published online:
    11 January 2024
    Print publication:
    01 February 2024, pp 353-371

  • Summary

    Ressler introduces a sociological theory of transformative symbolic reality to illuminate a specific, but often overlooked, impact of the nonprofit sector that is directly tied to improving the quality of life for individuals and groups within society. Grounded in the sociology of communities and nonprofit theory, transformative symbolic reality states that society reproduces itself or changes through social reality, and that social reality can be purposefully manipulated to challenge the forces of inequity. Specifically, individuals or organizations can create both the physical and metaphysical spaces in which people manifest and manipulate social norms, expectations, and behaviors in an inter-relational way that generates transformative social capital. Through the lens of transformative symbolic reality, the chapter conceptualizes the nonprofit sector as a wellspring of this overlooked public good and argues that it is this transformative aspect of the nonprofit sector that undergirds connections between nonprofit organizations and any long-term social impact.