Picando Piedras: Picking at the Rocks of Social Justice under the Nonprofit Industrial Complex

ABSTRACT In the Nonprofit Industrial Complex (NPIC) is the contemporary manifestation of social service provision in the United States. The question of how activists persist in their work despite the structural barriers the NPIC imposes on social justice organizations has yet to be given a full examination. This grounded theory study relies on interviews with people working in social justice nonprofits and presents themes of survival and critique when working within this structure. The findings indicate that belief in change, personal experiences with social justice, and a non-traditional view of self-care contribute to navigating social justice work in the nonprofit sector.