The Role of Nonprofit Organizations in the Good Society: The Case of Forsyth Futures, Forsyth County, North Carolina, USA

Many sociologists have opined about the composition of good societies. Opinions tend either to be philosophical, abstract, and longterm or address specific, short-term social-change activities (e.g., passing a specific law, changing elected officials, influencing policy makers/authorities, etc.) Similarly, urban planners envision good societies as those with well-thought-out physical environments that seek to maximize safe and effective city spaces while minimizing under-used and deteriorated neighborhoods. For the urban planner, the look of the city, including such features as zoning and building locations, is the key element of the good society. Rarely are the opinions focused on the practical aspects of creating a good society in the present (i.e., strategies and resources that can add incremental progress toward the attainment of the good society today). There are limited descriptions of the role an organization that is an “honest broker” of community data and information, like Forsyth Futures, can play in making such a society a reality. Additionally, as urban and regional areas compete to maintain existing business and industrial entities in their locales and to attract new ones, the role of this honest broker of community data and information in the development of a working competitive advantage for any locality cannot be overemphasized.