Recovery Capacity of Small Nonprofits in Post-2017 Hurricane Puerto Rico

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings Although planners today generally agree that nonprofits should be involved in postdisaster recovery planning, they lack insight into the capacity of nonprofits to be engaged in recovery and whether this capacity differs by organization type. This could lead to the marginalization of small nonprofits in planning, affecting social capital formation and the sustainability of recovery plans. Using data from field research and a survey of registered nonprofits in Puerto Rico after the 2017 Hurricanes Maria and Irma, we compared the recovery capacity of small versus medium/large nonprofits. Our study shows that small nonprofits experienced lower levels of operational impact than medium/large ones but also reported lower levels of postdisaster grant funding and attended fewer postdisaster networking events and workshops. Our study also shows that small nonprofits desire additional training and technical assistance to engage with broader recovery institutions. Planners can help by providing such training and promoting networking between small and larger organizations to encourage institutional learning. Takeaway for practice Community-based recovery planning benefits from engaging with small nonprofits because they typically have greater connection and interest in local matters. Our study shows that small nonprofits may not have the capacity to engage in recovery despite wanting to do so. Planners can help small nonprofits to be better engaged in recovery by helping to build their capacity through pre-event training in disaster recovery, facilitating pre- and postdisaster workshops on recovery financing, and facilitating pre- and postdisaster networking.