The nonprofit sector plays a critical role in society. Nonprofits are essential to the well-being and vibrancy of our communities. They are also regarded as a “critical civic infrastructure” that is essential for the delivery of a range of social services that are key to the livelihoods of the young and elderly, the disabled, those suffering from debilitating illnesses, and those living in poverty within our communities. Not only do nonprofits complement government in the provision of social services, they often are contracted by government agencies to provide many critical public social services. So what happens when these organizations are thrust into a disrupted environment with greatly expanded roles during and after a disaster? How prepared are they to recover and respond in these roles and what level of assurance can we give to their response?
This report summarizes results from a survey administered in spring 2018 to 501(c)(3) charitable benefit nonprofit organizations across Oregon. The survey was developed by Portland State University in collaboration with the City Club of Portland’s Earthquake Report Advocacy Committee (CCERAC) and the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO), following Sutton & Tierney’s (2006) and Ritchie, Tierney, & Gilbert’s (2010) classification and previous survey. The survey results are also very informative with respect to the challenges and barriers to disaster preparedness that nonprofits currently face, and the kinds of assistance they would need to be able to adequately prepare for major disasters.
In disaster preparedness, there is a focus on protecting critical infrastructure – the physical systems that provide support, life safety, and public health. Infrastructure is usually understood as the “hard” systems we rely on: water and wastewater utilities, electricity, transportation, communication, and hospitals for example. Nonprofits serve the same role and are often viewed as critical civic infrastructure. They are already embedded in our communities and their capacity for disaster resilience requires further development, as Oregon continues to face the threat of major or catastrophic disasters like the CSZ earthquake, frequent wildfires, “heat dome” events as well as other disasters.