Original title: Natural Disasters and the Nonprofit Sector
Mayleen Cortez-Rodriguez · September 2026
Natural disasters hurt people, communities, and whole economies. Nonprofits help areas recover from these disasters and play a big part in local economies. Yet, researchers rarely study how disasters affect these organizations. Past studies suggested that natural disaster damageThe physical harm or destruction caused by natural disasters. might link to small increases in nonprofit revenue or assets. To test this, researchers analyzed county-level data from 1991 to 2021. They used special statistical tools designed to track changes across counties and years to see if disaster damage actually causes changes in nonprofit outcomesMeasures like revenue or assets that show how well nonprofits are doing.. Surprisingly, they found no evidence of any causal effect. Even though earlier studies saw a slight positive link between damage and nonprofit money, natural disasters do not actually cause changes in nonprofit revenue or assets.
You're part of a community club that funds local projects. After a big storm, you assume people will donate more to help, so you prepare for a surge in support. But when the money comes in, it's exactly the same as before. In this paper, researchers studied whether natural disasters cause nonprofits to get more revenue, and they found no proof that they do, much like your club didn't see an increase in donations after the storm.
Nonprofits help communities recover after disasters, but this study suggests they don't get more resources because of the disaster. This matters because if nonprofits can't increase their capacity during crises, recovery might be slower or harder.
The study is based on U.S. county-level data from 1991 to 2021, so it may not apply to other countries or time periods. It only examines revenue and assets as nonprofit outcomes, not other aspects like service provision or community impact.
Ask anything about this paper. Answers come from its abstract, and say so when the abstract doesn't cover your question.
Natural Disasters and the Nonprofit Sector — Mayleen Cortez-Rodriguez
Abstract licence: CC0
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper. This is a preprint, so it hasn't necessarily been peer reviewed.