Crisis Management and Planning in Portuguese Nonprofit Organizations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has created several challenges for all organizations. However, Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs), due to their unique specificities, when compared to other types of organizations, face unique challenges. NPOs are extremely vulnerable during crisis, although the literature suggests that it is not known to what extent these organizations are prepared to deal with crises and have proper crisis management and planning strategies. Given this literature gap, this research aims to better understand the impact of this crisis on Portuguese NPOs through the research question: What is the impact of a crisis like COVID-19 on NPOs’ perceptions of crisis management and planning? A mixed method is used, including document analysis, qualitative interviews, and a quantitative methodology through a questionnaire survey. Study 1 provides an explanation on why Portuguese NPOs had no planning and were unprepared to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Study 2, comprising a larger sample, diagnoses and suggests an insufficient level of planning and preparedness as the main finding, substantiated by the lack of planning activities, teams, infrastructures, and communication practices. The findings of each study, implications, and avenues for future research are addressed.