Nonprofit capacities and emergency management during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from a Taiwan-based international nonprofit organization

Chin-Chang Tsai, PhD; ChiaKo Hung, PhD; Wei-Ning Wu, PhD

doi:10.5055/jem.0647

Authors

Chin-Chang Tsai, PhD
ChiaKo Hung, PhD
Wei-Ning Wu, PhD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7113-7923

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.0647

Keywords:

emergency management, nonprofit capacity, collaboration, pandemic response

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have been struggling to maintain their operations, while others are able to coordinate with partners to provide programs and services locally and globally. This study explores how NPOs are able to survive and actively engage in local and global COVID-19 responses by investigating the organizational capacities of the Tzu Chi Foundation, a Taiwan-based international NPO. This study employs interview data and secondary data from a variety of sources to answer the research questions. Through this case study, we find that Tzu Chi Foundation’s capacity to coordinate local and global COVID-19 issues quickly, broadly, and effectively can be attributed to three main factors: (1) clear mission and charismatic leadership, (2) rich experience of disaster relief and recovery strategies, and (3) committed and active volunteers. Moreover, we find that financial management capacity and adaptive capacity are two crucial kinds of capacity for enabling the Tzu Chi Foundation to survive and continuously engage in emergency responses during the pandemic. We conclude with implications for future nonprofit capacity and emergency management research.

Author Biographies

Chin-Chang Tsai, PhD

Institute of Public Affairs Management, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

ChiaKo Hung, PhD

Public Administration Program, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii

Wei-Ning Wu, PhD

Institute of Public Affairs Management, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

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