The Role of Smaller Nonprofit Human Service organizations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from England and Wales

Through four qualitative case studies, we explore how smaller nonprofit human service organizations (SNHSOs) in England and Wales responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and consider the implications for state-nonprofit relations. SNHSOs pandemic response was immediate, dynamic, flexible, and adaptive in response to urgent needs. They supported communities most severely affected by the pandemic due to factors such as health, economic status, geography race, and ethnicity. Whereas several theories of state-nonprofit relations position the relationship as relatively settled at an organizational level, we argue for greater attention to how these relationships can be fluid, dynamic, and subject to change over time. During times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, smaller nonprofits are typically first responders to urgent needs, but larger public sector organizations are likely to play a more central role as time progresses.Smallness confers limited organizational hierarchy and minimal bureaucracy, which enables smaller nonprofits to respond dynamically and flexibly during crises to meet urgent and developing needs. Larger, more bureaucratic and hierarchical organizations take longer to respond to crises and can be less flexible due to their size.Smaller nonprofits often work with people who were most severely and acutely affected by crises due to factors such as health, economic status, geographic location, race, and ethnicity. These groups tend to be less well-served by mainstream human services provided by public sector bodies and larger nonprofits.Partnership and collaboration between smaller and large nonprofits and public bodies, that maximizes the strengths of each and mitigates their weaknesses, is vital for an effective and well-coordinated crisis response.