Lessons from Survivors: Climate Disaster Advice for Nonprofits

A cliffside overlook in Whitesburg, KY, USA, where climate disaster has struck in recent years. — Credit: Joshua Michaels on Unsplash

In July 2022, the Kentucky River swelled to 22 feet above its normal level and put the small town of Whitesburg, KY, under water.

Whitesburg is home to Appalshop, an Appalachian nonprofit dedicated to community storytelling. A beloved regional hub started in 1969, Appalshop found itself at the center of both support and recovery efforts. At the same time the nonprofit was needed by the community it served, it needed help of its own.

Floodwaters swept away some of Appalshop’s library, while other archived materials were severely damaged. Three years later, the nonprofit’s historic building is still not inhabitable—the group is operating out of rented headquarters.

In an interview with NPQ, Chad Hunter, Appalshop’s archive director, remembered the flood, saying, “One thing you don’t hear about in emergency preparedness plans is the human factor—how people are going to feel and how might we support one another. That quickly became the most pressing and interesting part of the lessons we learned from our disaster.”

Health and Safety Concerns

Looking back, Hunter said there are things that Appalshop did well in the wake of the emergency, like bringing people together and giving community members a space to talk about what happened, how they were feeling—and to simply be in community together.

A critical element of disaster preparedness for nonprofits is the ability to continue to receive donations.

“And to be able to share, hey we don’t have this or we don’t have that, and just quickly being able to share information on where [people] can access mutual aid,” Hunter said.

There are other actions that, with the benefit of hindsight, Hunter believes Appalshop could have done differently: “We could have reached out to our greater network to see if there are any mental health professionals working in our circles who would want to come to Appalshop and talk to people. That would have been great and I suspect there would have been somebody who could have helped with that.”

Another lesson Appalshop learned a few days after the flood was that they needed to account for the safety of the volunteers showing up to help. “We were like, oh, we need people who are coming here to get hepatitis and tetanus shots because of the potential unknown contaminants like sharp objects in the water, mud, and silt,” Hunter noted.

The nonprofit quickly partnered with a local health clinic and sent volunteers to the clinic first to make sure their vaccinations were up to date before wading into possibly dangerous or toxic flood waters.

It’s these kinds of unexpected elements that nonprofits need to troubleshoot—and the time to think about them is before climate disaster strikes.

Preparedness and Action

To help cut down on chaos and confusion and get your nonprofit back to serving the community faster, there are two related but distinct plans you can put in place: a disaster preparedness plan and a disaster action plan.

The crux of the preparedness plan is understanding the risks an organization faces from climate change. Is your nonprofit located in or near a floodplain? Is a location that was once tornado-free starting to get severe thunderstorm warnings? Once you know the top threats to your organization, think through how you can mitigate potential damage from those risks.

The good news about creating disaster preparedness and action plans is that you don’t have to go it alone.

Make sure your insurance coverage is sufficient for the evolving climate disasters that may come your way. Then, think through your organization’s real estate and other properties and assets. How can they be fortified to withstand severe weather?

Consider other assets that are critical to your nonprofit’s work. Appalshop’s massive community archive was unfortunately located on the building’s first floor, for example, so it sustained the most flood damage and required a lot of salvaging. What can you do preemptively to prepare your nonprofit’s assets to survive unique weather events?

Don’t forget digital assets. Do you have a sure-fire way to keep sensitive information, your website, data, and other digital assets secure during a natural disaster? Unfortunately, scams spike in the wake of disasters, as scammers prey on vulnerable people desperate for help, so be prepared to spot and address those as well.

As Prepared as Possible

A critical element of disaster preparedness for nonprofits is the ability to continue to receive donations. If the worst happens, chances are your usual donors as well as others will want to help your group during recovery. Have a plan for accepting donations through a bank, sister organization, online platform, or any other way that works for your organization.

Finally, gather gear that will come in handy during a natural disaster. Make sure you have items like emergency kits, bottled water, walkie-talkies for communication when cell service goes down, generators, personal protective equipment, and other helpful items.

“We created an Amazon Wishlist and people were sending us things as well,” Hunter said.

If a disaster strikes nearby that hasn’t impacted your organization and you want to help, consider establishing relationships with local and state authorities.

The preparedness plan ensures that a nonprofit is as prepared as possible for the severe weather events that climate change will continue to bring. The action plan is critical to navigating the aftermath of a disaster.

For each of your nonprofit’s locations, develop a specific and individual plan. Make sure employees know what to do and where to go during a weather emergency. Have a plan for sheltering in place at the organization as well as a plan for handling evacuations.

Your disaster action plan should also include a crisis communications plan that outlines when, where, whether, and how you’ll stay in touch with employees, volunteers, grantees, and the community you serve, as well as whether or not your organization will comment publicly (and who will comment, if so), and how you’ll handle updates moving forward.

Established Resources

The good news about creating disaster preparedness and action plans is that you don’t have to go it alone. The ready.gov platform includes information on emergency response plans, including a template for businesses that helps you create a comprehensive action plan covering everything from evacuations, sheltering in place, and lockdowns to handling medical, fire, and tornado emergencies.

There are also more than 3,000 Local Emergency Planning Committees around the country, and each state’s governor has appointed a State Emergency Response Commission.

When an emergency happens, figure out what entity is in charge of the area’s response so that efforts can be coordinated and carried out within an appropriate chain of command. Typically, federal, state, and local government agencies or authorities are in charge, but they often partner with NGOs in their response efforts.

Members of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) group (like the American Red Cross and United Way) specialize in disaster response. If a disaster strikes nearby that hasn’t impacted your organization and you want to help, consider establishing relationships with local and state authorities as well as NVOAD so you can be ready to hit the ground running when necessary.

The best thing that a nonprofit can do after a natural disaster is what it already does well. If your nonprofit isn’t already involved in temporary housing, animal rescue, or food provision, stepping into a new realm isn’t advisable at this time. There are already organizations in these spaces that will be better suited to help in the immediate aftermath.

Instead, support the organizations already doing this work—or focus on what your organization already does or can do well and go from there. Even if that means relaying information provided by other organizations or offering your resources (think space for storage or community gathering) to other already-involved organizations, you’ll be doing more by doing less when you stay in your established lane.

Climate disasters feel unpredictable. But the more a nonprofit does in advance, the better prepared you’ll be to not only bounce back as an organization, but to continue serving the communities that rely on the important work you do.