NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN POST-DISASTER RECOVERY: A STUDY OF ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES IN HURRICANE SANDY’S AFTERMATH IN NEW JERSEY by Paolo Cavaliere A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Affairs and Public Policy Spring 2020 © 2020 Paolo Cavaliere All Rights Reserved NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN POST-DISASTER RECOVERY: A STUDY OF ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES IN HURRICANE SANDY’S AFTERMATH IN NEW JERSEY by Paolo Cavaliere Approved: __________________________________________________________ Maria Aristigueta, DPA Director of the Joseph Biden Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration Approved: __________________________________________________________ John Pelesko, PhD Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Approved: __________________________________________________________ Douglas J. Doren, PhD Interim Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education and Dean of the Graduate College I certify that I have read this dissertation, and that in my opinion, it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: __________________________________________________________ James Kendra, PhD Professor in charge of dissertation I certify that I have read this dissertation, and that in my opinion, it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: __________________________________________________________ Andrea Pierce, PhD Member of dissertation committee I certify that I have read this dissertation, and that in my opinion, it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: __________________________________________________________ John McNutt, PhD Member of dissertation committee I certify that I have read this dissertation, and that in my opinion, it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: __________________________________________________________ Fausto Marincioni, PhD Member of dissertation committee ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is the end of a long journey that started in 2012, when I visited the Disaster Research Center and the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration. I knew that this place would become my home for four years. I say, ”thank you” to my parents. They supported me in every moment of my life. Without them, nothing could have been possible. Even during my toughest time in the last days at the University of Delaware, they were there with me. Thank you to the chair of my dissertation committee, Dr. James Kendra. Throughout my career, Dr. Kendra has been an example of an endless source of knowledge and inspiration for my future career. I am grateful for his constant support, and the time he devoted to me when working on my dissertation. Without his guidance and persistent help, this dissertation would not have been possible. I express my gratitude to the members of my committee, Dr. Andrea Sarzynski, Dr. John McNutt and Dr. Fausto Marincioni. I am very thankful for all inputs and suggestions while completing this dissertation. In addition, a thank you to Professors Anthony Middlebrooks, James Morrison, Karen Stein and Jane Case, who introduced me to Leadership. You taught me a lot how to be a better teacher, an inspiring person and a great leader. iv A special thank you to my fellow friends, brothers and sisters, without whom I would not have survived the four years at the University of Delaware. With them, I built a strong and everlasting friendship. Tshilidzi, Cristina, John, Yuliya, Naveed and Hira, thank you for everything! v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ ix LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ x ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 Nonprofit organizations: scope of assistance after Hurricane Sandy .......... 6 Significance of the work ............................................................................... 8 Structure of the dissertation ....................................................................... 10 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................. 12 Nonprofit organizations .................................................................................... 12 Theories of Nonprofits: government failure, market failure, social capital ..... 15 Government failure ..................................................................................... 15 Market failure ............................................................................................. 17 Social capital .............................................................................................. 18 Findings from the disaster literature .......................................................... 20 Advocacy .......................................................................................................... 22 Theoretical frameworks for the development of advocacy ......................... 26 Resource Mobilization Theory ................................................................... 26 Resource Dependence Theory .................................................................... 27 Political Opportunity Structures ................................................................ 28 Nonprofit advocacy organizations ............................................................. 30 3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .............................................................................. 36 Conceptual framework ............................................................................... 39 4 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................... 45 Research design ................................................................................................ 45 Selection of case context ............................................................................. 47 Sampling subjects ....................................................................................... 50 Selecting subjects for interviews ................................................................ 51 Selecting subjects for survey ...................................................................... 52 vi Data collection .................................................................................................. 53 Interviews ................................................................................................... 53 Observations ............................................................................................... 55 Documents, archival records, artifacts and other secondary data ............ 56 Online Survey ............................................................................................. 57 Coding ........................................................................................................ 59 Limitations of data collection ..................................................................... 59 5 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS: ORGANIZATIONAL FEATURES, STRUCTURES, CHANGES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ADVOCACY .... 61 Overview of organizations involved in Hurricane Sandy disaster ................... 61 Sandy’s impact and changes to structures and resources ................................. 73 Emergence and disappearance .......................................................................... 81 Implications for advocacy ................................................................................ 83 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 87 6 NETWORKS, COALITIONS AND SOCIAL CAPITAL: BETWEEN COLLABORATION AND COMPETITION .................................................. 91 Overview of nonprofit networks and coalitions ............................................... 92 Uncovering social capital ............................................................................... 102 Conclusions .................................................................................................... 106 7 FUNDING ADVOCACY AND ADVOCACY FOR FUNDING ................. 109 Diversity of sources of funding ...................................................................... 110 Between public and private ............................................................................ 116 Hurricane Sandy’s impact on funding ............................................................ 124 Advocacy for funding ..................................................................................... 125 Conclusions .................................................................................................... 129 8 POLITICS AND BUREAUCRACY OF HURRICANE SANDY ................ 134 Introduction .................................................................................................... 134 Nonprofits’ perceptions of the political climate ......................................