During the first wave of widespread COVID-19 outbreak in Korea from February to May 2020, nonprofit organizations throughout the country responded in an efficient and timely manner. Quickly setting up systematic fundraising schemes, they aligned the donations and allocations for funds to be distributed in real-time and handled the crisis in the swiftest way.

But while the fundraising and support programs for COVID-19 response were performing well, how the nonprofits’ existing programs were faring under the pandemic as well as how to estimate the changes they had undergone and, ultimately, how nonprofits should respond to them were questioned.

This study explores the impact of COVID-19 on South Korea’s nonprofit sector soon after its outbreak in early 2020. A survey was initiated to examine the economic and operational situation of nonprofit organizations amidst the pandemic, and the results used as basic data in planning short- and long-term support and shared with the relevant institutions such as the government, private sector, and foundations.