By Monica C. Ribeiro
In 2022, the Philanthropy Network for Social Justice (RFJS) turns ten. Taking advantage of the symbolic date, we begin a series of articles designed based on interviews with organizations that are part of the Network, especially those present at the time of creation, addressing contexts, performance, importance and possible futures.
In this first text in the series, we spoke with Ana Valéria Araújo, superintendent of the Brazil Human Rights Fund, and Maria Amália Souza, responsible for the strategic development area of the Casa Fund. Two of the institutions that were present in the conception and implementation of the Network.
Ten years ago, when the RFJS emerged in Brazil, the context in the country brought a little more hope and a horizon of possibilities. Civil society had space to fight for progress, and this place seemed guaranteed. The person who remembers the Brazilian situation is Ana Valéria Araújo.
“The Network was created in a context in which we were looking forward, despite all the violations and inequalities in our society. This context has changed in these ten years. Today we live in a moment of absolute regression in every way, in which things have become more acute. A much more critical moment. This does not mean that the role of civil society is lesser. But in practice, it has been instrumental in resilience. If we are not able to move forward, at least we are not going so far backwards”, he defines.
Ana Valéria recalls that, at the time of the creation of RFJS, social justice philanthropy was practically non-existent in Brazil. There were few foundations and funds that carried out this type of philanthropy. Social responsibility was the term in force in companies, and philanthropy more focused on private social investment was growing.
She assesses that social justice philanthropy has grown in the country, embodied in the Social Justice Philanthropy Network, with the expansion of the number of community foundations and local funds and their ability to impact and support civil society in all regions of the country .
“The few funds for social justice and community foundations that had been operating for ten years understood that they were in a different niche in relation to the philanthropy that prevailed in the country at that time, and that they needed to come together to strengthen themselves, complement their work and give visibility to the relevance of what they did. Creating the Network was the way we found to have a meeting space for this group, which was still working in an incipient and isolated way, and which saw the possibility of getting together, of working together, a chance to strengthen themselves, propose actions joint efforts and advance the development of this very relevant philanthropy. “
Maria Amália agrees with Ana Valéria about the importance of creating the Network to strengthen the funds that were working at that time with social justice philanthropy: “When I knew that a movement was seeking to create a Network like this, I got involved right from the beginning and did part of that initial design. There were about five of us. And we knew that this was a very important political path. What existed in terms of association was GIFE, which brought together especially corporate foundations, Family offices, and which rarely donated to civil society. And the main theme of our funds was to donate, to get the resources into the hands of grassroots groups”, he recalls.
The place of the Network today
Ten years after its foundation, the Network is today a reference for social justice philanthropy in Brazil, emerging as an important actor in the field of Brazilian philanthropy and strengthening the voices of the organizations that comprise it.
Ana Valéria assesses that RFJS now has a great capacity to represent the sector and influence the philanthropic ecosystem in the country, becoming a major actor in the dialogue with private social investment about the need to think about grassroots and in a new way of understanding and measuring impact.
“All of this, which the Network embodies and communicates, makes it an absolutely fundamental actor in drawing the attention of the philanthropic ecosystem to the need to support these rights defense organizations that are at the grassroots, and that are making a difference as a way of moving forward our democracy. To demonstrate that philanthropy cannot be merely welfare-oriented, but rather induces advances by supporting organized civil society so that it advances in the recognition of rights and better living conditions and equality”, he assesses.
Maria Amália says that Fundo Casa was always absolutely sure of the importance of making the Network happen, and articulated itself in the best way possible to make it a reality. “The beginning was not easy, but the Network took off with resources, respect, and this made it an interlocutor. We are a recognized presence today. We are on the map, especially internationally, without a doubt. And in Brazil the Network has also gained a lot of space, it has grown with the addition of new funds since it was designed.”
Ana Valéria also highlights RFJS's ability to make initial concepts more flexible about what type of organizations could become members of the Network, starting to think about the concept of social justice philanthropy in order to see other actors who also work in this field or are potential for action .
“Getting closer to these actors was important to expand the debate on the need to invest more and influence the philanthropic ecosystem so that it invests more in this philanthropy”, she assesses. “The Network must increasingly play a very important role, becoming a political actor with things to say, which the philanthropic sector must necessarily want to hear in order to define strategies, paths, and paths together.”
The Funds and the Network
The interaction and exchange between similar organizations, which operate and/or have a similar worldview, with partner objectives, allows us to understand the social justice philanthropy ecosystem.
“This allows the Brazil Fund to look at this field as complementary. We know what we do, what we don't do and what is being done by other funds, we debate ideas, strategies, and as a result we improve. The Network today is a source of information, a possibility of articulation with similar organizations and which creates more efficient work opportunities, of complementarity, of looking at our issues in a sometimes different way, from the perspective of others. This movement has been fundamental, and as far as possible I have brought more and more people from the Fund's team to participate in the activities, listen, share,” says Ana Valéria.
She highlights that ten years ago the Brazilian Human Rights Fund had a smaller reach, looking for partners and allies to move forward, and today, like the Network, it is larger and more consolidated. “The Brazil Fund sees itself in the history of the Network as someone who collaborated in its emergence and growth, and today it feels very proud to see it consolidated and capable of moving forward with its objective, with autonomy and guaranteeing visibility for this form of doing philanthropy, which is the philanthropy of the future”
Maria Amália also highlights the role of Fundo Casa in the growth and strengthening of the Network since its creation. “We did everything we could to consolidate the Network. The future perspective is to grow by looking at similar funds and foundations. For us, the great importance of the Network is that it allowed us to unite with other funds with the same mission and the same narrative, and this makes us appear stronger in all contexts. Working together is never easy, but we have a very clear path forward, which is to grow and cover more types of funds. This effort was very worthwhile, and was essential for our types of funds, which make direct donations, to have a concentrated and more powerful voice.”
