Photo: Comua Network
Por: Graciela Hopstein
After seven years as executive director of Comuá Network, I reach the end of my tenure in September 2024 with the feeling that I have made an important contribution to the consolidation of a strategic player in the field of Brazilian philanthropy. My years with the Network were intense and, despite the many challenges faced, it has been a beautiful, extremely valuable experience, with excellent results and accomplishments.
The Network today is a recognized political actor in the field of national, regional and international philanthropy, occupying a strategic, prominent position in those ecosystems, especially in the promotion of agendas associated with independent, community and socio-environmental justice philanthropy in the Global South. It is a reference in Brazilian grantmaking, especially among numerous civil society actors focusing on the fight for the recognition of and access to rights.
But the journey here was not an easy one: we faced countless challenges, both in the field of philanthropy and in the political arena.
When the Network emerged in 2012, it impacted Brazilian philanthropy because it came to shake things up, to stir debates, not only in terms of agendas, but also about the ways of understanding and doing philanthropy. I always compare the Comuá Network to a chili pepper: it is small, but very hot and strong… and it certainly does not go unnoticed, even though it is not always invited to the party. But in short, the Network has come to stay, and there is no turning back, especially given the strategic role that Comuá plays in financing civil society and, therefore, in strengthening Brazilian democracy.
When I took over running the Network, the country was immersed in a deep crisis: from the impeachment of Dilma Rouseff in 2016, to the murder of Marielle Franco in 2018, culminating in the election of President Bolsonaro in that same year, the political scene was literally on fire, which surely had a big impact on civil society, especially on the actors engaging in the progressive field. Then, in 2020, we faced the Covid-19 pandemic, which in Brazil claimed the lives of more than 700,000 people, a tragedy caused by denialism and by a lack of public policies aimed at providing the population with comprehensive care.
Despite the adverse, hostile context, during the course of these complex years, the field of philanthropy has managed to come together and unite in favor of the most vulnerable populations, responding to the crisis with significant donations, multi-stakeholder coordination and various collaborative arrangements. Indeed, we had common outside enemies that we had to face.
Definitely, the scenario today is much different, more hopeful and less hostile, but sadly, our capacity of giving, our collaborative strength and our strategic coordination have gradually waned.
We are still facing very challenging times, not only because we are still dealing with the threat of the far right and conservative agendas, which could mean a regression in terms of the rights that have been acquired, but also because we are experiencing a climate crisis, which today presents itself as an urgent, top-priority agenda, since natural disasters and extreme events become more and more frequent, putting the lives of significant population groups at risk, especially (yet again) the most vulnerable.
But the field of philanthropy is also experiencing a deep crisis due to the fact that it has failed to respond dynamically, with significant financial resources and investments, to the multiple emergencies facing civil society, both in the field of access to rights and within the context of the climate crisis.
When I took over as director of Comuá in 2017, the Network was immersed in a deep institutional crisis at several levels (in terms of its resources, management, identity and future prospects), which ultimately called into question the continuation of its activities. It was a very complex situation, because on top of everything else we faced numerous internal challenges and had to organize ourselves, to give a new meaning to our existence.
In 2017, we were a total of nine members, and today the Network has 18 members and a solid advocacy program, aimed at engaging and strengthening our members, with visible coordination efforts in the field, involving communication and the production of knowledge, which have positioned the Network as a strategic actor.
The change of our name to Comuá Network – which is tied to the notion of common, of community – was a turning point in our positioning. The creation of the Saberes Program in 2022, which has so far helped 16 scholarship recipients, community and civil society leaders to produce knowledge in the field of community philanthropy, was another major achievement. The Network’s 10-year anniversary seminar and the two editions of the Transforming Philanthropy Month are additional milestones in our history.
Ten original publications have been released and the Mapping of the field of independent philanthropy was certainly relevant to the ecosystem, as it was an unprecedented study that shows the power of its work and proposes a different way of doing philanthropy.
Today, the Network is an institutionalized actor that steers the field, especially in terms of the agendas of socio-environmental justice and community philanthropy and their relevance for the strengthening of civil society and democracy.
I could mention several other achievements here, but I will simply say that I end my term with the feeling of a mission accomplished, a feeling that I made a significant contribution to the field, and I am happy to pass the baton over to Jonathas, a young leader who I am sure will start a new era in the management of Comuá.
As I take stock, I believe that my tenure at the Network has been very productive and challenging, and I say goodbye with my heart full of love and endearment.
But I certainly could not have gotten here without the support of our members, partners and funders. I would especially like to acknowledge the support of Cris Orpheo, who has always conducted the financial management of the Network’s resources with complete availability and opened so many doors to Comuá. My thanks to Ana Toni, who made the iCS structure available for the financial management of the projects and contributed so many contacts and connections. To the governance board and especially Ana Valéria, who supported me during so many challenging times and particularly throughout this transition process.
I would especially like to acknowledge the Comuá Network’s executive team, who have worked tirelessly and seamlessly, always together, united in love, making all our endeavors lighter and constantly taking on challenges.
Now begins a new phase for the Comuá Network, as well as my personal and professional life. I would like to end this farewell letter with a quote from Friar Beto, which I believe fitting at this time: “the secret to happiness lies in detachment from money, power and, the most difficult of all, oneself.”
Long live the Comuá Network! To victory, always!
