By Graciela Hopstein
The Support Program was significant for the member organizations as it contributed to strengthening networking and exchange between peers, promoting the sharing of experiences and this is, without a doubt, one of the main results achieved.
Implemented between 2020 and 2021, the Support Program to member organizations of the Philanthropy Network for Social Justice, had support from the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), and was aimed at strengthening members as members of the Network, seeking to promote the exchange of experiences and learning and the articulation of partnerships. This initiative was developed in the context of Strengthening Program of the Network, involving capacity development actions through online meetings and workshops.
Taking into account the prominent role that the members of the Network played in the context of the pandemic alongside civil society organizations, groups and movements, the supported initiatives were aimed at combating COVID-19 in the following lines of action:
Creation of funds and emergency support lines to combat COVID-19: donation of resources to organizations, movements and grassroots groups that are carrying out direct actions (projects)
Community mobilization and donation campaigns: mobilization of actors, donors and resources to carry out direct actions (projects);
Communication, information and knowledge production campaigns: information campaigns, news portals, organization of information and production of knowledge on this topic (projects).
It is important to highlight that for the development of the initiatives, the Network donated directly to member organizations an amount of R$ 207 thousand reais (23 thousand reais for each initiative, nine in total) to execute projects that lasted between six and nine months (find out here the supported initiatives).
Regarding the results achieved, according to the information gathered from the reports, the number of people directly impacted by the Program was 2.953.212 It is 3.971.679 indirectly. These numbers are certainly significant and this reach is related to the type of activity carried out since carrying out lives It is podcasts These were actions highlighted in the context of the Program, involving an important diversity of audiences.
The financial resources mobilized were also significant in relation to the results achieved as they were invested R$203,862.50 as counterparts institutions on the part of the member organizations, indicating that the Program had a relevant collective impact in terms of audiences involved and resources invested, considering that the total value executed in the context of the Program was R$ 410,862.50. But beyond the numbers, the projects carried out were also relevant to achieving results in terms of donor loyalty and the creation of campaigns.
Strengthening institutional visibility; support for the development of new methodologies and social technologies – resource mobilization, advocacy, grantmaking, monitoring and evaluation, territorial development, including with technologies such as community banks and social currency – the valorization of resources, knowledge and local leaders were relevant in terms of the results achieved.
The Program contributed to strengthening community philanthropy, understood as a form of action aimed at developing resources, talents, capabilities and confidence in local actors and the communities in which they operate.
Important lessons were learned regarding territorial mobilization, networking and systematization of experiences and exchange between organizations. Community, participatory and far-reaching communication strategies (podcasts, lives, community radio, webinars, social networks, videos), as well as the acquisition of infrastructure (as a legacy made available to communities) were also highlighted results that contribute to the construction of narratives in the field of community philanthropy and social justice.
According to the statements made by the coordinators of the initiatives:
“The project provided Network members with opportunities for exchange and motivated joint action. It also enabled an even deeper reading of the different perspectives present in the field of social justice philanthropy.”
“The Philanthropy Network Support Program brought, above all, the possibility of meeting and contacting other institutions, from all over the country, working on the same theme involving Covid-19 on different fronts and presenting us with innovative solutions”.
Articulation in the field of communication and its interface with the mobilization of resources also represented a relevant action within the scope of collective impact: “These moments of interaction with other communicators from the Philanthropy Network for Social Justice were essential to provide quality collective learning. During these meetings, we looked together for solutions that would contribute to structuring a donor loyalty campaign that actually worked. We were able to expand our repertoire of strategies on the subject and direct our research and activities towards better performance related to the retention of these donors.”
Conceived as a pilot, the support experience brought several reflections on the paths to follow as the Network's focus of action from 2021 onwards – in the context of Donate to Transform Program – will be placed in the Incidence Program and in this context the actions will be aimed at establishing communities of practice and strengthening agendas in the field of community philanthropy and social justice.