Photo by AXP Photography on Unsplash
By Jonathas Azevedo, Programme Officer at Comuá Network.
In recent years, philanthropy in Brazil has been under growing scrutiny, catalysed by global and national movements, such as Black Lives Matter (Vidas Negras Importam, in Brazil), the #ShiftThePower movement (translated to #PoderParaAsComunidades), the Transforming Philanthropy Month by Comuá and partners, and the Philanthropy Transformation Initiative by WINGS, among others. These initiatives undertaken by various civil society actors, philanthropic organisations and networks reflect a growing awareness of the need to address not only immediate social challenges and the polycrisis but also systemic issues at the roots of inequality and injustice. They also raise the question of philanthropy’s actual role (and commitment) in transformative efforts.
In Brazil, these debates have challenged philanthropy’s colonial legacy by questioning its existing funding practices, lack of trust in civil society, the perpetuation of wealth amongst the white elite and its commitment to contribute to the country’s development through a rights-based approach. However, data from the latest GIFE Census 2022-20231 has shown that we are still far from an actual transformation. For instance, only 13% of philanthropic organisations that are part of GIFE support environmental preservation, 10% support quilombos, 7% support indigenous lands, and 3% support settlements. These figures highlight the lack of a political commitment to defending the rights of indigenous and traditional communities in the list of priorities for Brazilian philanthropy. In other words, a call for deeper reflection and action in Brazilian philanthropy remains urgent if the goal is to be serious about transformation.
Philanthropic transformation in action
In 2023, in partnership with ponteAponte, Comuá released the first Mapping of Independent Grantmaking Organizations in Brazil. From this mapping2, it became evident that independent and community philanthropy actors have significant potential in ensuring the access of resources to civil society actors, often neglected by traditional philanthropic actors. For instance, 74% of the mapped organisations supported civil society organisations, followed by social movements and collectives at 71%. The top 3 themes supported by these independent grantmaking organisations included institutional strengthening (74%), culture (49%) and gender and women’s rights (48%).
Another element that became evident was the diversity of independent philanthropic practices. So, rather than speaking of philanthropy, Comuá prefers using ‘philanthropIES’, in the plural, to highlight the diversity of philanthropic practices that have been actively supporting civil society actors – the actual protagonists in transformative processes.
From mapping to practices for philanthropy’s transformation
Although approaches may vary amongst independent and community philanthropy actors, Comuá identified a set of seven practices that tend to link their way of doing grantmaking for social justice and enabling transformation:
- Recognition and valorisation of the assets of supported organisations: knowledge, skills, networks, people, experiences
- Recognition of the autonomy and decision-making power of grantees in the project design and management
- Development of actions aimed at strengthening local and community leaders and the community fabric
- Investment through donations (financial or non-financial) in the institutional strengthening of supported organisations
- Prioritisation of themes and audiences associated with historic minority groups (political minorities) and with a history of rights violations (black people, women, LGBTQIA+, Indigenous People and traditional peoples)
- Adoption of processes and mechanisms that facilitate broad access to resources and accountability by supported organisations
- Promotion of diversity and participation of representatives of supported organisations in internal decision-making processes/instances
Several of these practices dialogue with principles from the Philanthropy Transformation Initiative, launched by WINGS in 2023. In essence, independent and community philanthropy has always been bold3, experimenting with different grantmaking mechanisms. They ensure the democratisation of access to resources for civil society actors and historically marginalised groups who are at the forefront of resistance against the denial of rights and attacks against democracy4. By experimenting with community-based and participatory approaches, community philanthropy fosters collaboration and working with others5 to strengthen the social fabric. They are working to address the root causes6 of social challenges through an asset-based approach that values the knowledge, skills, networks, experiences, and, most importantly, that trust the solutions designed by communities themselves7.
Future of the transformation agenda
Community philanthropy has always explicitly challenged existing power dynamics in the sector. In that sense, Comuá contributed to the Philanthropy Transformation Initiative (PTI) by presenting the case of its member organisation, Instituto Sociedade População e Natureza (ISPN). Their project Traçando Novos Caminhos para o Bem Viver, a collaboration with indigenous groups Associação Wirazu and Guerreiras da Floresta from the Caru indigenous land is a valuable example of PTI Principle 3, Share Power.
The project centred the decision-making in the hands of indigenous peoples, from the design to the implementation and monitoring of activities supported under a microgrant scheme. Through the project, ISPN aims to influence the broader philanthropic ecosystem to explore alternative grant-making strategies which transfer power to local communities to design and implement strategies to mobilise local knowledge and resources.
While such initiatives by the community and independent philanthropy actors demonstrate promising models, the challenge remains to secure adequate resources and actual influence in decision-making. Philanthropy needs to give space to the ‘philanthropIES’. If current funding patterns continue to overlook such initiatives and issues, such as racial and gender inequality, philanthropy will never fulfil the role of enabler to transformation.
The journey towards transformative philanthropy involves questioning the underlying political agendas and power dynamics shaping philanthropic practices and ensuring that the funding flows to strategic agendas and civil society actors. Only by fostering dialogue, collaboration, and inclusivity, as well as trusting and partnering with civil society actors, can philanthropic organisations play a strategic role in addressing systemic challenges and advancing social justice in Brazil and beyond.
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- There is no national research on philanthropy in Brazil, so the GIFE Census is the most useful data to identify trends in the field.
- 31 mapped organisations, 14 of them network members at the time of data collection
- See Principle 1 of the Philanthropy Transformation Initiative by WINGS
- See Principle 6 of the Philanthropy Transformation Initiative by WINGS
- See Principle 4 of the Philanthropy Transformation Initiative by WINGS
- See Principle 7 of the Philanthropy Transformation Initiative by WINGS
- See Principle 3 of the Philanthropy Transformation Initiative by WINGS
Jonathas Azevedo (he/him) is the Programme Officer at Comuá Network.
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