From July 22 to 24, 89 professionals from 30 civil society organizations gathered in São Paulo for an in-person hackathon to develop artificial intelligence solutions to address concrete challenges faced by the Third Sector. The event was part of IA.3 – Artificial Intelligence for the Third Sector, a capacity-building program that supports social purpose organizations in integrating AI into their work in a thoughtful, ethical, and strategic way.
Evento IA.3 em São Paulo, 2026. foto: André Porto
Over the three days, teams were challenged to turn the knowledge acquired during four months of training into practical solutions for their organizations. The proposed solutions covered strategic areas that are key to strengthening civil society organizations:
Smart fundraising: applying artificial intelligence to resource mobilization, engagement with prospective supporters, and financial sustainability;
Living institutional intelligence, memory, and knowledge: organizing, preserving, retrieving, and strategically using the information and knowledge produced by organizations;
Stakeholder engagement, services, and journeys: improving communication and interaction with beneficiaries, donors, partners, volunteers, and other stakeholders;
Streamlined operations: automating processes, integrating data, and improving workflows to increase organizational efficiency;
Monitoring, evaluation, accountability, learning, and reporting: using artificial intelligence to track results, analyze information, generate insights and learning, and communicate impact.
The selected organizations operate across 13 Brazilian states — Amazonas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Paraíba, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Sergipe, and São Paulo — representing all five regions of the country.
The program also featured collaborative activities and sessions dedicated to assessment, ideation, development, and validation, with guidance from experts throughout the process. At the end of the hackathon, each group presented a proposed solution to the challenges it had identified, with the potential to be implemented and further developed within the participating organizations.
“This gathering marks an important transition in the organizations’ journey: we are moving from learning and experimentation to developing solutions that address concrete management and operational challenges. We want teams to gain the autonomy they need to integrate artificial intelligence strategically and ethically, in ways that are aligned with their missions. The diversity of causes, experiences, and regions represented at the hackathon also fosters collaboration and the development of solutions that can generate valuable insights and learning for the Third Sector as a whole,” says Henrique Barreto, IDIS Project Manager responsible for IA.3.
Following the hackathon, the 30 organizations will continue to receive support for six months through individualized mentoring. The goal is to support the implementation of the solutions developed, make any necessary adjustments, and help ensure that artificial intelligence is sustainably integrated into organizational strategies, teams, and processes.
IA.3 also includes an experimental impact evaluation that will compare the results of organizations participating in the first cohort with those of organizations that will undergo the training in 2027. In addition to measuring concrete results, the evaluation will inform a study featuring quantitative and qualitative data, as well as practical examples of how artificial intelligence can be applied in the Third Sector.
IA.3 – Artificial Intelligence for the Third Sector
Led by IDIS – Institute for the Development of Social Investment, with support from Google.org and Canal SabIAr as technical partner, IA.3 aims to strengthen the institutional capacities of civil society organizations. Rather than simply encouraging the occasional use of AI tools, the program seeks to support the integration of artificial intelligence into organizations’ strategies, management processes, and institutional missions.
Equipe IA.3
The initiative was designed as a multi-stage capacity-building journey. Following an introductory webinar open to the public, 119 organizations joined the first cohort of the intensive training program in February 2026. Participants completed 30 hours of training over four months, combining live sessions, asynchronous content, and practical activities.
The 30 organizations that demonstrated the strongest engagement and performance during this stage were selected to participate in the in-person hackathon, where they could deepen their knowledge, exchange experiences, and develop solutions relevant to their organizations.
In February 2027, a new cohort of 114 organizations will begin the same journey.
