Arquivo da tag: NGOs

Strengthening capacities, building trust

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By Luisa Lima, Communications Manager at IDIS

The institutional development of civil society organizations is not a peripheral element of their work. It is what sustains their ability to act with consistency, transparency, legitimacy, and institutional continuity. When an organization invests in governance, management, communication, technology, or the well-being of its teams, it strengthens the foundations that make its mission viable over the long term.

This agenda is directly connected to trust. Trust in NGOs is built not only through the relevance of the causes they champion, but also through the way they operate, report on their activities, communicate, make decisions, and maintain a public presence. The Brazil Giving Research 2024, conducted by IDIS, reinforces this point by showing that trust in institutions is an extremely relevant motivator for giving, while distrust remains a significant structural barrier: only 30% of Brazilians say that most NGOs are trustworthy, and among those who have not donated for more than five years, a lack of trust and transparency is the most frequently cited reason for not giving, mentioned by 38% of respondents.

In light of these findings, the data from the Panorama Conjunta Report 2025–2026 (available only in Portuguese) become even more relevant. The study mapped 793 training and fundraising opportunities in 2025, compared with 346 the previous year. Although this variation should be interpreted with caution due to methodological changes and the expansion of the sources analyzed, the findings show that institutional development has become more prominent in the sector and is gaining greater visibility. At the same time, the Panorama reveals important limitations in the design of available support. Among the fundraising opportunities, 62.66% provided for funding of up to one year. This suggests that, even as a greater number of opportunities are becoming available, mechanisms that are poorly suited to ongoing institutional strengthening processes still predominate.

Launch event of the study

This interpretation becomes even more relevant when we consider dimensions that remain less recognized among the topics covered by training opportunities. Technology is now essential infrastructure for management, communication, and mobilization. Mental health and self-care, in turn, are conditions for more sustainable teams and more resilient organizations. Monitoring and evaluation, for example, are fundamental for NGOs to learn from practice, demonstrate results, improve their management, and report on their activities more consistently. When these dimensions are not recognized as legitimate components of institutional development, the support provided tends to be insufficient to sustain strong and trustworthy organizations.

In this context, Plataforma Conjunta and its report make a valuable contribution to the sector by bringing visibility to opportunities, gaps, and trends that help advance the debate. Beyond increasing the volume of support available, the challenge now is to improve its quality: through greater flexibility, longer-term funding, and stronger recognition of the capacities that underpin NGOs work. After all, if trust is a condition for increasing donations, strengthening organizations institutionally is part of the path toward achieving that goal. Stronger and more trustworthy organizations contribute to a more robust democratic environment which, ultimately, is the shared horizon toward which we strive.

IDIS is chosen as the best Brazilian philanthropy NGO of 2024

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Efficiency and excellence in management are key factors for social organizations to achieve greater impacts on the causes they defend. The “Best NGO Award” recognizes good practices in governance, transparency, communication and financing, and, for the second time around, IDIS received the title of best NGO in Philanthropy, Volunteering and Support to Civil Society Organizations in Brazil. Besides the award in this special category, for the fifth time, IDIS was recognized as one of Brazil’s top 100 NGOs.

“Being part of the top 100 social organizations in the country is an even more special achievement after a year so full of lessons, victories and good news. We have dedicated ourselves intensely to improve our work, always searching to inspire, support and expand private social investment and the positive change it generates”, says Paula Fabiani, CEO of IDIS.

Guilherme Sylos, Prospection Director, at the award ceremony of the “Best NGOs 2024 Award”.

Throughout the year, IDIS has made multiple investments to strengthen the Institute and its projects. Among the results achieved are the constant monitoring of indicators, the investment in management platforms and the increased training and development of the team. This resulted in the creation of the Promoting Philanthropy Endowment, the expansion of advisory projects with new clients, as well as the strengthening of relationships with those who were already partners; the strengthening of social impact projects such as Advocacy for Endowments, Transforming Territories, Together for Health and Commitment 1%; in the creation of Promoting Philanthropy Endowment; and in important productions of knowledge, such as ‘Perspectives for Brazilian Philanthropy 2024’ and  ‘Private Social Investment: Strategies that leverage the ESG Agenda’. 

We congratulate all the organizations that work daily to promote socio-economic development in multiple regions in Brazil and who also received this award. 

Check the full list here (only in portuguese).

Systems Change Funding: Lessons from Funders in Brazil

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On 16 December 2022, IDIS and Catalyst 2030 co-hosted the third in a series of global conversations for funders on the future of funding systems change (read about the first salon and second salon). This series brings together funders within a country or region to share context specific feedback on the ten principles in the Urgent NGO Letter.

The Letter, led by Catalyst 2030 members, gained over 1,100 signatures from 80+ countries and marks a significant call from the social sector to shift funding practices globally. It outlines ten key calls for funders to consider in their grantmaking practices, including: giving multi-year, unrestricted funding, investing in capacity building, and creating transformative rather than transactional relationships. Read the full list of principles in the letter here. 

This Salon assembled Brazilian philanthropists and funding organisations to discuss how these principles could work in practice, and the impact they would have on Brazilian philanthropy and civil society. We are hugely appreciative of all of those that participated in this discussion and who are leading the way in open and inclusive dialogue to improve philanthropy for all. 

 

Here are five key takeaways from the conversation:
 

Recognise the impact of national context  

Grantmakers  usually have specific guidelines for their social investment. While it could be read as a sign of transparency, it also limits Brazilian funders’ ability to provide unrestricted and flexible funding. This restriction affects both funders and grantee-partner’s ability to embrace this principle as the sector is not currently set up to enable such flexible practices. This inflexibility also impacts funders ability to fund institutional needs or networks, as statutory restrictions require grantee-partners to follow traditional due diligence and accreditation processes.  

 

Foster collaboration across the sector

Although this challenge is not unique to Brazil, the group discussed how there is a need for greater collaboration among funders and civil society actors within the country. This requires both a behaviour and mindset shift across the sector; a move away from siloed work and towards funders and grantee-partners working in true partnership; collaborating with other funders, grantees, and cross-sector stakeholders to achieve systemic change. 

 

Offer philanthropists multiple entry points which recognise their variety

Embracing these ten principles will be a different journey for every organisation. It is important to respect the difference in maturity of philanthropies, different investment strategies, and different statutory and operational arrangements which may impact this journey. The group suggested taking into account the different entry points of each funder and evaluating it accordingly, ensuring a funder response recognises the need and strength of each funder’s progress and individuality.

 

Consider other tools (such as a rating) to help funders improve their practices 

It is crucial to consider which tools and resources we are able to provide in order to better improve funders’ abilities to embrace these principles. This could include incentivising funders in new captivating ways by, for example, using a rating and grading system to indicate their progress towards embracing these principles. This way funders would not only obtain a grade but also understand in which areas they can improve. We must acknowledge the fact that making a donation goes beyond its social value. Creating a public ranking in which companies will be acknowledged for their contributions and their “legacy” can mobilise other funders to join the movement, positioning these principles as a Brazilian innovation in the sector.

 

Recognise that this journey might take time and support funders along the way 

Philanthropy as a sector is relatively new to Brazil. It is important to recognise this and the time it will take to bring funders on this learning journey before they are able to fully adopt these principles. Therefore, the group discussed the importance of respecting each funder’s journey and celebrating progress along the way. Documenting this progress and creating a community of practice whereby funders can learn from best practices in the field, could provide the long-term support funder’s need to make this shift. This requires establishing strong ecosystems of funders who can turn to one another, share learnings, and grow as a sector. 

 

Where do we go next?

We are continuing to host Donor Salons to gather feedback from funders in different country and regional contexts. Our next stop in this journey is with funders in Africa. Stay tuned to hear the key takeaways from this conversation.