Visiting the Organizations That Promote Social Impact

Over the past few weeks our team has traveled throughout Brazil to visit the organizations that are applying for funding in 2019. After more than 90 hours of travel through 10 Brazilian states, from the tip of the Amazon down to Rio Grande do Sul, we’ve gathered thousands of miles of stories and insight that we will use to understand Brazil’s social challenges and their possible solutions.

The visits are a fundamental part of the selection process since we are able to confirm the legitimacy of the projects we are selecting and make sure they reflect the needs and aspirations of local communities.

We spoke with Maria Cecilia Oswaldo Cruz, Program Director, and Bruno Faria, Monitoring Coordinator, who told us a little about this year’s Call for Proposals visits:

How do the visits work?

Maria Cecilia: After the first stage of the selection process, BrazilFoundation’s team chooses the finalist organizations to visit and meet firsthand. Our analysts verify various technical aspects of each of the projects, including: their vision for social impact, methodologies and organizational sustainability. They also identify challenges faced by the organizations, try to understand the needs of their target groups and learn the history and achievements of the organizations and its leaders, listening to testimonies from those impacted in the community.

How are the visits important?

Maria Cecilia: During the visits, BrazilFoundation’s team gathers fundamental information on the organizations for the decision making process, such as: the organization’s relationship with the community, the tools they have to execute their projects and their team’s capabilities. This year, BrazilFoundation received 51 proposals through its invitation-only Call for Proposals, but not all will be supported due to limited resources. For this reason, it’s necessary to throughly analyze each of the projects that make it to the finalist stage, evaluating which can have a bigger impact with the support it would receive.

How many visits did the team make in 2019?

Bruno: In 2019 we traveled more than 90 hours to reach 17 cities in 10 Brazilian states. We visited 33 of the 51 organizations that submitted proposals this year.

What are some of your observations from the recent visits?

Bruno: What called our attention was the work of youth who developed an app to refer environmental crimes to public officials. Through the app, 72% of the crimes have been solved. Our team also saw the influence of a women’s collective in Alter do Chão, in Pará, which works to combat racism and violence against indigenous women. In Rio de Janeiro, it was interesting to see youth ages 15 to 17 discussing their identities, stories and potential to improve their communities.

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After the visits, the team comes together to discuss, analyze and choose the projects to be financed. The selection process this year is nearly finished, and the selected projects will be published on March 13th.

Translation: Lívia King