Almost two years after the start of the pandemic, the social sector is experiencing a unique moment: the strength of donations, omnipresent in the first months of 2020, is no longer so intense — even though the needs have only increased. Traditional spaces for collaboration and in-person action are still restricted, and a whole sea of possibilities has been opened up by online coexistence. The effects of the Covid-19 crisis are expected to last into the new year, and donations are becoming increasingly digital.
Below we list five trends for philanthropy, based on the main reports in the area and insights from experience in the third sector. These are some of the many possible ways for our society to embrace solidarity in a committed and responsible way.
1. Hybrid events will be the new normal
Many eagerly await face-to-face interaction and closer contact at events that encourage the exchange of ideas, experiences and connections. But we also cannot deny that the lives cut costs from lean budgets and expanded the geographic possibilities for participation — something extremely positive in a country with continental dimensions.
Next year should combine these two variables in hybrid events: in-person meetings that also allow remote participation via online transmission. With the mastery of tools such as Zoom and similar, interactions become more focused and brief, without compromising content.
This does not mean that lives will be discarded: their popularity is undeniable and should remain strong in 2022, overcoming the moments of uncertainty brought about by the advance of new variants of the coronavirus. But don't expect stratospheric numbers, as the fatigue produced by excessive use of screens has balanced the audience at more manageable levels.
2. Increasingly digital donation
In recent years, financial transactions have rapidly migrated to electronic methods, especially in high-income groups. But the real revolution is only a year old and goes by three letters: PIX. Adopted en masse by the population, the instant payment method reached the social sector with force and reduced bureaucracy for contributions, which now have a lower value and increase in scale.
In 2022, PIX should continue to grow, with new methods of use, and advance on classic contribution methods: recurring credit card donations and bank slips. The gains in agility and taxation are significant, although important legal issues remain in dispute.
Other forms of donation should also gain prominence in the coming year, such as through NFTs, as non-fungible tokens are called. The acronym designates a certificate that guarantees ownership of a product existing in the digital universe, attesting to its authenticity and exclusivity.
In 2021, we followed auctions of virtual items that donated donations to civil society organizations in Brazil and several other countries. This should be the path adopted by companies that begin to experiment with the possibilities of the metaverse and cryptocurrencies, and which could be a significant source of income for the social sector in the future.
3. Companies mediating donations
Since the beginning of the pandemic, when it was possible to notice the mobilization of companies to donate and contribute to alleviating the effects of the Covid-19 crisis, we have seen the multiplication of donation buttons on applications such as iFood, Ame and Mercado Pago. In addition, we monitor several campaigns with matching mechanics, in which the company commits to multiplying the amount donated.
Despite the cooling of these actions compared to the initial months of the pandemic, in which the volume of actions was well above average, we noticed the persistence of corporate donation initiatives, such as the experience of rounding up change, for example.
With the advancement of the ESG agenda and the experience of the pandemic, the tendency is for companies to take on the role of intermediary and promoter of donations, taking advantage of their consolidated structure to make payments. It is also an adaptation to consumer demands, which require more active and responsible attitudes from corporations.
4. Data collection and processing
That transparency and accountability are fundamental for the social sector, no one disagrees — especially in Brazil, where trust in organizations is unfairly low. In a world driven by data and analytics, the organized and strategic collection of information is increasingly required by funders. The use of social impact measurement methodologies is also advancing, which seek to quantify the results of social actions in comparable categories.
Another important challenge for 2022 concerns adaptations linked to compliance with the LGPD (General Data Protection Law). Accustomed to dealing with sensitive data, the social sector must adapt to the impositions of legislation, which seeks to bring more security and privacy to all citizens.
5. Local solutions to local problems
It seems obvious, but this maxim seems to be ignored for some time: people and territories experiencing a certain situation (be it the lack of adequate infrastructure, cases of social vulnerability, among others) are generally able to propose solutions that have a better chance of working in practice. .
This is one of the important legacies of the pandemic: local organizations and communities organized themselves with great capillarity and efficiency at a time when the public and private sectors were still taking their first steps. It was clear that, without logistics at the end, donations are not able to reach those in need.
The creation of support and financing networks, in addition to emergency funds, contributed to strengthening the work of organizations with established ties in their respective territories. In 2022, we should see a multiplication of actions in this direction, in addition to the shift of funding from large donors to existing projects (what we call grantmaking) instead of our own initiatives.
