How did institutions supported by Futuro Bem Maior operate during the pandemic?

With the pandemic, the non-profit sector found itself facing enormous challenges: it was necessary to try to maintain its original activities, seek to meet the new demand for support, and protect employees and volunteers, following guidelines from medical authorities, to prevent the spread of the virus.

To understand the effect of the new reality within the entities, the Bem Maior Movement listened to civil society organizations and collectives supported, over the course of a year, by the second edition of Futuro Bem Maior, our program to strengthen community impact initiatives, which began in the second half of 2020.

Emergency Support
In March, we held individual conversations with the supported institutions to better understand the effects of the second wave of Covid-19 in their regions.  The scenario outlined in these individual conversations led MBM to mobilize and allocate emergency support of R$ 300,000 to 25 organizations located in areas most affected by the pandemic .

Listening to the organizations
Later, in order to better understand the impact of the support and how each institution dealt with the crisis, we conducted a survey between July 9 and 27 with all the organizations from the second edition of Futuro Bem Maior. These organizations are mostly located in the Northeast (18) and Southeast (13) regions, with an emphasis on causes related to health, the elderly, education, income generation and accessibility.

One of the main points verified in the study was the massive involvement in actions to combat the pandemic and its effects, with organizations reporting that they had to help the community with health and food problems, especially the distribution of basic food baskets.

The effects of the pandemic:
With the pandemic, 75.6% of projects confirmed that they needed to change their schedule, and 81.1% said they carried out unforeseen activities. An important piece of information that helps to show the extent of the change within the sector is the adaptation to the online format: 78.3% fully or partially agreed that they were able to adjust their work.

Naturally, those who promote acts of solidarity tend to act with love and dedication. And, during this very difficult period, the situation did not change; more than half of the organizations rated the involvement of their members as "excellent".

Regarding the support from the Bem Maior Movement, all organizations responded that they felt an increase in motivation and strengthening of their activities. There was also unanimity when asked if the resources helped them to have their work highlighted in the community. In addition, almost all (97.3%) stated that they gained visibility to reach new partners.

There was no change in the number of people assisted in eight institutions, while the others began helping more people, despite the difficulties. The survey also showed that only two projects reduced the number of direct beneficiaries. In general, most entities maintained the same staff levels or experienced a decrease in volunteers, due to the shift in scope from in-person meetings to online activities.

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The MBM's "Futuro Bem Maior" (Greater Future) grant program was created in 2019 with the goal of strengthening community impact initiatives through institutional and financial support, encouraging the leadership of social organizations and collectives in vulnerable communities and the socioeconomic development of the territories where they operate.

And speaking of calls for proposals, applications for the 3rd Futuro Bem Maior Call for Proposals are open until September 27th . We will select 30 social organizations and/or collectives to participate in our program to strengthen community impact initiatives. For more information, visit the call for proposals page and participate!

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Images: Transforma Brasil, Instituto Phi and Movimento Bem Maior