In the month of March, with the arrival of the coronavirus in Brazil and the adoption of quarantine as a way to prevent the transmission of covid-19, many people saw their lives change drastically. Companies terminated contracts, children stopped attending schools, employees had to adopt working from home, and students needed to migrate to online classes. This, not to mention the more than 150 thousand lives lost and families who suffered from the passing of their loved ones.

Among all these conflicts, very little was said about the third sector, which acted in an emergency capacity in an attempt to meet the demand for services in the healthcare area. The Civil Society Organization (CSOs), together with philanthropic foundations, made great efforts to raise donations and distributed various basic items, such as food and hygiene products.

According to the COVID-19 Donation Monitor, developed by the Brazilian Association of Fundraisers, more than R$ 6.3 billion reais were donated by more than 500 thousand people and/or companies who embraced the cause.

According to the research conducted by the consultancies Mobiliza and ReosPartners, organizations made major movements to serve and assist the populations affected by the pandemic:

50% distributed food or hygiene products to populations already served; 44% adapted to the digital environment; 37% developed prevention and awareness actions about the coronavirus.

However, although the pandemic has not yet come to an end, the return to normalcy and the relaxation of prevention measures by a large part of the population, as well as the reduction in the number of donations, forced Third Sector entities to reflect on what to expect in the coming months.

This is because, although contributions reached historical levels (especially those related to health), they are already decreasing considerably. In other words, one of the main challenges of the third sector will be to keep this door (and hearts) open.

In fact, any human being tends to help more in cases of emergency. Support to those in need occurs at specific moments and not in a planned and frequent manner.

For this reason, it is necessary not only to increase the number of donors, but also to build recurring donors.

The next steps for the third sector

Although the most turbulent phase of the pandemic has apparently passed, the fact is that processes will never be the same again. Therefore, prior planning is essential to ensure that organizations continue to raise funds. It is necessary to take advantage of this moment to understand how to return to the new reality - which involves less contact and numerous restrictions.

As uncertain as the current scenario may seem, planning the future in the present is an alternative to finding answers to the threats of a drop in fundraising.

Furthermore, it is necessary to highlight the strength of the digital environment from now on.

In fact, the organizations that depended most on face-to-face work were the ones that suffered the most in facing the crisis. Meanwhile, those that were already more adapted to new technologies dealt better with the imposed adversities.

Undoubtedly, the pandemic brought with it the need for innovation.

Therefore, from now on, some capabilities will be essential to make information flow faster, such as process automation, adoption of remote work, digitization of activities, and systems that provide greater autonomy for teams to develop proposed actions. This is the time to analyze and collect as much available information as possible regarding cash, resources, and investments, to establish the best way of relating to those served, partners, and society in general.

The positive balances

Finally, it must be highlighted that the pandemic reinforced the role of NGOs. After all, in the last six months, the number of donations to Non-Governmental Organizations and philanthropic entities jumped considerably. Now, the important thing is to keep this resonance active and work so that the image of the third sector is seen in an increasingly positive light. In this context, media outlets such as news portals, television news, or print magazines can help a lot.

Another positive point that deserves highlight is the fact that the pandemic has opened the door of solidarity for Brazilians, given that our country does not have an established culture of donation. From now on, the act of doing good has become a more tangible tool, and everything indicates that this will be the path to a more notable philanthropic sector.

And you, did you enjoy discovering the biggest challenges of the third sector in the post-pandemic era?

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