The ABCR (Brazilian Association of Fundraisers) is trying to mobilize parliamentarians to change the way NGOs receive donations through award-winning philanthropic bonds.
According to ABCR, the current system absorbs part of the budget allocated to entities, and an adjustment in the process could increase the amount of resources.
The modality in question has almost the same premise as a common capitalization bond: a certain amount is applied and, at the end of the term, corrections of prizes and draws are added. The difference is that a part of the final amount is intended for charities.
The current model follows rules specified in a 2020 resolution, which establishes three quotas: the capitalization quota, which must cover most of the resources and be destined for the charitable entity, the raffle quota, which goes back to the paying customer, and the quota of loading, whose destination are taxes and profits for the capitalization company.
The model was very widespread at the beginning of the pandemic, with the lives of artists who encouraged donations to civil society organizations, but ABCR alerted donors when the resource was sent through the sale of capitalization bonds in the award-winning philanthropy modality.
The problem, according to João Paulo Vergueiro, executive director of ABCR, is that the system is disadvantageous to NGOs, which have to pay for publicity and promotion.
“The person thinks they are donating a real, but in fact they are donating sixty cents”, he says.
In March, the Chamber approved a bill that strengthens the negotiations. The objective of the ABCR is that the president does not sanction it, but if this happens, they will try to amend it, through deputies.
Representatives of capitalization companies, in turn, defend the model. They say that, without the return by the entities, the campaign is emptied and the donations, reduced.
“It is necessary to promote massively. If the money donated was directed exclusively to social actions, there would not be this collection”, says Miguel Muccillo, CEO of MDM8, a capitalization product consultant focused on fundraising for philanthropic entities.
According to Muccillo, the resolution and the PL do not oblige the entity to reserve a part for the campaign, it is a choice. If not followed, however, it can harm the collections.
Marcio Coutinho, vice president of Fenacap, an association that represents capitalization companies, criticizes the movement to try to change the bill.
​According to him, the philanthropic entities themselves are happy with the model. “I’ve heard from directors of philanthropic entities that today [o tÃtulo filantrópico premiável] it is the greatest channeling of resources from civil society to entities.”
According to Fenacap, this type of capitalization grew 48.7% in 2021 and directed a record volume of resources of more than BRL 1.3 billion to NGOs.
Joana Cunha with Andressa Motter and Paulo Ricardo Martins
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