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Fernanda Gomes, GSA 2017, has a hypothesis for change: investing in the administrative and accounting structure of social and cultural initiatives directly influences their impact on the territories.
Accounting issues prevent community leaders from accessing public and private financing, just to give one example among many problems that can arise. And one thing leads to another.
Without money to carry out activities, projects become fragile, and some even end their operations. A groundbreaking survey conducted by the Elos Institute in Baixada Santista showed that 61% of the grassroots partner organizations in our work do not have a bank account. And nearly half, 48%, do not even have a CNPJ (Company Tax ID).
Therefore, Fernanda conceived “Associa as Ações” (Association of Actions), which she leads alongside three other individuals: Pedro Gabriel, Mariana Behr, and Vitória Santos. Only Gabriel hasn’t participated in the GSA Program.
She and her team are developing a methodology to identify and regularize such issues, while building processes and workflows to avoid long-term structural administrative problems in grassroots organizations.
In the pilot phase, supported by Jovens Ideias, Associa as Ações received 11 applications for consultancy and selected 5 organizations for this initial phase.
When the Elos Institute conducted a survey within the GSA Community, which refers to people who have gone through the Guerreiros Sem Armas (GSA) Program, it discovered, among other things, the need to closely support ideas that were somehow inspired by the Elos Philosophy and were emerging among the more than 640 participants scattered around the world.
The majority of these ideas face the challenge of financing, whether due to being in the initial stage – prototype or pilot – or due to the complexity of the language used in calls for proposals.
Fernanda is one of the eight individuals who have been through the GSA Program and are receiving technical and financial support from the Elos Institute to prototype, structure, and systematize their theory of change. More than just funding a one-time action, the objective of Jovens Ideias, as we call this strategy, is to create a secure environment where popular social technologies that address real territorial needs can emerge. This is the case with Associa as Ações.
“For me, participating in this selection process was very rewarding because it’s the only way we can achieve our dream of becoming a regulated community,” explains Carmelita Danúbia, leader of Vila dos Criadores, one of the selected projects.
In addition to her, the Unificação das Quebradas, Associação de capoeira Pelourinho arte cultura esporte Brasil, Grupo Lazer e Cidadania de Cubatão, Associação Comunitária de Moradores do Morro do Pacheco, and Associação de Melhoramentos da Vila dos Criadores, all from Santos, will receive consultancy.
Apart from addressing fiscal and accounting issues, including covering necessary documentation costs, Associa as Ações offers management workshops for the third sector and the development of visual identity for the 5 selected projects.
Beyond Associa as Ações, Jovens Ideias also supports Laboratório de Criação (Salvador, BA), Saberes do Povo do Remanso (Lençóis, BA), Cocriando TRANSformações (Campinas, SP), Associa as Ações (São Vicente, SP), Quilombo GSA – Tereza de Benguela (national), Colorindo a Quebrada com Poesia (national), Museu dos Sonhos Vivos (Recife, PE), and Fim de Semana no Parque (Cubatão, SP).
