By Ana Letícia Silva and Paulo Motoryn
Report series: The challenges of communicating community and social justice philanthropy
This is a series of reports with four texts derived from a press conference held with communicators from organizations in the Philanthropy Network for Social Justice, identifying the main challenges experienced in communicating the community philanthropy it's from social justice from the practice of @ cominicador@es.
Report 3:
The power and reach of narratives to explain and communicate community and social justice philanthropy
“Based on our experience, statistics and theses materialize into real, human stories.” The statement made by the communicators of the Baobab Fund about the lessons they have accumulated in communication to affirm community philanthropy and social justice, is capable of translating the main challenge of communication in the 21st century: overcoming the increasingly fierce competition for society's attention with stories that raise awareness and mobilize people.
To the “real and human stories”, cited by Baobab Fund, are also the main objective of Casa Fluminense. “There is a challenge in communicating our projects: achieving communication that helps to materialize, but which also needs to be nourished by harvesting effects”, say the organization’s communicators.
The challenge posed by communications from member organizations of the Philanthropy and Social Justice Network (RFJS) it is to combine communication based on data, evidence and results with what drives the very reason for the existence of the organizations that make it up: solidarity.
“We are looking closely at the aspect of recognition, appreciation and dissemination of collective actions for territorial development, with a view to creating more powerful narratives that can attract the attention of society and also engage large financiers, foundations and institutes that have central role also for the arrival of resources”, the communicators of the Casa Fluminense.
The power of narratives did not only appear in the interviews given by Casa Fluminense or the Baobab Fund, who mentioned the topic directly, but there was unanimous understanding of the Positive Background, of Elas Background, of ISPN, of Brazil Fund for Human Rights, of Baixada Institute It's from ICOM.
But what actually are narratives? In the Aurélio dictionary, the definition is as follows: “action, effect or process of narrating, reporting, exposing a fact, an event, a situation (real or imaginary), through words; narration". If in the entry it is possible to define the meaning of the narratives, how do they materialize in the organizations of Philanthropy Network for Social Justice?
For the Positive Background, which supports people living with HIV, the power of narratives “is to ensure that, especially in our field, which gave significant results in reducing an epidemic in the country that was established in the 80s and which was decimating lives, stigmatizing people who were living with that illness, the social movement responds quickly and reverse an infection”.
According to the testimonies of the Elas Background, the importance of constructing human narratives, which translate impact into stories, is to recognize “women for their strengths – and not for their needs, as philanthropic institutions with a welfare nature do – as we are committed to transforming power relations in society”.
“Funds that practice grantmaking carry out a complex activity. Anyone who donates resources to social projects, for example, has the expectation of donating directly to those who carry out the project”, reflect the communicators of the They.
O ISPN, in turn, points out that narratives to strengthen philanthropy for social justice must contain, in addition to the need to humanize the work carried out by the organization, explain “concepts that are very present in the ISPN’s way of acting and that have low dissemination and introjection among society, that few people know what they mean. In addition to guiding the construction of our narratives, these concepts need to be understood and assimilated in the way people and communities work to create a better, more just and sustainable world.”.
“In a highly connected environment, in which people are in contact with different topics at the same time, the challenge remains of how to communicate in an original way, which raises awareness and at the same time explains and is clear with the message.”, say the communicators of the ISPN.
As narratives start from the transformation of subjects into characters, from facts into plots, the issue of protagonism appeared prominently in the reflections of communicators.
"O Fundo Brasil understands grantmaking – and community philanthropy – as tools that bring to the center of the political debate a plurality of propositions about what the fundamental rights of citizenship are and how to promote and expand them. It illuminates local agendas and strategies, built on diverse knowledge and different understandings of the country and the world. It democratizes the construction of a more egalitarian country, empowering individuals, boosting community and collective development, strengthening voices so that they can lead their own causes.”, say FBDH professionals.
More than seeing stories reflected in its communication content, Instituto Baixada highlights the importance of networking in the construction of narratives. “In addition to the difficulties facing the fields of technology, we also find difficulties in mobilizing and interest on the part of the community itself, which we work on constantly through campaigns that help to broaden views on the importance of being connected in networks and, with this, expand discussions about philanthropy and donations”, they say.
The reflection on network partnerships emerged in the testimony of the ICOM. They defined the role of the organization as a “bridge”. “It is always necessary to communicate that ICOM's role is to be a bridge between donors and organizations that work 'on the cutting edge', promoting these causes, which has also proven to be quite challenging”, they claim.
“It is challenging to communicate how community and social justice philanthropy happens in practice, and how the different work fronts that make this happen work – such as encouraging a culture of donation and private social investment”, emphasize the communicators of the ICOM.
For communicators Climate and Society Institute (iCS), the narratives serve to give the real dimension of the impact of the topic in which the organization operates: “The challenge is ensure that our messages reach vulnerable populations and are not restricted to a privileged field of climate actors. Talking about climate (and philanthropy) is talking about inequalities, race, gender and class. And, more than just talking, communicators need to be intentional in developing their strategic plans and challenge their institutional cultures for inclusion and equity”, they say.
The communicators of the Baobab Fund who brought the triggering reflection to the report also highlighted the importance of viewing each actor involved in social justice philanthropy as “subjects of their stories”. "ANDAlthough it may seem that there is a hierarchical relationship differentiating who gives and who receives, both are subjects of their stories and philanthropy that considers the dynamics established in territories, in communities as a key piece for transformation gives this dimension of complementarity of the roles attributed to every political actor involved”, they say.
