Summary
The coalition is made up of civil society organisations, social movements, research and action collectives, and individuals committed to the construction of a fairer and more democratic city (Recife) with equality of rights and opportunities for its population.
The campaign, organised by the Recife Coalition for Struggle (Articulação Recife de Luta), is aimed at raising funds for the purchase of staple food baskets, cleaning kits and materials that support the prevention of the coronavirus (masks, gloves, alcohol hand gel). Kits will be distributed to residents of Recife’s peripheral neighbourhoods. The organisation originally estimated that 400 families would benefit. Donations can be made via the internet at the following link: https://www.vakinha.com.br/vaquinha/covid-19-kits-emergencia-para-familiasnas-periferias-do-recife. Vakinha is a well-known crowdfunding platform in Brazil.
With the arrival of the coronavirus in Pernambuco, we are experiencing an even greater calamity. Medical recommendations tell us to stay in isolation and preserve our health and that of our families and community. For the population living in urban peripheries, following the recommendations to remain in quarantine requires an extra effort. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística:IBGE), 40.7% of working Brazilians are in the informal sector. Almost half the population will have no income because of quarantine.
Instead of supporting these populations, Federal Government initiatives have further removed their rights. We cannot sit on our hands and watch this devastating scenario unfold. We, from the Recife Coalition for Struggle, are setting up this campaign to enable those in a better financial position, in fixed employment, to contribute directly to those who live in the urban peripheries.
We are now in the 2nd stage of the campaign, extending support to 20 communities and a total of 900 families.
Target: BRL 141,000.00
1st stage BRL 48,000 (reached in one week)
Amount raised by 20 April 2020: BRL 74,064.85
Number of donors: 614 people
Tips and lessons learned
Factors important for the campaign’s success
Sense of urgency: Through the slogan “When you’re hungry, you’re in a hurry!”, presenting
the vulnerability of Brazil’s poor and black population, which daily confronts rights violations
and a lack of access to quality public healthcare and equipment.
Campaign divided into stages with well-defined targets: This strategy allows the donor to
know how many people are benefiting and to see how efficient the activity is, with immediate
results. Up to this point, the coalition has managed to support 400 families in the first stage of
the fundraising campaign and now, in its second stage, is joining forces with various collectives
and groups to reach 900 families in 20 territories. This phased distribution is better for
communication and makes the process more transparent.
Transparency in managing funds: the coalition daily updates its photographic records on social
networks, including the amount of food, hygiene and cleaning kits donated to communities.
Social networks: Strong operations via communication channels, particularly on Facebook and
Instagram, with videos, photos, graphics and animations showing step-by-step how the target
is reached. Additionally, there are constant updates about the pandemic and vulnerable
populations.
Personalities: Local and national artists engaged in the campaign, requesting support for
continued donations and to reach the total target.
Other forms of fundraising: As well as the online fundraiser, the coalition provides other ways
to donate via bank transfer and deposit.
Partnerships: The Recife Coalition for Struggle has support from the organizations and
movements that it is made up of, through access to their partner networks and each member’s supporters, as well as in support for dissemination.
Review by Wilde Ganzen Foundation
This campaign on the well-known crowdfunding platform Vakinha is meant to give practical help to residents of Recife’s peripheral neighbourhoods, to protect themselves against COVID-19. The real value of this example lies in the careful analysis of their success. This should be very helpful for others who consider a crowdfunding campaign.
Details
Summary of fundraising action
In 2021, ARL decided on an additional fundraising campaign.
The Recife de Luta Auction was an action to mobilise resources held on 13 July 2021 to contribute to ARL's fundraising campaign, which has been promoting fundraising actions through Vakinha created in March 2020 and partnerships with entities and emergency support funds, with the aim of serving peripheral families in the Metropolitan Region of Recife with 'emergency support kits' - complete baskets that include food, cleaning and personal hygiene materials.
The Auction proposal was developed as a way to diversify the sources of fundraising for the ARL campaign. A Working Group (WG) was set up to map visual artists and contact them with the Auction proposal and the request to make one or more works available, having managed to gather 32 lots from 29 artists, including renowned names. The members of the WG also divided themselves to organise the logistics of search and delivery of works, dissemination and visibility, enabling payments and accountability. A visual artist with experience in auctions participated in the WG and was active in mapping and contacting artists.
The Auction was held via WhatsApp group, with more than 200 people participating and managed to raise more than R$28,000. As is common in auctions, some artists charged a minimum percentage of the auctioned works (the vast majority donated 100% to the campaign). With these discounts and transfers, ARL was left with around R$20,000 net, destined entirely for the purchase of basic food baskets for 200 families in 04 territories.
The action made it possible to raise a larger amount of funds, available immediately, in a much shorter time, if compared to the process of fundraising platforms. As a result, ARL was able to serve more families and territories quickly, which is essential in this time of crisis. With the increasing vaccination hype and the assumption that things are returning to 'normal', ARL has been finding it more difficult to raise through platform donation requests. Thus, the auction action was an important step to diversify the sources of incoming donations and have a greater impact more quickly.
In addition, the Auction brought important visibility to ARL, reaching an audience of donors that is outside the usual 'bubble' - by the profile of the works that were in the catalogue, it managed to reach art collectors who would not necessarily donate resources to ARL otherwise.
An important learning curve is having a small group focused on organising the action. Several alignment and follow-up meetings were necessary, which would have been complicated with a larger number of people involved. In this way, ARL was able to divide tasks and follow up on the execution of these tasks in preparation for the Auction.
Another important point for what ARL considers to be a successful action was the partner involvement of people with contacts in the artistic environment. Of the five people involved in the WG, four have personal contact with the artists who were invited. This brought more credibility to the Auction and ensured artists and photographers with better known names and higher values (which, in turn, made it possible to reach a public of buyers with a higher purchasing power and higher proceeds). This support network of ARL was fundamental.
Results
| Cost/benefit |
National currency (R$ |
Euro |
| Total amount raised |
74,065 |
12,145 |
| (-) Total amount invested |
0 |
0 |
| Net amount raised |
74,065 |
12,145 |
