GIFE - Group of Institutes, Foundations and Enterprises

GIFE - Group of Institutes, Foundations and Enterprises - is the first South American association of grantmakers, uniting privately held organizations that fund or operate social, cultural and environmental projects of public interest.

GIFE significantly focuses on developing solutions to overcome Brazil´s social inequalities, whereby its strategic objective resides in influencing public policy by means of partnerships and the sharing of ideas, actions and experiences with the State and other civil society organizations.

In pursuing this objective, GIFE bases its work on political-institutional strengthening, empowering and supporting strategic initiatives of its members and that of other organizations, especially those of a business nature.

What is private social investment?

Private social investment is the voluntary giving of private funds in a planned, monitored and systematic manner for social projects of public interest.

Included in this universe are social actions carried out by business oriented enterprises, foundations and institutes or those constituted by families or individuals.

The concern with planning, monitoring and evaluating projects is intrinsic to the private social investment concept and one of the key elements in differentiating this practice from charity.

Contrary to the charity concept, which comes with the notion of providing assistance, private social investors are concerned about the results obtained, the changes generated and the community's participation in executing actions.

Mission

To improve and disseminate concepts and practices regarding the use of private funds for developing the well being of all.

Objective

Contribute to the promotion of sustainable development in Brazil, through political-institutional strengthening and providing support to strategic activities of institutes and foundations of a business nature, as well as of private entities that engage in voluntary and systematic social investment of public interest.

History

As of the middle of the 1980s, awareness began to surface in Brazil regarding the need to come up with partnerships between the State and civil society organizations in the search for solutions to Brazil's social inequalities.

Willing to overcome this challenge and improve the work that was already being carried out, various business organizations created in 1989, in São Paulo, a philanthropy discussion group. The actions of this group that informally met every two months became the embryo of what GIFE is today.

In the early 1990s, successive scandals involving some social departments of the public sector led these organizations to reassess their informality. The poor image of philanthropic initiatives among public opinion, caused by corruption in the social system and at Legião Brasileira de Assistência (LBA), led the group to prove to the country that there existed many organizations doing serious work in the social area, investing private funds for public purposes.

As such, on May 26, 1995, GIFE held its Constitution Meeting, with the presence of 25 organizations, whereby its Code of Ethics was the first document to be approved.

In its almost one decade of existence, GIFE has become a reference on private social investment in Brazil. Although young, this experience is being shared with other groups in Latin America interested in crating similar associations in their countries.

For more information www.gife.org.br