First completely online edition takes place next December 1st

By Idesam’s Communication

Translated by Felipe Sá

Image: Disclosure

A recent survey by the Datafolha Institute reveals that 96% of Brazilians want to be more supportive. Next December 1st, these people will be able to put that in practice, with the 2020 edition of Dia de Doar (Giving Tuesday in English), a campaign that happens simultaneously in over 70 countries and that again counts with Idesam’s participation.

This year, it is also expected that Dia de Doar will stimulate even more donations to fight the impact of the coronavirus. According to the COVID-19 Donations Monitor, donations for this purpose reached the unprecedented mark of 6 billion Reais. At the same time, the date wants to reinforce that donating can become a permanent act, regardless of emergency situations.

For this reason, Idesam joins the campaign with the new publicity piece “Todo Dia é Dia de Donar” (“Every Day is Giving Day” in English), which aims to raise public awareness regarding the Amazon’s protection cause during the whole year. Currently, less than 7% of Idesam’s resources come from spontaneous donations. Visit our “Support” (“Apoie” in Portuguese) section and learn how to contribute with less than one Real per day.

“The movement seeks to bring together people who want to give and make the country a bit more generous and supportive to causes, be they environmental or social. The union of several entities and people from different corners on Dia de Doar is also important to show us that you can be in the South, Southeast or anywhere in the country and the world, and even so, cause a positive impact in the Amazon with your donation”, says Paola Bleicker, Idesam’s executive director.

Currently, the resources received by Idesam are invested in programs focused on preventing and reducing deforestation, climate change mitigation, training traditional communities for sustainable agroextractivist productive activities, poverty eradication, forest conservation promotion and natural resource management in the Brazilian Amazon region.

The executive director also explains that almost 100% of the resources raised by Idesam through public calls for proposals arrives with a specified destination, which makes it impossible to invest in improvements and institutional strengthening. Thus, financial sustainability must be guaranteed, so that the institute continues to act in the gaps left by the public power and which often, for lack of resources, is not possible.

In its eighth edition in Brazil, the event aims to engage society in causes and with organizations by making donations, but in addition to financial contributions, the campaign also aims to encourage millions of people throughout the country to perform actions of generosity, inspiring others to do the same, in a great wave of solidarity and donation.

Solidarity mobilization

Inspired by his experience last year with Idesam partner families in the Uatumã Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS in Portuguese), Will Rawlingson, from the UK, decided he wanted to contribute more to the Amazon and the solutions developed by institutes like Idesam. After spending two weeks at the Uatumã RDS visiting families and measuring the social and environmental impact of the Carbon Neutral Program on people, Will went back to his land transformed by the experience he had with the local reality.

Returning to London and turning 21, he decided to engage friends and companies and, instead of gifts, the young man asked for donations in an online collective funding campaign which raised about 6 thousand Pounds. All the money collected was destined to the Carbon Neutral Program, which planted 600 trees in the Uatumã RDS, helping the families and contributing for the recovery of degraded areas. Besides, the donation was also destined to other initiatives of the institute.

“It is a great pleasure for me to establish this giving partnership with Idesam. My goal is always to connect more and more companies and people around the world so that we can cause an even greater positive impact. All this initiative was to connect people from this part of the world (Europe) with the Amazon and I believe that we are managing to do this, but we want and can do more”, emphasizes the young man.

About Dia de Doar (Giving Tuesday)

Since 2013, Brazil participates in the Giving Tuesday campaign, which began a year earlier in the United States, created by 92Y (an organization from New York). Currently the campaign is global and has the official participation of 72 countries. #GivingTuesday, as the date is known, takes place on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It is carried out by the Movement for a Culture of Donation (Movimento por uma Cultura de Doação in Portuguese), a network formed by people and organizations that voluntarily articulate themselves to help make donation part of our culture.

The Brazilian Fundraising Association (ABCR in Portuguese) is the organizer and official representative of the date in Brazil. This year, it has strategic partnerships with the José Luiz Egydio Setúbal Foundation, the Mol Institute, the Bem Maior Movement and Umbigo do Mundo.