All it takes is a flood, a fire or a tragedy for Brazil to show an impressive wave of solidarity. Trucks full of donations, social media campaigns, lines of volunteers. But once the emergency is over, help tends to fade. And the causes that need support every day, such as caring for children in shelters, are still there.
In this article, we look at what surveys say about giving culture in Brazil and what can help it move forward.
How Brazil shows up in the rankings
The Charities Aid Foundation, CAF, has published a world generosity ranking for years, represented in Brazil by IDIS. In the 2024 edition of the World Giving Index, which compared 142 countries, Brazil ranked 86th. It rose three places from the previous year, but is still far from the top.
IDIS itself recalls that, in 2022, Brazil was among the 20 most generous countries. Since then, it has dropped more than 60 places. Among the behaviors measured, the most common in the country is helping a stranger, reported by 65% of respondents.
In 2025, CAF changed the format of the study, which is now called the World Giving Report. According to IDIS, in this new report Brazil ranks 48th, with 0.93% of income going to social and environmental causes. The South American average is 0.73%.
Giving in crises, forgetting the rest of the year
In an article published in 2024, IDIS CEO Paula Fabiani and Luisa Lima, from the same organization, reflect on this pattern. Brazilians' potential to give in emergencies is unquestionable, they write. The challenge is to make giving a regular practice, an ongoing expression of citizenship.
The Brazil Giving Survey 2024, also by IDIS, helps explain the picture. Half of the population surveyed gave to some emergency that year. But only 10% gave exclusively to emergencies. For IDIS, this indicates that crisis giving complements, rather than replaces, regular giving.
What still gets in the way
If people want to help, why don't they give more? Surveys point to a few reasons.
Lack of trust. In the Brazil Giving Survey 2024, only 30% said most NGOs are trustworthy. And lack of trust as a reason not to give rose from 7% to 24% among non-donors.
Less loyalty. In 2015, 69% of donors gave to the same institutions every year. In 2024, that figure fell to 49%.
Little conversation about the topic. The Giving Thermometer, launched in 2024 by the Movement for a Culture of Giving, rated the country at 56% on its own scale, meaning a culture still developing and below its potential. According to a report on the study, giving is still rarely discussed in schools and universities, and tax conditions remain unfavorable.
A date to remember to give
One initiative trying to change this is Dia de Doar, the Brazilian version of the global GivingTuesday movement. The idea was born in the United States in 2012, as a counterpoint to the year-end shopping days, and Brazil officially joined in 2014. It always takes place on the Tuesday after Black Friday.
More than a single day, the movement wants to remind us that giving can be a habit, like so many others that are already part of our routine.
How each person helps change the culture
Giving culture does not change only with big campaigns. It changes with each person's behavior. A few simple attitudes make a difference:
- Give regularly, even if the amount is small.
- Choose a cause and follow it. Seeing the result of your own support builds connection and trust.
- Talk about giving. At home, with your children, at work. Talking about it makes the practice more natural.
- Ask for transparency. Ask how the money is used. Good organizations are glad to answer.
- Share serious causes. Sharing a trustworthy campaign is also a way to help.
PROHACC counts on this habit
PROHACC has cared for about 18 children and teenagers in Perus, São Paulo, since 1997. We have no government funding agreement. The children need care every day, not only when a news story moves the country.
Throughout the year, the house runs campaigns that appear on Instagram, such as Easter and Christmas, as well as its thrift bazaar. And, since 2024, it has invited its followers to become monthly donors. Everyone who turns solidarity into a habit helps keep the house going. If you want to start now, see the ways to support on the How to help page.
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Sources
- IDIS. What has to happen for Brazilians to see donations as more than just a response to crises?, by Paula Fabiani and Luisa Lima, 09/30/2024 (World Giving Index 2024): https://www.idis.org.br/en/?p=23382
- IDIS. Brazil Giving Research: volume of individual donations in Brazil reaches BRL 24.3 billions in 2024, 08/18/2025 (includes World Giving Report 2025 data): https://www.idis.org.br/en/?p=24100
- IDIS. Pesquisa Doação Brasil 2024, results infographic: https://www.idis.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/InfograficoDigital_PDB_2024.pdf
- Diário do Comércio, with Folhapress. Cultura de doação avança no Brasil, mas está abaixo do potencial, diz estudo, 09/18/2024 (Giving Thermometer): https://diariodocomercio.com.br/mm2032/cultura-doacao-avanca-brasil-abaixo-potencial/
- Catraca Livre. 2 de dezembro é Dia de Doar; campanha mundial quer disseminar a importância da doação, 12/01/2014: https://catracalivre.com.br/cidadania/2-de-dezembro-e-dia-de-doar-campanha-mundial-quer-disseminar-a-importancia-da-doacao/
- PROHACC on Instagram (@prohacccasa), post of 10/17/2024, invitation to become a monthly donor: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBPYk57u9aR/
- PROHACC on Instagram (@prohacccasa), post of 11/15/2025, charity bazaar: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRGOQxrCUQZ/
- PROHACC on Instagram (@prohacccasa), post of 03/19/2026, Solidarity Easter: https://www.instagram.com/p/DWEZLpSjTS2/