When a company decides to support a social cause, the effect goes far beyond the amount donated. It mobilizes employees, customers and suppliers, and shows in practice that it is part of the community where it operates. For a children's shelter, a partnership like this can mean months of peace of mind.
In this article, we show what surveys say about corporate social investment in Brazil and how a company can get started.
Social investment is growing
The BISC survey, by Comunitas, has tracked for 18 editions how much Brazilian companies invest in social causes. According to the 2025 edition, reported by Agência Brasil, companies and institutions directed more than R$ 6.2 billion to social projects in 2024. That was a 19.4% increase over the previous year.
The most interesting part is where this money came from. Companies' own resources, which do not depend on tax incentives, totaled R$ 4.79 billion, up 35%. Incentivized resources came to R$ 1.42 billion.
In the same report, Comunitas notes that companies have realized they will not solve such large social problems alone. That is why co-investment is growing, with companies joining partners from the same sector or value chain to multiply their impact.
The public values those who help
People notice companies that get involved in social causes. In the Brazil Giving Survey 2024, by IDIS, 70% of those who gave to emergencies said they value and remember the companies that also gave in those situations. In addition, 46% felt that companies do not give enough.
In other words, there is room and expectation for companies to do more. And the same survey shows that children are the cause most sought by those who give to organizations, cited by 32% of these donors.
Employees who become volunteers
A company's support does not have to be only financial. The Volunteering in Brazil 2021 survey, by IDIS with Datafolha, showed that 15% of the country's volunteers take part through corporate volunteering programs. Among them, 42% do so on a set schedule.
Programs like these bring employees closer to real causes and strengthen team spirit. At a children's shelter, however, volunteering must be arranged with the house staff, on a regular basis and without exposing the children.
How a company can support a children's shelter
You don't need to be a large corporation. Neighborhood shops, offices and small factories can also make a big difference. Some ideas:
- Monthly corporate donation. A fixed monthly amount gives the house predictability and helps plan purchases and bills.
- Internal campaign. Collecting food, milk, hygiene products or warm clothes among employees, arranged with the house in advance.
- Matching gift. The company doubles the amount employees donate over a period of time.
- Services and products. Electrical maintenance, repairs, printing, food or cleaning items donated directly.
- Know-how. Support with accounting, communication, legal matters or technology, from the company's professionals.
- Income tax. Companies taxed on actual profit can direct part of the tax owed to children's rights funds. We explain how it works in the income tax article here on the blog.
Helping responsibly
A partnership with a children's shelter requires special care. Children and teenagers cannot appear in photos, videos or promotional materials. Brazil's Statute of Children and Adolescents protects their image and identity.
This does not stop the company from communicating its support. It can show the donation, the campaign and the team involved, always without faces and without the children's data. The company gains credibility, and the children remain protected.
PROHACC's doors are open
PROHACC has cared for about 18 children and teenagers in Perus, a neighborhood of the city of São Paulo, since 1997. We have no government funding agreement. Since 2020, the house has used Instagram to invite companies that want to become partners to get in touch.
If your company wants to help, get in touch through the channels on the website. That way we can agree together on the form of support, always putting the children's protection first. See also all the ways to help on the How to help page.
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Sources
- Agência Brasil. Investimento social de empresas e instituições cresceu 19,4% em 2024, 10/23/2025 (BISC 2025 survey, by Comunitas): https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/economia/noticia/2025-10/investimento-social-de-empresas-e-instituicoes-cresceu-194-em-2024
- IDIS. Pesquisa Doação Brasil 2024, results infographic: https://www.idis.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/InfograficoDigital_PDB_2024.pdf
- IDIS and Instituto Datafolha. Volunteering in Brazil Survey 2021, digital book, 2022: https://www.idis.org.br/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/10/Livro-Digital-Voluntariado-no-Brasil-ENGLISH_2022.pdf
- Statute of Children and Adolescents, Law 8,069/1990, arts. 17 and 260: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l8069.htm
- PROHACC on Instagram (@prohacccasa), post of 05/04/2020, invitation to partner companies: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_yCBiYAXJ5/