In addition to training and mentoring, the program also granted organizations with the allocation of R$ 410 thousand​

 ​Nagai Association - Beneficiary of Impactô Program

The second edition of Impactô Social Acceleration Program​ has just been completed, with the assessment of the 16 social impact projects and businesses in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo - selected via public notice, held in May 2020. An investment committee, comprising professionals from Neoenergia and Neoenergia Institute, assessed the organizations at the end of the program and decided to allocate a total of R$ 90 thousand distributed among eight participating organizations, for the development of the projects presented.

The initiative, a partnership between Neoenergia Institute​ and the Ekloos Institute, took place in the second half of 2020, aimed at enhancing support to selected organizations, offering online mentoring in the areas of strategic management, business and innovation, during a period of seven months.  In this edition, in addition to the funds granted by the investment committee, Impactô was focused on responding to the immediate needs of third sector institutions, strongly impacted by the challenges imposed by Covid-19, and, therefore, allocated an emergency investment amount of R$ 20 thousand, aimed to support the financial management over that period for the 16 participants, totaling R$ 410 thousand transferred directly to organizations.

“For us, Impactô is a strategic program, because in addition to training social organizations, it promotes the strengthening of third sector networks. In this edition, we were impressed with the transformation seen in the selected projects in 2020, especially if we consider the pandemic scenario", it says Renata Chagas, Neoenergia Institute's CEO.

Impactô Social Acceleration Program - Special Covid-19 edition -  involved, in more than 1420 hours of mentoring, 58 managers and employees from social impact organizations and businesses, directly benefiting over 210 thousand people, in addition to mobilizing 19 Neoenergia leaders, who signed up to participate in the program as volunteer mentors.

"The pandemic has exacerbated social inequality in Brazil, so the role of civil society has become even more important to minimize this impact. The acceleration program aims to support managers who are on the front lines in the communities, so they can carry out activities with more quality and minimize the situation of social vulnerability of children and young people", says Andréa Gomides, CEO of Instituto Ekloos.

For Benigna Siqueira, project coordinator at Associação Cultural Comunitária Pró-Morato, the program was responsible for keeping the institution's activities running in the midst of a challenging scenario. “With the pandemic, we were very discouraged, as we had to interrupt our music lessons and our orchestra, and temporarily suspend the contract of our music teachers.  Impactô did not bring just one, but several new lights in the tunnel in Pró-Morato's history. With the initial granting, we called the music teachers back, moved forward with the music classes, and returned with the orchestra, entirely in the digital environment. Our first action was a musical performance of the orchestra, in a car that drove through several neighborhoods of Francisco Morato, in São Paulo, taking music and guidance on prevention to Covid", she says.

Rejane Luna, Administrative and Financial coordinator of Nagai Association, reflects on how the funds received helped the institution to rethink the way it does things, tell its story, and to render feasible the project carried out in the community of Complexo do Alemão in Rio de Janeiro. “Our founder, Silvana Nagai, always says that, if one of our athletes is ever a judo champion at the Olympic Games, much more than the recognition of our work, we will have fulfilled our mission to include young people, forming citizens from the sport, education and culture. In that spirit, we were very impacted by the acceleration program, as it was a game changer. We come to better understand our limits, better structure our project and reflect on the construction of measurement indicators and on our communication", she highlights.​​