The initiative aims to bridge the communications gap in the third sector and provide social organisations that lack the resources to hire professional support with access to communications services
In Spain, the social action third sector comprises approximately 28,000 organisations that carry out nearly 48 million interventions each year, bringing together more than half a million professionals and 1.5 million volunteers. Despite their significant role in society, many of these organisations, particularly small and medium-sized ones, have limited resources that make it difficult to access professional communications services, which are essential for raising awareness of their projects, securing funding and mobilising new supporters.
To help bridge this gap, Canela, an independent communications agency in Spain, and Sherlock Communications, a strategic communications agency operating across Latin America, have joined forces to launch Allin4Good, a pioneering global initiative that connects social organisations in need of communications support with agencies interested in contributing their expertise to social impact projects. The platform works much like a dating app, matching third-sector organisations with communications agencies.
How it works
The platform aims to create an intelligent matchmaking environment where participating agencies can browse a range of registered social impact projects and select those they would like to support. Once an agency has expressed its interest, the NGO must accept the proposed services, after which all work is carried out directly between the NGO and the agency, outside the platform.
“When we launched Working For Change — the global initiative bringing together agencies from around the world to contribute their time, talent and creativity to women’s empowerment projects — we realised something very clear. There are many communications agencies that genuinely want to support social organisations and are willing to contribute their time and expertise. The challenge is that it is often difficult to know who to help or how to find projects with specific needs. Allin4Good addresses this challenge by making it easier for organisations in need of communications support to connect with agencies that want to contribute, in an efficient and transparent way,” explains Deborah Gray, Founder and CEO of Canela.
For agencies, participating in the programme also provides an opportunity to put their commitment to social causes into practice, using their communications expertise to support social impact projects while strengthening ties between the two sectors. Agencies can contribute services including strategic communications planning, content creation and management, production of graphic materials, videos and websites, media relations, SEO and media training, among others.
“We have been promoting pro bono initiatives for some time, but we wanted to expand their impact by collaborating with our partner agencies around the world. Allin4Good was created with this purpose: to connect social organisations in need of communications support with agencies willing to contribute their knowledge and expertise. Through this initiative, we hope to strengthen important causes and connect social organisations with agencies worldwide,” says Patrick O’Neill, Managing Partner at Sherlock Communications. “I believe both sides benefit: NGOs gain access to professional communications support, while agency professionals develop new skills and knowledge in this field.”
Eligibility criteria for social organisations include being small or medium-sized, demonstrating a genuine need for communications support and being available to participate actively throughout the collaboration period.
Once selected, NGOs become part of a database of organisations eligible to receive tailored, free-of-charge support from participating agencies, for periods that vary depending on each agency’s availability. Even outside an active service delivery cycle, registered organisations remain visible within the network, increasing their chances of receiving support throughout the year.
“Launching Allin4Good alongside Sherlock Communications has been a genuine exercise in collaboration between teams and countries. Through this platform, we want to make it easier for support to reach those who need it most and help participating NGOs increase their visibility, attract support and strengthen their ability to mobilise people,” concludes Deborah Gray, Founder and CEO of Canela.
Interested NGOs can register until 6 November, whilst the registration period for communications agencies will open on 1 December. The official call for applications, available in Portuguese, English and Spanish on the Allin4Good website, provides further information on the eligibility criteria and the stages of the process.
