The international award was granted by Thedotgood, formerly NGO ADVISOR, the Institution was in the 178th position in the global ranking and in the 12th in the Brazilian ranking

 Instituto Ramacrisna has just been elected 178th among the 200 best NGOs in the world and 12th in the Brazilian ranking. Already awarded in Brazil, Ramacrisna now wins, for the first time, international recognition. The award was given by Thedotgood, an independent media organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, which presents to foreign audiences, including journalists, donors, researchers and diplomats, the best and most innovative practices in the Third Sector.

The organizations that competed for the award were evaluated on criteria such as impact, innovation and governance. The term “impact” is used to indicate how an NGO transforms the lives of its beneficiaries. Already “innovation”, it serves to show the impulse and its ability to overcome obstacles in a creative way. And, finally, the term “governance” indicates an Organization that develops good management, transparency, compliance practices and guides the performance in accordance with its Mission, Vision and Values.

Thedotgood is one of the most respected international rankings that assess the local and global impacts of NGOs around the world. The award is held annually by the independent media organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and until 2021 it was called NGO Advisor. Thousands of institutions from different countries participate.

International evaluators follow strict technical criteria that go beyond financial statements. These are organizations with governance centered on people, innovation and impact, which carry out actions that result in what the award calls “social profit”.

Ramacrisna celebrates winning the award, the result of research that combines the rigors of academia with the autonomy of journalism. “The result is a transparent, fair and independent review of non-profit organizations around the world,” says Solange Bottaro, Vice President of Ramacrisna.

“This international award comes to crown all the efforts of the Institute, in its 63 years of existence. We are very happy and more active than ever. Our projects continue to have a social impact on the communities in which we operate. In 2021 alone, we served more than 37,000 children, teenagers, young people and families with pedagogical support and digital inclusion actions, in addition to workshops, vocational and learning courses and various other cultural, job and income generation, sports and leisure”, she celebrates.

Solange also highlights that all this work is only possible thanks to the partnerships of Instituto Ramacrisna. “We received support from the City of Betim and companies and institutions such as Petrobras, BrazilFoundation, Vale, Hotmart, Fundação Dom Cabral, Public Ministry of Labor, Government of Japan, Usiminas, Rotary Club BH Liberdade, among others. We are very grateful,” he says.

Founded in 1959, Ramacrisna is one of the most recognized NGOs in Brazil. There are several awards won. This year it has already received the Brazil ODS Strategy Award, which aims to recognize, value and give visibility to practices aligned with the ODS, developed by organizations affiliated to the ODS Strategy Network. In addition, it received the Selo A+, from Instituto Doar, in 2019 and 2021. In 2018, it was awarded as the best NGO in Social Assistance in Brazil and last year, it was elected for the 5th consecutive time one of the 100 best NGOs in the country, award granted by the Instituto O Mundo que Quero, by the Doar Institute, with the support of researchers from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), Instituto Humanize.

In these more than six decades, the Institute has already impacted the lives of more than two million people in 13 cities in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, always following standards of management, governance, financial sustainability and transparency.