In Brazil, where you were born, where you grew up, and how much you earn still define how much culture you have access to. The 6th edition of the Cultural Habits survey, conducted by the Itaú Foundation Observatory with technical support from Datafolha, confirms what many already experience: Income, education, and race continue to be determining factors in cultural consumption in the country.. Among white people, access to cinema, theater, and museums reaches 80%, 64%, and 64%, respectively. Among black people, these rates drop to 69%, 51%, and 48%.
It is in this scenario that concentrated and historically unequal financing that is born Onã Fund — the first independent philanthropic fund dedicated exclusively to culture in Brazil.. Created by professionals with experience in the cultural sector, the Fund stems from a precise diagnosis: despite the economic and symbolic relevance of culture, the available funding mechanisms are unstable, insufficient, and inaccessible to artists and projects from peripheral territories. Its purpose is... To build permanent investment pathways, strengthening creators from Afro-Indigenous and marginalized communities and promoting autonomy, with the circulation of knowledge and cultural sovereignty..
A structure that supports transformation.
For this purpose to translate into lasting impact, the Onã Fund formed a partnership with Sitawi Finanças do Bem for the structuring of its financial and philanthropic management. Sitawi acts as fiscal sponsor from the fund — a model in which the organization assumes the fiscal and administrative representation of philanthropic initiatives, ensuring the fundraising, allocation, and accountability of resources within the highest standards of governance and transparency..
The choice of this structure is not merely operational: it is strategic. It enables the sustainable expansion of the fund's actions over time, increasing its capacity to mobilize and allocate resources with rigor and credibility.
For Jeff Zappa, According to the founder of the Onã Fund, the partnership represents a concrete step forward for the sector:
“The Onã Fund was created to address a contradiction: although culture is one of the country's greatest assets, those who sustain its historical and creative foundations are rarely at the center of investments. Our commitment is to build permanent pathways for Afro-Indigenous and marginalized artists, collectives, and communities, strengthening autonomy, territory, development, and cultural sovereignty.”, he declares.
Yananda Lima, Senior Coordinator of Partnerships and Development in Philanthropy Management at Sitawi, emphasizes that the quality of the financial structure is what distinguishes initiatives with a one-off impact from those with lasting transformation:
“Governance, transparency, strategy, and good management are elements that determine whether an investment will generate lasting transformation or just one-off results. The Onã Fund understands this deeply: it is pioneering the construction of a permanent infrastructure so that Brazilian culture, in its richest diversity, can be financed with continuity and dignity.”, he states.
