Grupal

What Grupal does

Grupal (Grupo de Pacientes Artríticos de Porto Alegre) is a Brazilian nonprofit organization founded on May 31, 1984, recognized as the first NGO serving people with rheumatic diseases in Latin America. The organization provides free multiprofessional health and social services to patients with rheumatic conditions (including arthritis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, gout, tendinitis, bursitis, and rheumatoid arthritis) and to elderly members, encompassing psychological support (individual and group), social assistance, nutrition counseling, physical education, dance, Pilates, yoga, physiotherapy, and legal support. Operating from a single headquarters in downtown Porto Alegre (Rua Sete de setembro, 1126, sala 210, Centro), Grupal delivers a published weekly schedule of in-person and online activities and additionally helps members navigate state medication procurement processes and access public rights such as tax exemptions (IPVA, income tax), FGTS withdrawal, and disability benefits.

The technology footprint is intentionally minimal: a Wix-based website (wixstatic.com) supports content delivery, member pre-registration, blog publishing, transparency reporting, and digital communications. There is no proprietary platform, mobile application, API, or integration layer disclosed. The business model is donation- and grant-dependent. Revenue flows from individual donations directed to a Bradesco bank account (Agência 2276-4, Conta corrente: 9070-0, CNPJ: 90.987.777/0001-84), the Porto Alegre City Hall municipal donation platform, corporate sponsorships (pharmaceutical companies including GSK and Novartis, insurance firms, and local businesses), and formalized public-private partnership projects such as "Projeto Envelhecimento Saudável para Idosos com Reumatismo" and "Projeto Viva Bem com Reumatismo III." All services are provided entirely free of charge to beneficiaries. Governance rests with a president (Iara Cabreira Kobielski), administrative director (Maria de Lourdes Castilhos Quadrado), and projects director (Carme Skrebsky Moraes), supported by a fiscal council. Geographic reach is currently limited to Porto Alegre and surrounding region in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with virtual service delivery retained as a parallel channel following the COVID-19 adaptation.

Name

Grupal

Legal name

Grupo de Pacientes Artríticos de Porto Alegre

Website

https://grupal.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Grupal (Grupo de Pacientes Artríticos de Porto Alegre) is a nonprofit NGO founded in 1984 — the first in Latin America for rheumatic disease patients — providing free multiprofessional health, social, and legal support services in Porto Alegre, Brazil, funded through donations, sponsorships, and public-private partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Porto Alegre

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Grupal raises funds through direct donations to their Bradesco bank account (Agência 2276-4, Conta corrente: 9070-0, CNPJ: 90.987.777/0001-84) and through the Porto Alegre City Hall donation platform (doacoes.prefeitura.poa.br/projeto/1895). The organization also runs specific fundraising projects such as 'Viver Bem 60+' and 'Fazendo a diferença' aimed at elderly with rheumatic diseases.
2. Public-Private Partnerships: Grupal maintains formalized partnerships with public administration, including projects such as 'Projeto Envelhecimento Saudável para Idosos com Reumatismo' and 'Projeto Viva Bem com Reumatismo III' which likely provide operational funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Grupal is a nonprofit organization that provides free multiprofessional health and social support services to patients with rheumatic diseases in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Its services span eight disciplines — psychology, social work, nutrition, physical education, dance, yoga, Pilates, and legal support — delivered as a complementary care offering to formal medical treatment for the rheumatic patient community.

Product overview

Grupal (Grupo de Pacientes Artríticos de Porto Alegre) is the first NGO for people with rheumatic diseases in Latin America, founded in 1984. The organization operates as a unified social support platform offering multiprofessional health services free of charge. Its core offerings include psychological support, social assistance, nutrition, physical education, physiotherapy, dance, yoga, Pilates, and legal support. The organization runs specific programs like the Viver Bem 60+ project for elderly members, provides medication access assistance, and maintains an educational blog covering patient rights. Activities are conducted both in-person and virtually, with a weekly activity schedule spanning reception services, coexistence groups, and various wellness workshops.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Free multiprofessional services for patients with rheumatic diseases including psychological support, social assistance, nutrition, physical education, dance, Pilates, yoga, and legal support

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• GSK (GlaxoSmithKline)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPharmaceutical company listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal. GSK manufactures medications that may be relevant to patients with rheumatic diseases.
• NovartisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPharmaceutical company listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal. Novartis produces treatments for rheumatic conditions.
• Porto Alegre City Hall / PrefecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal public partnership for specific projects including 'Projeto Envelhecimento Saudável para Idosos com Reumatismo' and 'Projeto Viva Bem com Reumatismo III'. Accepts donations through the city's official donation platform.
• IHS (Healthcare Company)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerHealthcare-related company listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.
• Instituto GoldenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal organization.
• SW Tintas PantoneminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal business listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.
• Trein e LacerdaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal business listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.
• Hertz Farma PositivominorGTM or Marketing PartnerPharmaceutical company listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.
• GENminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCompany listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.
• RemedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPharmaceutical/healthcare company listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.
• LICIMEDminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedical/pharmaceutical company listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.
• IdealizeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCompany listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.
• SulgasminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGas company listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.
• ConsigazminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCompany listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.
• SulAméricaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerInsurance company listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.
• MF MagazineminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia company listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.
• CriativosminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCreative agency listed as a supporter/sponsor of Grupal.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• National Psoriasis Foundation: U.S. nonprofit serving patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis — a chronic immune-mediated condition with overlapping rheumatology relevance. Comparable in providing community programs, advocacy, education, and research support to a chronic disease patient population.
• Lupus Foundation of America: National U.S. nonprofit providing education, support groups, advocacy, and research funding for lupus patients — a chronic autoimmune rheumatic condition. Operates a comparable model of community support, education, and public-private partnership for a related patient population.
• Arthritis Foundation: The largest U.S. nonprofit dedicated to arthritis and rheumatic diseases, providing patient education, community programs, advocacy, and research funding. Directly comparable to Grupal in mission (rheumatic-disease patient support) and operating model (community programs, advocacy, partnerships with healthcare stakeholders).
• Versus Arthritis: UK-based charity formed by the merger of Arthritis Research UK and Arthritis Care, offering patient information, community support, and research funding. Closely mirrors Grupal's combined education-advocacy-support model for rheumatic patients.
• Spondylitis Association of America: U.S. nonprofit specifically serving patients with ankylosing spondylitis and related spondyloarthritis conditions. Mirrors Grupal's narrow-disease community-advocacy model for a rheumatic condition subset.

Broad incumbents

• American College of Rheumatology (ACR): Professional association of rheumatologists in the U.S. with adjacent patient-education and advocacy functions. Comparable as the dominant institutional player in rheumatic disease, though its primary audience is clinicians rather than patients.
• Sociedade Brasileira de Reumatologia (SBR): Brazil's national professional rheumatology society, focused on physician education, clinical guidelines, and scientific advancement rather than direct patient services. Comparable to Grupal as the principal institutional reference point for rheumatic disease in Brazil, but serves a different (provider) audience.

Emerging players

• Creaky Joints: Digital-first patient community and advocacy organization for people with arthritis and rheumatic disease, part of the Global Healthy Living Foundation. Represents the digitally native, scalable model that contrasts with Grupal's local in-person service delivery.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/grupalportoalegre
• Instagraminstagram.com/ong.grupal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grupal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grupal