Obra do Frei Gil

What Obra do Frei Gil does

Obra do Frei Gil (legal name: Sociedade de Promoção Social – Obra do Frei Gil) is a Portuguese Instituição Particular de Solidariedade Social (IPSS) headquartered in Praia de Mira, Coimbra district, founded in October 1942 by Dominican priest Frei Gil Alferes (Manuel Nunes Alferes). Recognized as a Pessoa Coletiva de Utilidade Pública since 25 March 1991, the institution operates five distinct social responses across three districts (Coimbra, Aveiro, Porto): three Casas de Acolhimento Residencial (Mira, Lobão, Ramalde) with combined capacity for approximately 105 children and youth aged 0–25, plus autonomy-transition housing (Casa de Autonomia, Apartamento de Autonomização); a CAFAP (Centro de Apoio Familiar e Aconselhamento Parental) in Santa Maria da Feira serving up to 45 families with children aged 0–18; and Infantário Frei Gil in Bustos with capacity for 42 creche children and 60 jardim-de-infância children.

The institution delivers child protection, family preservation, parental counseling, and early childhood education services rather than technology products; no proprietary technology, AI capabilities, applications, or developer APIs are disclosed. Service delivery relies on multidisciplinary professional teams, formalized procedures, and physical residential and educational infrastructure.

The revenue model is a hybrid of public funding and private giving. The primary financial input comes from cooperation agreements with the Instituto de Segurança Social, IP that finance and regulate the residential care, family support, and infantário operations, supplemented by a cooperation agreement with the Ministério da Educação for the infantário valências. Secondary revenue derives from individual and organizational donations, plus a fiscal consignation mechanism allowing Portuguese taxpayers to direct a portion of their IRS to the institution. There is no commercial pricing model, no equity funding, and no parent-subsidiary structure; the organization is governed by social bodies (Presidente, Secretaria, Mesa Administrativa, Provedor) under its canonical erection by the Bishop of the Diocese of Coimbra.

Name

Obra do Frei Gil

Legal name

SOCIEDADE DE PROMOÇÃO SOCIAL - OBRA DO FREI GIL

Website

https://obradofreigil.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

1942

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Obra do Frei Gil is a Portuguese non-profit social welfare institution (IPSS), founded in 1942, that operates residential care homes, a family support center, and an infantário across the Coimbra, Aveiro, and Porto districts, serving at-risk children, youth, and families under cooperation agreements with the Instituto de Segurança Social, IP.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child and Youth Social Welfare Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Other Residential Care Facilities (623990)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDACAAAC

Drop-In / Flexible Childcare Centers

Education/Early Childhood Education/Daycare & Childcare Centers

Keywords

• Child residential care
• Family support services
• Social solidarity institution
• Youth welfare services
• Early childhood education

Headquarters

HQ city

Praia de Mira

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Social Security Cooperation Agreements: Operating funding through cooperation agreements with Instituto de Segurança Social, IP for residential care (CAR), family support (CAFAP), and childcare services.
2. Donations: Charitable donations from individuals and organizations to support institutional operations and social programs.
3. Fiscal Consignment: Tax consignation mechanism allowing taxpayers to direct a percentage of their IRS to the institution.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Obra do Frei Gil is a non-profit social solidarity institution (IPSS) that provides residential care for at-risk children and youth through three Casa de Acolhimento Residencial (CAR) facilities, family support and parental counseling via a CAFAP center, and early childhood education through Infantário Bustos (creche and jardim-de-infância). Services are delivered under cooperation agreements with the Instituto de Segurança Social, IP and the Ministério da Educação.

Product overview

Obra do Frei Gil is a non-profit social welfare institution (IPSS) offering a portfolio of five interconnected social services focused on child and youth care. The core offerings include three Residential Care Homes (Casa de Acolhimento Residencial) providing accommodation and development support for children and youth in Mira, Lobão, and Ramalde; a Family Support and Parental Counseling Center (CAFAP) in Santa Maria da Feira offering prevention services for families; and an Infantary (Kindergarten) in Bustos providing childcare and early education. These services operate under cooperation agreements with the Instituto de Segurança Social and serve children from infancy through young adulthood (0-25 years), with complementary autonomy-supporting programs for older youth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Casa de Acolhimento Residencial Mira Residential care home for children and youth (boys aged 6-18/25) providing family-like living structures supporting physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development, with capacity for 40 residents.
• Casa de Acolhimento Residencial Lobão Residential care home for children and youth (boys aged 6-18/25) with emphasis on ages 15-18, including a Casa de Autonomia (Autonomy House) for practical training toward future independence. Capacity for 30 residents.
• Casa de Acolhimento Residencial Ramalde Residential care home for children and youth (both sexes, ages 0-18/25) with an Apartamento de Autonomização (Independence Apartment) supporting transition to adult life. Capacity for 35 residents.
• CAFAP - Centro de Apoio Familiar e Aconselhamento Parental Santa Maria da Feira Family support and parental counseling center providing prevention services including Family Preservation, Family Reunification, and Family Meeting Point modalities, serving up to 45 families with children aged 0-18.
• Infantário Bustos (Infantário Frei Gil) Kindergarten facility offering creche (42 children, 4 months to 3 years) and jardim-de-infância (60 children, 3 to 6 years) providing pedagogical care and developmental support, operating under a cooperation agreement with the Ministério da Educação.

Quantifiable outcome

• Capacidade total de acolhimento: 105 crianças/jovens
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Instituto de Segurança Social, IPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcordos de cooperação com o Instituto de Segurança Social, IP para as respostas sociais de Casas de Acolhimento Residencial (CAR), Centro de Apoio Familiar e Aconselhamento Parental (CAFAP) e Infantário. O ISS financia e regula as operações da instituição.
• Ministério da EducaçãocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcordo de cooperação com o Ministério da Educação para o Infantário Frei Gil, abrangendo as valências de creche e jardim-de-infância.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa: Portuguese Red Cross delivers a wide range of social services including vulnerable-population support, family assistance, and emergency social response. Overlaps with Obra do Frei Gil's beneficiary mission and nonprofit/ISS-engaged operating model, but on a much broader humanitarian portfolio.
• Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa: Largest Portuguese IPSS, operating an extensive portfolio of social services including residential care, family support, and early childhood services nationwide. Comparable service-line breadth and ISS cooperation-funded model, though much larger scale and broader geographic footprint than Obra do Frei Gil.

Direct peers

• Cáritas Portuguesa: Portuguese Catholic charitable confederation providing social services for vulnerable families and children, including residential care, family support, and poverty alleviation. Operates under similar ecclesiastical/canonical foundations and serves overlapping beneficiary populations at risk.
• Fundação do Gil: Portuguese pediatric healthcare and child-welfare foundation supporting hospitalized children and vulnerable families. Directly comparable mission around child welfare, donor-funded governance, and Portuguese nonprofit structure — namesake confusion notwithstanding, it is a clearly distinct organization.
• Aldeias SOS Portugal: SOS Children's Villages Portugal operates family-like residential villages for vulnerable children — the closest direct analogue to Obra do Frei Gil's Casa de Acolhimento Residencial model, including similar ISS cooperation-funded residential placements and autonomy-transition support.

Regional players

• Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Porto: Major Porto-based IPSS operating residential, family, and healthcare social services — direct overlap with the Casa de Acolhimento Residencial Ramalde catchment and overall service mix. Competes in Obra do Frei Gil's northern operational territory.

Emerging players

• APAV - Associação Portuguesa de Apoio à Vítima: Portuguese non-profit providing specialized support to crime victims — including child victims and at-risk families. Overlaps with the CAFAP family-support function (parental counseling, family preservation, risk prevention) and refers at-risk children into residential settings such as Obra do Frei Gil's CARs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/obradofreigil
• Instagraminstagram.com/obrafreigil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/obra-do-frei-gil

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Obra do Frei Gil