This paper aims to analyze the adequacy of social support practices in the non-profit sector by users and representatives which are part of “Conselho Local de Ação Social (CLAS)” a non-profit organization located in the north of Portugal and focused on the prevention of social exclusion and poverty. A mixed methodological approach was used. A questionnaire was applied to social beneficiaries. To complement the results, interviews with the entities that constitute the executive board of CLAS were conducted. It was possible to perceive the discrepancies on the social support provided and measure the assessment given by the entity responsible for the social network. Consequently, we could conclude that the beneficiaries of the social response under research perceive a low level of social support received, as opposed to the institutions that perceive a high level of social support provided. This difference in support perception is reflected in all the dimensions analyzed. This research supports executors and decision makers responsible for the implementation of local social support policies on the alignment of beneficiaries’ expectations as well as contribute on the operation improvement of social networks. As for contributions to the practice, some practical suggestions are advised to social network operators, such as the need for more active listening with feedback for beneficiaries, as well as a set of other measures to be implemented regularly in the medium and long term. Regarding contribution to the theory, it is important to mention that the present research is innovative and original as it contributes to clarify and expand the existing literature on social networks in the tertiary sector, based on the analysis of 5 different dimensions of social support. Furthermore, the authors intend to support the welfare of users of the social network under research by increasing the performance of the social network under analysis.

本文旨在分析位于葡萄牙北部的非营利组织“ Conselho Local deAçãoSocial（CLAS）”的用户和代表在非营利部门中社会支持实践的充分性。预防社会排斥和贫困。使用了一种混合方法学方法。对社会受益人进行了问卷调查。为了补充结果，对构成CLAS执行委员会的实体进行了采访。可以感知所提供的社会支持方面的差异，并衡量负责该社交网络的实体所进行的评估。因此，我们可以得出结论，正在研究中的社会反应的受益者认为获得的社会支持水平较低，与那些认为所提供的社会支持水平较高的机构相反。支持感的这种差异反映在所分析的所有维度上。这项研究为执行者和决策者提供支持，这些执行者和决策者负责按照受益人的期望来实施当地的社会支持政策，并为改善社交网络做出贡献。至于对实践的贡献，建议一些实用的建议给社交网络运营商，例如需要对受益人进行更积极的倾听并提供反馈，以及一系列在中长期内将定期实施的其他措施。关于对理论的贡献，值得一提的是，本研究是创新性和原创性的，因为它基于对社会支持的5个不同方面的分析，有助于澄清和扩展有关第三部门社会网络的现有文献。此外，作者打算通过增加被分析社交网络的性能来支持被研究社交网络用户的福利。