Social responsibility of business - myth or reality? Russian Forbes claims that “good rich” exist and even names the best charitable foundations created by the richest residents of the Russian Federation by name.
The list of the best includes charitable foundations that billionaires themselves consider personal - and we all know that in today's Russia the line between corporate and personal is very thin. And these funds were evaluated according to the following criteria:
- the presence of a development strategy and a systematic approach to the work of the fund as a whole;
- management efficiency;
- openness and transparency;
- the provision of financing, and not only their own corporate programs;
- and of course the budget.
We present you the top 10 best charitable foundations of 2020, founded by the richest people in Russia.
10. “Absolute help” from Alexander Svetakov
This Russian oligarch chose a complex and non-traditional topic for his charity - children with special needs. And his foundation is the first and so far the only private swallow on this field. The fund has a number of charity programs dedicated to the rehabilitation of children with disabilities, both physical and mental.
Families who find themselves in difficult life situations do not disregard the fund. And six years ago, a school built on the principle of inclusion was opened in the Moscow Region - this is when ordinary children study together with special children. It is worth noting the transparency of the “Absolute” - anyone can easily find and download the report on the activities of the fund on the Internet.
In addition to the kids, she loves Svetakov and our smaller brothers. The Yuna fund for animal rehabilitation is financed with his money, in which homeless animals are washed, treated, socialized and attached.
9. “Art, science and sport” by Alisher Usmanov
The owner of Kommersant and MegaFon Alisher Usmanov prefers status things. Be it status education (Alisher’s foundation cooperates with the country's most prestigious universities), status museums (its “charity package” includes both the Orthodox Tretyakov Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art) and status theaters (Mariinka and Sovremennik).
8. “Safmar” by Mikhail Gutseriev
And here is the fund - a representative of the fine line between corporate and private. Officially, Samfar is owned by RussNeft Corporation, but in fact it spends money according to the ideas of Mikhail Gutseriev about virtues. Judging by the foundation’s programs, the businessman considers the first mission to be to cultivate virtues in fellow citizens - whether it be “a healthy mind in a healthy body” or “Dedicated to the Great Victory”.
Gutseriev does not ignore spirituality, and with a laudable impartiality, he allocates money for the restoration of both Orthodox churches and Muslim mosques.
The Khoroshkola project (created in collaboration with Yana Gref, the wife of German Gref) is a little apart, according to which children are taught to “set creative goals and achieve them in harmony”. Whatever it means.
7. “Islands” by Sergey Adonyev
The best charitable foundations owned by Russian oligarchs included a project from the sponsor of the election campaign, Ksenia Sobchak, and former Bulgarian citizen Sergei Adonyev.
For over ten years now, he has been helping people suffering from cystic fibrosis. This severe genetic pathology, also known as cystic fibrosis, in about half of the cases ends with the death of the carrier. The fund is managed by Sergey together with his wife Maria.
6. The Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation
Like many other businessmen from the ranking of Russia's best benefactors in 2020, an honorary resident of the village of Yeruda in the Krasnoyarsk Territory manages a charitable foundation with a woman. However, for lack of a wife, sister Irina helps to distribute finances.
Michael prefers to shower with good deeds the cultural sphere, both book and theater / music. Over the 15 years of operation, the Prokhorov Foundation has given a start to the life of about six-plus thousand cultural projects.
5. “Basis” by Oleg Deripaska
The Russian “aluminum king” with its inherent scope was immediately located on two positions of the rating. Yes, Deripaska supports two charitable foundations at once. The first of them (fifth place in the collection) is “Basis”, which is devoted to fundamental science, namely its physical and mathematical parts.
Previously, the “Basis” was called the “Dynasty” (closed in 2014 and appeared after a year and a half), but the name does not change the scope of activity. The Foundation continues to support young scientists of Russia, and last year even helped found the whole Institute of Theoretical and Mathematical Physics at Moscow State University.
4. "Free business" from Oleg Deripaska
Unlike Basis, the field of activity of Freedom is broader. It seems that Deripaska finances through him what interests him personally - be it dog shelters, archaeological sites or a Cossack choir ensemble.
But for the most part, the foundation continues the theme of education:
- provides scholarships to talented students;
- organizes practice at enterprises;
- encourages term papers and dissertations that bring real benefits to enterprises;
- rewards young scientists who have won competitions and so on.
Not a stranger to Derapaska is the dream of scientific and technological progress: for more than ten years his foundation has been managing a program with the telling name “Robotics”.
3. "Our future" from Vagit Alekperov
Just a year ago, Alekperov’s foundation was in the top ten of Forbes’s charity foundations in Russia, but much lower — in eighth place.
The foundation’s work is dedicated to the development of “social entrepreneurship”. It is declared that this is such a business with a human face, when the businessman prioritizes not profit, but public benefit.
How is this expressed in the work of the fund? In support of initiatives that can somehow benefit society, for example, an orthopedic device company for people with damaged spinal cord. In total, over the 12 years of the fund's operation, they have issued loans to more than 250 projects for an impressive amount of 650 million rubles.
2. Vladimir Potanin Charity Fund
According to Forbes experts, the situation with charity in Russia may take on a new and interesting turn after the current owners of capital retreat to a different world.
Many of the participants in the list have repeatedly stated that their families will not receive anything - it is better if they donate their capital to charity. Potanin is also among them. Like Usmanov, Vladimir is passionate about museums, and his foundation helps museums become more open, modern and progressive.
1. Charity Fund of Elena and Gennady Timchenko
In the first place among the best charitable foundations from Russian billionaires according to Forbes is the Timchenko family fund. This is a family business, the activities of which are in the interests of family representatives. Gennady is interested in sports, especially hockey, his wife Elena oversees the support of the elderly, and daughter Ksenia - children's programs.
Unlike other foundations, the Timchenko family pays special attention to small regional programs with an emphasis on “social effect”. For example, hockey is not professional, but domestic; culture - not metropolitan museums, but small “public spaces” in the provinces; the geriatric area is not clinics, but social organizations that allow pensioners to communicate with each other.
Do not assume that billionaires who are not in the Forbes charity rating are not involved in charity at all. Abramovich, Mikhelson, and Moshkovich are philanthropists, but they prefer not to advertise their activities. That is, Forbes experts have no data on what money is spent from charitable foundations of the aforementioned businessmen.
The topic of responsibility to the society of owners of multi-billion dollar states has been raised for a long time. In the United States, even treatises are written on this subject. And not only “sacrifice is necessary”, but also “you donate incorrectly”. According to American sociologists, rich people too much rest on their own right to decide what is good for others and what is not. And they are not inclined to engage in dialogue and listen to the opinion of the party that they want to benefit.
