Watching the spread of charity in Russia, before our eyes we can see how it is growing from individual local initiatives into an instrument to shape civil society, from social aid into the category of serious social technologies. The projects currently under way in this country are getting more and more technologically and quality-based, and increasingly involve more and more experts.
Nevertheless, for charitable activity in Russia to make a qualitative leap in its development it is necessary to solve some fundamental and very important problems. One of them is to convince people that charity is a unique tool for social change, which is available to absolutely everyone. While implementing its programs, the Vladimir Potanin Foundation is seeking not only to assist and support those who are in need of assistance and support. We are also eager to demonstrate how efficient and effective charitable activity can be in improving our everyday life, how interesting and outstanding a well-done charitable project can be.
Unless people are directly involved in this or that kind of activity, they can hardly be expected to share its values and ideology. The popular belief that only wealthy people can be involved in charity is one of the most fallacious myths. The decision to take part in charitable activities is a result of intellectual activity and spiritual development, a kind of civic choice for all of us. If all those living in this country were to see charity as a spiritual need, and if charity becomes widespread, involving a large part of society, then it will get powerful resources – and not only financial ones. Charity is efficient only when it is a manifestation of your civil stand, which exceeds the limits of your duty to vote and pay taxes.
Involving hundreds of talented, enterprising and interesting people from various spheres of society into its activities, the V. Potanin Foundation aims to turn them into at least interested onlookers, if not participants. Why, those assisted and supported today may very well tomorrow be interested in assisting and supporting someone else. An act of kindness multiplies itself. The students who are scholarship recipients today may very well be willing to establish their own scholarships tomorrow. The reporters, who are recipients of charitable grants today, may stop considering charity uninteresting and boring for their readers. Only when we succeed in turning charity into something of interest and importance for most citizens, will we see positive developments and gradually get rid of the wrong perception that charity is a kind of “cash cow” to which someone else, not me, should contribute. Only when most Russians take part in charitable activity will its effect become really tangible.
Larissa Zelkova,
Director General
