It so happened that in the world there is a fairly clear distinction between rich and poor people. This is due to many factors, including employment, economic development countries and others.
One of the high moral values that their parents instill in their children is concern for their neighbor. Thus, it turns out that it is natural for a person to lend a helping hand to those in need, if there is such an opportunity.
Such actions can be called charity. And it will remain so as long as assistance is provided disinterestedly, on a voluntary basis. In this article, we will provide bright examples philanthropy in history. Perhaps this information will inspire you to do good deeds.
Concept and types
Before giving examples of charity, let's figure out what people mean by this concept. If you do not go into the wilds of terminology and omit incomprehensible words, the definition can be formulated as follows:
“Charity is the donation of private or corporate resources, as well as funds to third parties who need help.”
In other words, if a person gives his money, clothes or other valuables to those people who need it, and does not require any payment, compensation or reimbursement, then this will be charity. And you can help not only people. There are many animals that need care and attention.
There are 6 main types of such activities. Consider each of them and give examples of charity.
Corporate
Commercial organizations can engage in such charity on a voluntary basis. Moreover, this can be either completely unrelated to the main activity of a legal entity, or vice versa (for example, charitable foundations).
Companies can finance various public principles, social projects (not only state ones), buy medicines, take part in organizing assistance to those in need.
Who doesn't stand aside?
Citing examples of charity companies, we can name the banks "VTB" and "Russia", which annually transfer about 1-2 billion rubles to help those in need.
It is worth noting that in recent times of the total charitable assistance provided in Russia, about 75% fall to the share of the corporate type. Thus, it is dominant in our country.
For comparison, let's cite this fact: in 2015 in the United States, two-thirds of total amount charitable donations were made not by businessmen.
Private
The essence of this type is that ordinary people show mercy and donate their personal money, clothes, property and any other valuables to charity.
At the same time, if legal entities can make transfers, for example, to kindergartens on their own, then private investments mainly involve the transfer of funds through charitable foundations.
In turn, this organization already independently manages the invested funds, for example, to help in a particular area of life in a city, district or state.
As for the scale, as mentioned above, in Russia this type of charity is less common than in the United States. Perhaps this is due to the fact that too many scammers are trying to make money on ordinary people, inventing stories about sick children in need of urgent treatment. Of course, this is not the only trick, but this is how, in most cases, dishonest people lure out hard-earned funds.
And if abroad all such funds are checked, then our managers have not yet got their hands on it. Therefore, many charitable organizations are considered common people ordinary cars for ill-gotten gains.
Giving examples of charity that is private, one cannot ignore Bill Gates. This man became famous not only thanks to Microsoft Corp and Windows program. He is one of the most famous people who donate huge sums to charity. It is hard to believe, but during his life he has already managed to donate more than 36 billion US dollars to various areas of charitable assistance.
Philanthropy
Philanthropy is what charity is. The word itself comes from Greek and means love for people. Thus, philanthropy is a kind of gratuitous help to people.
Is there enough interesting examples charity, which can be classified as philanthropy. Did you know who Evangelis Zappas is? Namely, thanks to his donations, the very first modern Olympic Games in 1859.
If we consider such examples of charity in Russia, then to famous people refers to which finances its own fund. Thanks to him, it is inverted a large number of savings cultural heritage and healthy development of youth.
In the Russian Federation, they also know a citizen who donated almost all of his fortune for the construction of a treatment and rehabilitation center in the Urals. And this is as much as 3 billion rubles. And you, having such capital, could give all your money to charity and live like an ordinary average person?
patronage
Often people confuse patronage and philanthropy. Of course, these concepts denote charity. However, they differ in the areas in which gratuitous assistance is provided. So, patrons are engaged in helping the development of culture, science, and art.
Vivid examples of charity today, which can be called patronage, are the activities of people like Roman Abramovich and others. They managed to prove themselves as well-known patrons.
Abramovich spent more than $111 million on such activities. He is known as a sponsor of many cultural projects and also pays a lot of attention to art.
Potanin behaves somewhat more modestly, but still the amount allocated for charity is large - about 28 million US dollars. In addition to contributing to the development of education and the maintenance of cultural heritage, it also helps children.
Sponsorship
We often hear from TV screens that some producer is the sponsor of this or that program. alcoholic beverages. What does this concept really mean?
In truth, there is an understanding of sponsorship as advertising, but this is wrong. After all, charity means an activity that cannot bring financial profit.
Giving examples of modern charity, one can name any actions that companies do in support of animals, children, peace, etc. These are charitable events from Coca-Cola. What is the benefit of the company?
For the fact that it finances the event, it can distribute T-shirts with its logo to everyone, offer its products for free, that is, promote its brand. This is the hidden interest of any organization. There are undoubted benefits to society.
Social responsibility
Basically, this concept is associated with companies and organizations. There is a certain legal minimum that firms must comply with in their work. This is expressed in the deductions of taxes, duties, the implementation of norms and laws.
If companies comply with this minimum, and also do what they are not obliged to do, however, and thereby benefit society, then we can say that they are socially responsible.
The social responsibility of companies is disinterested assistance that concerns their economic activities. An example is the construction of kindergartens, schools and other facilities by private firms.
Charity is trendy
Above we have considered just some examples of charity and patronage. On the one hand, it's great that there are a lot of people and companies in the world who care not only about their own benefit, but are also ready to selflessly help those in need.
The same Bill Gates was able to organize about 40 billionaires so that they bequeathed their fortune to charitable foundations. And it really deserves respect.
Of course, there are other examples of philanthropy today. There are many people in Russia who, although they do not have a billion-dollar fortune, nevertheless show pity and help those who are faced with trouble and need help.
Targeted assistance is attractive because you can choose who you specifically want to help and immediately see the result: where the money was sent and what came of it. That's how he talks most of population of Russia, which decided to help.
With targeted assistance in our country, everything is quite good. And this is undoubtedly good: people do not leave each other in trouble. But on the other hand, targeted assistance deprives the sphere of charity of the opportunity for systemic changes.
That is, 200 rubles sent by you (and a thousand others like you) for the treatment of a child will make it possible to pay for an expensive procedure in a hospital abroad. But the same money received by the fund for the implementation of the program will help bring treatment technology to Russia and help not one child, but a thousand. These are all conditional figures, of course, but the mechanism itself works like this.
2. Any help is good
When charity representatives say that any help is needed, they mean that you should not give up the idea of help if you cannot immediately donate a million dollars or build a shelter for homeless animals. It is very important that everyone helps to the best of their ability.
Another thing is that these forces need to be directed in the right direction. Bringing a bag of toys to an orphanage has been a very irrelevant help for many years, if not sabotage.
Some attempts to "do good" - whether with money, toys or volunteering - often lead to dire situations.
It is much better to find out from foundations what help is really needed. with old people and children personal example, assistance with logistics, regular donations for statutory activities - most often the fund has a thousand and one actual task and several long-term system projects. Find a use for yourself and bring real benefit easy enough, you just have to ask.
3. Charitable foundations should only use donations for the beneficiaries
Charitable foundations also have statutory activities that require funds. The statutory activities of the fund include the entire administrative part, without which the fund will simply close: renting an office, communal payments, wage employees, office equipment and so on.
If you donate only targeted programs(and we remember that everyone wants his money to go to the treatment of the needy), then there is no money left for the basic needs of the fund. Most likely, the NPO will not be able to develop, will try to survive, or will close soon.
An NPO, or a non-profit organization, is an organization that does not have profit making as the main goal of its activities and does not distribute the profits received among the participants.
"Wikipedia"
4. If you help, then do it quietly.
There is such an attitude among people in our country. But she is fundamentally wrong. Say that you are helping out loud - and others will follow you. When people see that someone from their environment - with the same interests and income level, with the same - helps, they are more willing to try to do the same.
Do not doubt the reaction of others, but set an example, inspire friends, acquaintances and colleagues to do good deeds. We assure you that no one will throw a stone at you. And if at least one more person starts participating in charity at your suggestion, you have not lived this life in vain.
5. The only purpose of the funds is to find money for the ward (operation, overexposure, and so on)
This is the main, but not the only goal. There are side goals and tasks that help find donors and volunteers. To get to know about the foundation, you need to develop a website, create groups in social networks, participate in charity events, and be published in the media. This requires professional staff or freelancers. In this, funds are no different from businesses.
6. Employees of charitable foundations should not receive a salary
According to research ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS OF NCOs, OR SHOULD STAFF OF FOUNDATIONS BE PAID?, conducted by the Need Help Foundation, about 88% of Russian-speaking Internet users are not ready to donate money to pay salaries to employees of charitable organizations.
Now let's think. Fund staff perform important work? Is this job easy?
Fund employees do the same work as everyone else, only most often this work is much harder emotionally and rarely has at least some sort of standardized schedule.
Do these people have families and monthly expenses like everyone else? Yes, they also live in apartments, pay bills, feed their families.
And if only people who can afford to do this “for the soul” work in charitable foundations, then what percentage of the population of our country will be able to do this? And how many of these people want to do it? And main question: how many of these people are really qualified for this job?
7. The best way to help is to transfer money
The NGO Law allows fund staff to use up to 20% of donations for administrative expenses. This means that the less the fund receives, the less it can spend on its own needs. Including hiring permanent or temporary staff, paying for logistics (transporting something, picking up something) and contractor services.
Therefore, sometimes funds need more than money, help here and now with the solution of specific problems. Volunteers help out at times like these. Many foundations that have established work with volunteers trust them with a huge and important part of the work and therefore implement large-scale long-term projects. Some foundations and small non-profit organizations survive only thanks to the help of volunteers.
8. Volunteering is cleaning windows and painting fences.
Different volunteers are needed, different volunteers are important. Traditional volunteering is an important part of the foundations. It can take different forms: motorists often help with the delivery of oversized cargo, someone helps with cleaning or minor repairs, beautifying green areas and organizing events.
However, volunteering is not limited to this. Some foundations have volunteers who, while not employees, are responsible for part of the inner work. Constantly. For example, for coordinating all volunteers or an individual program, processing incoming proposals from corporate donors and donors, and so on.
The practice of intellectual volunteering is less common in our country, but quite popular abroad. She comes from the legal profession, where pro bono work for disadvantaged groups is the norm for any lawyer.
Now any specialist who wants to help with his skills and expertise can devote several hours of his professional time to the benefit of the fund. Therefore, if you are not very friendly with a hammer and nails, but at the same time you are doing an excellent job with website layout or writing brilliant texts, you can offer your services to the fund free of charge - and the effect of this will be much higher than if you were suffering with the tenth bent nail in a row . For the fund, such a contribution will be very valuable, because with the help of a new website or good text he will be able to raise more funds and attract more resources for the implementation of targeted programs.
Thus, you will save the fund money to attract a specialist of your level, time to search for a professional, reduce the risk of the fund colliding with an unqualified or unscrupulous contractor, remove headache from NPO employees who will be able to focus on their immediate tasks. And help raise funds for major projects.
9. Volunteering is gratuitous, and therefore optional work
Volunteering is voluntary, that's true. But this only means that you voluntarily came to the fund and offered your help, took responsibility and enjoy the trust of the fund. And not that you can disappear at any moment without fulfilling your obligations.
You need to understand that NPO employees are counting on you, spend time and effort for your training and immersion in the task, and also try very hard to motivate and thank you as much as possible.
If you understand that for some reason you cannot fulfill your obligations, please behave in the same way as you would behave with relatives, clients, any other non-NGO people: find a replacement, pay for the task, complete earlier than expected. Find a way to get the job done. For you, this is not your main job, and, of course, no one will punish you. But with your irresponsibility you will punish the fund, and even worse - its wards. Someone will not receive medicines on time, someone will lose their holiday, someone will not pass a very necessary socialization course.
In business, if you fail the task, the client and the boss will remain dissatisfied. The stakes are even higher. That's why best advice for volunteers, it means being an honest person and keeping your word.
10. Only large companies can make a significant contribution, no one will notice my participation
The best contribution of a company to charity is the involvement of employees in the process. After all, corporate donations or volunteering are most often of a one-time, irregular nature. Although there are notable exceptions, when companies develop long-term philanthropic programs in conjunction with foundations. Most often this international companies who choose large, well-known funds. This is definitely good practice that needs to be developed.
However, Russian business, especially in the regions, is inclined to give “extra” money to charity when they have it, and it is not known whether there will be more. Therefore, little-known medium and small funds are left without regular support and cannot plan their activities at least a few months ahead, not to mention long-term plans.
All over the world, and Russia is no exception, the lion's share (and the most reliable part) of income is private donations. And the most important thing is regular donations. Your 200 rubles a month allows the foundation to plan the development of the program or hold an event.
And if you personally can donate a few hours a month of your professional time, then this will save (for example, not hire an employee or refuse the services of paid freelancers) and direct funds to the foundation's targeted programs.
Lydia Moniava, manager of the children's program at the Vera Hospice Assistance Fund: "Something joyful happens all the time"
“I became a volunteer at the age of 16. There was such a project in RCCH*: volunteers walked around the hospital together with children and took photos. My friend and I decided to participate, and I really enjoyed talking with the guys, they seemed to me much deeper and more talented than ordinary peers. Probably because, unlike healthy children, who can do a variety of things (go to school to study, walk in the yard), they have a rather small range of activities - they can draw, write, compose ... As a result, they devote a lot of time to creative things, and that's why they're doing great. And although they do not feel well at the same time, I came to them not because I felt sorry for them, but because I was interested in them.
One day I decided to go to work in the Gift of Life Foundation. I hoped that then I would have the opportunity to spend even more time in the hospital. But it turned out the opposite - as soon as a person comes to work for a charity, he does not see children at all, he sits with papers, reports, a computer, collects money ... On the other hand, I understand that families with sick children have so many needs that in the first place you need to help them with this. I write about some of our needs on Facebook. I always try to write from myself personally. And so as not to offend anyone: neither the mother of the child, nor the father, nor doctors, nor friends. Nine years ago I did the same thing, but on LiveJournal. At first, she simply told stories about what I had in the hospital, and when there were a lot of subscribers and they began to offer help, I realized that I could ask her.
If we collect money, we will never tell scandalous stories about, for example, how a father left the family and does not help, or how a doctor in a hospital scolded someone ... This is parallel information, it does not help anything. We do not publish photos of sick and unhappy children, on the contrary, we post photos that parents like. We do not write what is unpleasant for the family, what does not make sense to make public ... We just say that we need a ventilator. We explain: if he is not there, the child's life will turn into hell, because he will remain forever alone in intensive care. If we collect the money, he will have a normal human life normal childhood...
Why is it possible to collect such amounts? Because we are friends with the families we help, we love them. If a person does something very important for very important people for himself, everything works out. It is important not to work formally - then everything is found. The problem is that we have 170 wards. They all need something, but you can't post 170 requests a day on Facebook. We are very grateful that people in general help the fund, transfer money, then we can cover other needs.
I have enough strength, because when you communicate with people, they talk not only about horror and grief. Life is made up of pleasant things, for example, a nanny showed live butterflies to one boy, the temperature of another decreased, and he felt better, a teacher came to the girl for the first time, and now she can study ... Something joyful happens all the time. As a result, it turns out that we have much more good than bad.”
Varvara Turova, actress, social activist: "No one is obliged to help anyone"
“It’s interesting to me, because every person is interested in doing what he can do. If I see that, thanks to my actions, a person is alive, but could be dead, or a person is free, but could be in prison, it turns me on incredibly. But there is a deceit in this, fate deceives us, because after the first success it seems that it will always be like this, and it will be like that once out of ten. A lot of things don't work out. But what happens, brings such satisfaction that I want to continue.
Not in Russian good word in order to determine my status. No matter how we say “social activist” or “human rights defender”, it still turns out to be a Komsomol worker, a pioneer. And this immediately leads to another meaning, which is read by many when I write about something, for example, on Facebook - ardor. And in the most unfavorable sense, something like idiocy, and I would not like to think that I make such an impression. In fact, I am a rather pragmatic person, as a rule, there is always a specific meaning and purpose in my actions. And if, relatively speaking, I stand on a stool and start screaming very loudly, I do it on purpose, knowing full well why. For example, I understand that I need to write in such a way as to attract as much attention as possible. Or do I need attention specific people. Then I need to make a big fuss so that they get it too. And it works.
I can't say that it's hard for me to do this. That is why I feel embarrassed when they begin to praise me. It all started by chance. In my opinion, it was inconvenient or embarrassing for me to refuse ... And then, when it turned out, I was hooked. Now a lot of people write to me. And this is my biggest problem. Because desperate people turn to me, including those who have sick children, and I can’t imagine anything worse. And they literally write the following: "There is only one hope for you." There are many, many such people, I receive 20 letters a day ... There is a big risk of saying: “I can’t help everyone ...” The main thing here is intonation. In no case should you pronounce these words, rolling (from fatigue) eyes. I hope that I am catching this process in myself, because it is terribly important not to lose the ability to hear people. I really can’t help everyone, but sometimes it helps if I just answer them, honestly say that I don’t know how and what to write to them, how to refuse ... But it becomes easier for them simply because they are not indifferent to them. Many do not need money, but support, because they feel alone and lost. Giving support to me is much more difficult than writing a post on Facebook so that people start transferring money. Everything is simple: you need to talk about it regularly and loudly. And without aggression: no one is obliged to help anyone. This is a very important thing. Once you forget about it, people stop responding.”
Tatyana Krasnova, lecturer at the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University, coordinator of the Envelope for God community**, co-founder of the Galchonok Foundation: "It's a strong drug"
“Most things I do for my own pleasure. I really like being a decent person, and I like myself when I manage to behave decently. And this means - do not offend, do not get angry, help, improve, correct. I am convinced that this is a strong "drug" - a feeling of satisfaction from one's own behavior. And it is not unique to me alone. Children are often brought to our charity meetings. I will tell you an amazing story. Once a boy of about five came to us. His mother brought money for the treatment of the same five-year-old boy, but with cancer, a Tajik from a poor village. And her son brought his best car as a gift to this unknown boy. New. Packaged. He felt sorry for the car, but his mother told him about the sick boy, and he decided. Brought. Gave the most expensive - almost crying. If only you knew how we praised him! We told him that he had done something incredibly important. And he was happy. Moreover, he wanted to repeat this amazing feat. He comes to us with his beautiful mother. He draws pictures for our wards. I think his mother is raising a great son who knows well what real joy is. In fact, everything is done for her sake. ”
According to modern explanatory dictionary Charity is the provision of material assistance to those in need, both individuals and organizations. Charity can also be aimed at encouraging and developing any public meaningful forms activities: protection environment, protection of cultural monuments. Despite this, the meaning of the word "charity" is already obvious. This word consists of two simple components "good" and "do", that is, to do good.
Since ancient times, there has been a tradition of tithing, when a tenth of one's income had to be brought as a gift to God or given to charity. The Bible says: “He who gives to the poor will not become poor, but whoever closes his eyes from him, there are many curses on him.” It is also said: "The joy of a man is his charity." Now everyone decides for himself whether to do charity work for him or not. Many do not consider it necessary, because they think that everyone should help himself. Someone says that how will he help others if he lacks himself? But often we do not notice that each of us in life had people who helped us just like that. They helped, not always financially, but by suggesting the right way, helping to carry bags from the store, introducing the right people, gave important tips... And someday we must pay back these social debts in the form of helping other people. Lack of money is not a reason not to do charity, because you can donate small amounts or do volunteer work. Therefore, charitable activities are within the power of everyone.
Unfortunately, in our time, many do charity work not at the behest of the heart, but on the basis of selfish considerations. For example, to raise the image commercial organization or to get preferential loan simplified scheme, since charitable activities are welcome government bodies. In my opinion, it is not very important what motivates people to do charity work. Help and kindness is always good. Psychologists today say that a person is engaged in charity in more for himself. Each of us wants to be loved, thanked, considered good. Starting to do charity work, helping others, a person himself becomes a source of love. And he will have as many blessings as he has done good deeds in his life. Only the main thing is not to wait for returns, not to think about the fruits, because such “charity” will bring nothing but tension from expectation and disappointment. L.N. Tolstoy said: “Happiness is what a person desires for himself alone; good is what a person desires for himself along with everyone else.
By studying the biographies of the successful and happy people such as Kellogg, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Templeton, you can see that they attach to charity great importance. They feel deep gratitude for personal success, and are aware of their responsibility to society. Whoever has the right and the opportunity to earn a lot, he also has the duty to take care of the disadvantaged. More recently, in one of social networks I met a seventeen-year-old student who, despite his early years, is the founder of a charitable foundation for helping blind children. When I asked him what charity is for him, he replied: “It is like a person's need for food and water. In the same way, my soul cannot help those in need, that is, this is the need of the soul.
The Dalai Lama said: “In today's interconnected world, individuals and nations can no longer solve many of their problems alone. We need each other. Therefore, we must develop a sense of universal responsibility. It is our personal and collective responsibility to protect and preserve the human family on this planet and to support its weak members." I also believe that charity is the way to the unity of the people. It helps our country to remain a great power. Why couldn't Hitler defeat Russia, despite the fact that his army was much larger and better equipped? Because the Russian people helped each other in whatever way they could. Helped, not having any opportunity to do so, shared the last piece of bread. And now people have remained the same kind and disinterested. This summer, an emergency situation occurred in our region - “ big water”, and we were all witnesses of the disinterested help of people. Volunteers, young boys and girls, delivered bread, water and stew to the victims. Those whose houses were not flooded invited flood victims to stay overnight. After what I saw, I realized that thanks to kindness, solidarity and mutual assistance, our people will cope with all difficulties.
Good deeds are especially needed now. It is in the power of each of us to help those in need in order to compensate for the selfishness and hypocrisy of our society. Not only people need care and attention, but also animals, plants, water, the Earth... Our world will become even more beautiful if people do good!
“For many years now, the hairdresser whose haircut I have been going to one of the orphanages in the Moscow region on a personal initiative, and also visits several families with disabled children, and cuts the children’s hair for free. When she opened her own salon and received documents, she they said: “But you will serve these 30 grandmothers for free.” In response to a remark about a nearby municipal hairdressing salon that receives subsidies, she heard: “Give us a license here,” says Natalya Kaminarskaya, executive secretary of the Donor Forum.
You will not surprise anyone with such a story in Russia. In the environment of non-profit organizations, there is even an expression about state intervention: “to bend over” companies. On the other hand, there are citizens who reproach business for engaging in charity solely for selfish purposes. In practice, some companies even hide this fact: they are afraid of other applicants for help or the arrival of the tax. For foreign companies, corporate social responsibility is the norm of life, so they do charity work wherever they operate. According to Renata Khorakova, program manager of EMC's Global Corporate Initiatives, it is in the interests of the private sector to help create a healthy society in which business can develop in the long term. That's why social programs can be seen as a "social investment".
Nowhere in the world are companies the main donors. For example, in the US, their share is only about 10% of the total budget of the philanthropic sector. Despite having a 5% tax break, on average a large corporation spends no more than 1% of its net profit on charity. Everyone participates, but in different ways - co-financing, encouraging volunteering, social team building, Pro bono (volunteers from law firms provide free consultations NPO).
"Many foreign companies, having existed for decades, understand that there have been, are and will be crises, and charity should still be part of the corporate culture, as a way to increase employee loyalty and, ultimately, as a means of capitalization," says Tatyana Zadirako (Moscow), executive director of the United Way Foundation.
At Russian business in addition to entering the international market the reason for engaging in charity may be the personal motive of the leader or stakeholders. Depending on the size and level of the company, the scale of participation also varies. For example, Sberbank, as a state-owned company, sets an example for others. He not only supports cultural institutions, donates to the development of medicine, science, sports, the revival of historical and cultural monuments, but also helps to collect private donations from the Podari Zhizn Charitable Foundation through bank card, places information about the organization in the regions. Baltika Brewing Company spent 126 million rubles on social and charitable projects in 2009, Rosbank has a grant program for non-commercial projects, and the Ilim Group and the Grand Hotel Europe have corporate charitable foundations. At the initiative of former hotel manager Thomas Knoll, since 2006, the hotel has launched a program to recruit boys and girls from social institutions.
Many companies help with their products, provide their territory to NGOs for holding actions and raising funds. So, the annual festival "Kind Peter" holds in the network of hypermarkets "Lenta" and "O'Key" the actions "Bank" and "Bought and gave." In the Krokha chain of stores, when buying goods marked with stickers, part of the profit goes to medicines for children with cancer. Moreover, the store and its suppliers refused part of their profits, so this did not affect the cost of the goods. Lush has gone even further. She took on the costs of production, transportation and import of one product, and all proceeds from its sale (excluding VAT) are directed to charitable projects. In Russia, these are the Baikal Nature Reserve and the Social and Rehabilitation Center of the Russian Red Cross for underage girls in St. Petersburg.
Businesses are especially willing to support various city events. But such projects, according to Mikhail Voziyanov, General Director of CJSC "YIT Lentek", are sponsorship, not charitable. "Each company decides for itself whether it has, first of all, a desire to do charity work, resources, whether its employees are ready to participate in social projects and whether they will be really interested in it. A company's voluntary participation in charitable programs makes it possible to judge the social maturity of the business," believes he. For the employees of the design studio "Mediamama", participation in the project "Helping is easy" by the Charitable Foundation "Advita" became a search additional meanings at work. "Being engaged only in business, one involuntarily begins to think: who needs it, by and large? What is the use of us to society? The more opportunities we have to help each other, the more opportunities for development," explains Kirill Astakhov, director of the studio.
According to the director of the HSBC branch in St. Petersburg Yulia Topolskaya, many have a desire to help, but a person can be busy, not know where to turn, or just be shy. "That's how I came to this. I have several friends, partners, clients who help in private, and they periodically throw a fundraising cry. I'm always involved, because, working from morning to evening, I don't have time to do something on my own: there must be a motor around which everything revolves. In our team, this is a bank that not only transfers money itself, but also gives people the opportunity to participate in the process. And everyone responds."
The crisis has become an impetus for new forms of business participation in helping those in need. All large quantity of companies support the Charity Instead of Souvenirs initiative and donate New Year's gift budgets to social projects. The idea of combining corporate sports and charity was picked up by the Teply Dom and Mercy foundations. Two mini-football tournaments held in the city this spring brought together 19 teams and 850,000 rubles. Corporate volunteering projects began to appear. Volunteers from HSBC bank teach environmental and financial literacy in schools, employees of VTB Bank plant bushes in the Alexander Garden at their own expense. Last autumn, a number of companies in St. Petersburg hosted the relay race "Give Warmth to a Child!" - employees donated money and things for the wards of the Warm House Foundation. Fruit orchards appeared on the territory of several orphanages in the Leningrad Region, which, with the support of the Mercy Charity Fund, were planted by volunteers from the Valka Hotels Group and EMC mini-hotels along with the children.
Companies are often reproached for doing charity work for the sake of PR. But the result can only be some loyalty on the part of the local administration, since the media do not name the organizers and partners of social actions.
A really serious claim to donors is the desire to do everything yourself and directly. As a result, the focus is on the symptom, and not the problem that gives rise to it, which ultimately affects efficiency. "Everyone is ready to repeat that it is necessary to give a person not a fish, but a fishing rod, but the one who wants to give a fishing rod should think: is there a river nearby, does the person want to fish, does he eat fish, etc. As a rule, the donor does not want to answer these questions. And here it is important to respect his stereotypes, but not agree with them and clarify them," says Olga Alekseeva, director of CAF Global Trustees, a division of the Charities Aid Foundation (UK).
Business and NGO partnerships are needed, who are experts in their field, and not "beggars" or unnecessary intermediaries, as corporate donors often perceive them. The reason for this is distrust due to the lack of information, but when choosing a business partner, the company approaches the issue responsibly and carefully. Why not do the same with NGOs?
Natalya Kaminarskaya,
Executive Secretary of the "Donor Forum"
"The sphere of charity, like any other activity Why businesses do charity st, develops according to certain rules, they are known and accepted in the world. Some of these rules are enshrined in laws, others - at the level of self-regulation, ethical codes and other documents. In Russia, laws are often not enforced, but are replaced by unwritten rules; individual organizations or individuals also have their own established arrangements with the state. Under such conditions, our state can afford to say: "So much money is needed for such and such a project, give it to us, we will spend it, because we know better how to use it." Or when in one city the governor decides to build fountains and the construction of fountains becomes a charity.
The result was some parallel reality, in which there are philanthropists, NGOs, citizens who decide some real social problems, and official bodies that do not see it. Using our terminology and approaches, they create their own NGOs, endow them with powers, funds, and persuade them to donate business there. The state should not use racketeering methods, but create conditions for the development of charity, so that where its obligations are not enough, the society itself can generate what is missing - understand the importance and figure out how to do it. There is movement in this direction, but it is not universal. There is already a "Concept for the Development of Charity and Volunteerism in the Russian Federation", the Law on endowments, introduced new status"socially oriented NGOs". These are the right steps, but often such things remain undertranslated, underrepresented in the information field and little known to interested parties, for which both the state and the NGOs themselves are to blame.
Needless to say, charity for business, among other things, is one of the instruments of Government Relations (GR). The company wants to show the authorities that it is loyal. The main thing for the company to remember is that they have a choice - to do or not to do, and also - what to do. Large businesses can afford to fulfill the expectations of the authorities and do what they think is right, while small and medium-sized businesses have much less such opportunities. Therefore, it is necessary to unite in associations to defend their interests. If we do not develop self-regulation, build common goals and tasks, we will have a vertical contract with the state, and not a public contract 
R".
Daniel Briman, Why businesses do charity
Vice President for Corporate Affairs, Baltika Brewing Company OJSC
"By doing charity work, Baltika does not expect to increase the company's income or receive any additional preferences. We work absolutely openly, we are not afraid of regulatory authorities and do not buy ourselves a" ticket ", we do not" atone for sins. Charity is not a "payoff" for us, but part of the activities of a successful company. Yes, city and regional authorities turn to us with a request to help some social project. But I don’t remember a case when we were given this as an ultimatum and when we agreed without seeing the need.In this case, we are considering the recommendations of the authorities state power as a better awareness of existing problem areas. When this is combined with our ideology, capabilities and policies, then we support such projects. But not always, and not only them.
Are we counting on publicity and recognition? Let's just say that we do not exclude this, but we do not specifically actively promote it. As the saying goes, "Do good and put it in a box." At some point, it will play its part.
If we consider charity as a tool for building a company's reputation in order to achieve an external effect, especially in the short term, then this is a very long way, and it is certainly more expensive than PR campaigns. The PR department could "turn mountains" if it had at least a comparable budget to the one we spend on charity. It is rather a way of life of the company, its emotional component. After all, company policy is shaped by the people who work for it. Probably, we have such a worldview - you can not be successful separately from others. If you are successful, then at least you need to create a positive space around yourself. The company is a subject that depends on the social environment in the same way as it depends on it. Moreover, we produce a consumer product, which is at risk from the point of view of unregulated distribution and sale. Social responsibility and approaches should be Why businesses do charity weighed and thought out a few steps ahead."
Vladimir Svinin,
Chairman of the Board of Okhta Group LLC, CEO OOO " Management Company"Svinyin and Partners", member of the Board of Trustees of the Charitable Foundation "Teply Dom"
"In my opinion Why businesses do charity e, personal charity of the owner or manager of the company and corporate charity are essentially different things. Companies in a market economy are created and exist for the implementation of specific goals - the release of products, the provision of services, the implementation of ideas, etc. The main criteria for their evaluation are in monetary terms - revenue, profit, capitalization. And the decision whether to do charity work is a purely business, "management" task on the topic: "Which of the 400 ways to improve performance." Yes, this is a very noble and correct remedy. It improves the image of the company, creates a good atmosphere in the team, and yet it is necessary to achieve their own goals. The motives of philanthropic companies are not selfish, but blaming them for commercialism is like blaming a shark for what it wants to eat. But society should be interested in instilling in companies operating in the city certain business standards, including the custom of doing charity work. There will be no more money in the city, but the disadvantaged will decrease. And life in the city will be better.
As for the reasons why corporate executives do philanthropy in private, they are more diverse, multifaceted and changeable, as people constantly flow from the material world to the emotional world. Businessmen, of course, may also have business benefits, for example, improving their image, but at the same time, the main message will still be a sense of duty, pity, and compassion. Although, of course, other reasons are possible, for example, feelings of guilt, fear. And here I agree that making donations - knowledge, time, money - is indeed one of the tools for improving one's destiny."
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