"Commodity demand": attitude to charity in Russia
In the USSR, the concept of charity did not exist. It was believed that the union of communists and non-partisan and so good for all. However, charity in Russia before the revolution was, and appeared again today. Well, and, of course, it is interesting to get acquainted with this little-known page of the national stories...
Each of us faced charity in one form or another: to give a beggar a porch, carry old things to an orphanage, drop coins (well, or bills) in a collection box in a church or shopping center, “feel sympathy” for people on the street portraits of children or people with disabilities who need help ... Yes, we can often provide targeted assistance to specific goals and specific people.
In Russia, the beginning of charity is usually associated with the adoption of Christianity: the Charter of 996, Prince Vladimir, imputed it to the duties of the church. But for the rest of society, public charity was the lot of private individuals and was not included in the system of state duties. Since the end of the 18th century, charity has appeared in Russia in the form of patronage of art: patronage of art, collection of libraries, collections, the creation of art galleries, theaters, etc. Known dynasties patrons: Tretyakov, Mamontov, Bakhrushin, Morozov, Prokhorov, Shchukin, Naydenovy, Botkin and many others.
Since 1917, the state has assumed all social responsibilities and full responsibility for solving social problems, which has eliminated the need for the existence of charitable organizations in principle. The partial revival of private charity occurred during the Great Patriotic War: voluntary donations for defense needs. In post-reform Russia several foundations were created that were charitable in the sense of their activity: the Culture Fund, the Children's Fund, the Charity and Health Fund.
At the present stage, institutional charity is developing, organizations are being created that are able to provide systematic large-scale assistance to those in need.
But at this stage a number of problems arise. And the main one is the lack of culture in our society and the need for charitable activities. Demand, alas, does not create supply. In modern society, charity is not a one-time action under the influence of emotions, but a form of social responsibility, but in this respect, statistics show a low level of development of “sympathy bodies” both among private individuals and our business structures. In most cases, charity for us is “a by-product” and the influence of mood. And the same is evidenced by opinion polls, the CAF Foundation, VTsIOM, the Levada Center, the report of the Donors Forum, the non-commercial research service of the MEDIUM.
According to a study by the British charity foundation CAF on 2010, Russia ranked 138 in terms of private charity activities from 153 countries. At the same time, three types of charitable activities were considered: donating money to charitable organizations, working as a volunteer, helping a needy stranger.
Russia took the 138-place with the following indicators: 6% of respondents make charitable donations, 20% do volunteer work, 29% help those in need. Following the results of 2011 of the year (CAF research), Russia moved to 130 from 138. The growth of Russian philanthropy was mainly due to the increase in the number of people providing direct assistance to those in need and engaged in volunteer work. According to the results of the last CAF survey conducted in 2012, the Russian Federation took 127 a place in the world charity rating, which is the best indicator for all five years. The final list contains 146 countries of the world. Russia ranks only 127 in the ranking. In the past year, about 7% of Russians made charitable donations, 17% participated in volunteering, and 29% helped the needy.
At the same time, our increased indicators cannot be considered as positive dynamics. This is not the result of the development of philanthropy in Russia, but the result of a decrease in the total amount of charity on a global scale, which suggests the general trend of philanthropy in the world as descending: 146 countries in the world in 2011 compared to the previous period showed a decrease in the number of citizens who donate money to NGOs, act as volunteers or directly in need, on average 100 million people for each type of charity.
What are the reasons for the weak development of institutional charity in Russia?
The Public Chamber of the Russian Federation in 2011 for the first time presented a report on the state of philanthropy in Russia based on a study of 301 organization of various institutional status. From the results of the analysis it follows that only a third of charitable organizations (107 organizations from 301 studied) are ready to disclose their statements, and their annual turnover is 23,4 billion rubles. In Russia as a whole, about 700 thousand of non-profit organizations (NPO) are registered. Actually working from them no more than 10%. However, such a quantity is more than enough for such a “charitable market” as unsaturated with resources as the Russian one.
Due to the lack of transparency in the financial flows of charitable organizations, the skepticism of Russians towards their activities and their unwillingness to participate in it against the background of a positive attitude towards charity in general seems justified. According to the results of the All-Russian Representative Survey conducted by the non-commercial research service of the MEDIUM in 2011, 39% of Russians take part in charity events. Most Russians consider charity useful (72%), 14% believe that it does more harm than good. However, Russians seldom actively participate in charitable activities: more than half of the country's citizens (53%) do not engage in charity. Representatives of the most socially vulnerable groups speak about this more often: Russians with low material wealth and the unemployed. Also, less-educated Russians often do not participate in charity events.
The indirect problem of the development of philanthropy is the stereotype of its perception as a duty of the state as a kind of social policy that is fixed in the Russian public opinion, which undoubtedly affects the low activity of Russians in this area: 83% of respondents believe that the state must deal with the assistance This situation is associated with the Soviet stage of development of the social assistance system and the country's overall social development: a combination of a guaranteed social security system with a high level of state exploitation of the country's citizens. According to the results of all studies, it can be noted that, in the opinion of citizens, the state is more effective than charitable organizations and solves social problems.
The gap between a positive attitude towards charity and a low percentage of real participation can be explained, among other things, by a lack of trust in the activities of charitable organizations. For a long time this sector was one of the most closed, non-transparent and obscure for an ordinary Russian observer. The result of which at the present stage is the uncertainty of the prevailing public opinion about charitable organizations, largely based on social myths and full of contradictions.
In modern Russian society, the circle of trust is generally rather narrow, which affects the level of low generalized trust in charitable organizations in particular. So, a low level of trust is indicated by the conviction of almost 64% of Russians surveyed that the money they give will be misused, 31% of small and medium-sized businesses are also not going to donate to philanthropists.
On the other hand, the problem of domestic institutional philanthropy is the lack of publicity and a small amount of public information, which affects the low level of awareness of citizens about this area, and, as a result, lack of interest and trust. Most citizens receive information about charitable activities from television and radio programs. The information provided by the charitable organizations themselves (with the help of flyers, website, brochures, electronic mailings), take into account only 2% of Russians.
Unfortunately, very few charities can afford to inform citizens about their activities on television or in print. Meanwhile, the role of the media in the country is enormous, and it is they who are able to break existing stereotypes regarding charity. However, any information about charitable activities is perceived by the media as an advertisement with the consequent desire to receive payment for its placement. This is where the Russian situation differs from the Western one, where the press, on the contrary, is determined to talk about the charity of both organizations and private citizens, promoting social responsibility of business. Consequently, a developed, competent and supported by the media communication strategy of charities is required.
Some positive trends can be noted when conducting a quantitative media analysis: from 2008 to 2011, the number of materials on charity increased by 60%. The number of information events has increased, the list of organizations mentioned in the media has expanded. However, qualitative analysis reveals one-sidedness and superficiality of the presentation of this kind of material: the media cover events narrowly, most often mentions associated with the names of VIP-persons, significantly fewer publications about the activities of organizations in general, their living conditions, very few texts devoted to motivations for participation in charity and ethics of charity. Russians have the idea that charitable "stars" (30%) and businessmen (20%), which is the result of the media. Only 18% of respondents know specific people performing charitable activities (without separation on a permanent or temporary basis) among their friends or acquaintances. Quite often, the activities of charitable foundations in the media are mentioned in connection with various events, both initiated by the foundations themselves (42% of publications) and those in which the foundation only participated (22%) (according to 2011 year). If we turn to the analysis of the content of publications on charitable activities, we can identify their main trends and features: 1) in all types of media, the texts of information models dominate, there are very few analytics; 2) the prevailing evaluation context of publications is neutral; 2) most texts (56%) contain the key idea of the undoubted benefits of charity to society and report on the assistance already provided or what is planned to undertake to help.
An important reason for the low degree of development of institutional philanthropy in Russia is non-stimulating legislation. The main law governing charitable activities is the Federal Law 11 of August 1995 N 135-FZ “On Charitable Activities and Charitable Organizations” (as amended by 23 December 2010 g.). Public authorities and local governments, recognizing the social significance of charity, do not always provide the necessary support for charitable activities. This primarily applies to tax and other benefits provided to charitable organizations, both at the local and federal levels.
The new version of the law provides for the expansion of the list of areas of charitable activities and exemption from tax burden payments to volunteers. In accordance with the new law, the list of charitable purposes includes the promotion of preventive work on neglect and the commission of juvenile delinquency, promoting the development of scientific and technical creativity of young people, supporting children's organizations and youth movements, initiatives and projects. The list includes the social rehabilitation of children left without parental and neglected care, the provision of legal (free) assistance to non-profit organizations, and work on legal education of the population.
After the adoption of the law, charitable organizations may enter into contracts with voluntary assistants and prescribe in it clauses for reimbursement of financial expenses related to voluntary activities (rent for premises, transportation, protective equipment). At the same time, the organization will be exempted from paying insurance premiums to extra-budgetary funds from payments to volunteers.
The law eliminates several provisions that were a clear injustice to charitable organizations. Taxation of volunteers' expenses has been eliminated - for example, on business trips related to their voluntary activity. Previously, an organization that sent volunteers to extinguish forest fires had to pay insurance premiums from the amount of expenses and withhold income tax. A very important is the new provision, according to which goods and services received in kind are no longer subject to income tax. For example, if a law firm had previously provided free legal advice to NGOs, then the market value of the services was taxed on profits. In addition, there are similar provisions related to taxation of final recipients. Previously, people who received assistance, in some cases had to pay taxes.
In 2011, there were noticeable changes in the Russian charity legislation. They concerned not only the law on charity, but also laws in the tax sphere. 19 July 2011 of the year documents were signed providing for the introduction of “amendments to part two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation to improve the taxation of non-profit organizations and charitable activities” into the Federal Law. The Tax Code includes a number of amendments to facilitate the activities of charitable organizations.
An obstacle to the development of philanthropy in Russia is the difference in orientation in the areas of charity between private donors and organizations. It is easiest at this stage to raise funds for expensive treatment and social support for disabled people and orphans, since these topics do not leave anyone indifferent. But here, philanthropists are mostly private donors.
If we talk about large business structures, they are more interested in global social projects that have a narrow regional location related to the interests of business. As for the very important object of charity - educational programs for different target groups, it is quite difficult to collect the necessary funds. But this is precisely the part of the cost of charity that gives the greatest return, which is based not on one-time assistance, but on the system one. For example, training of specialists working in the field of pediatric oncology and the rehabilitation of children after very difficult therapy for them - seminars, trainings, meetings for the exchange of experience. According to the Report of the Donors Forum for the 2011 year on the development of institutional charity, the most money is collected and spent on the environment - 3,6 billion rubles. 1,3 billion rubles is spent on charity in medicine and healthcare. In third place is charitable assistance in the field of education - 524,1 million rubles.
What prevents us from assisting those in need is not a one-time, under a sentimental mood, but constantly showing social responsibility, the best qualities of the Russian mentality - “compassion for one’s neighbor”, which, we are told, is one of the elements of “spirituality” and “held together” for Russian society?
Many will probably say that the level of income and the overall poverty of the population ... But not the richest countries in charity ratings are higher than Russia: Libya - 14 place, Philippines - 16 place, Indonesia - 17 place, Nigeria - 20, Turkmenistan - 26, Kenya - 33, etc.
Alas, the reason may be different: research shows that in most countries, happiness plays a greater role in the matter of donating money and helping the needy than wealth. And in the rankings in terms of happiness, Russia is not the highest places.
Each of us faced charity in one form or another: to give a beggar a porch, carry old things to an orphanage, drop coins (well, or bills) in a collection box in a church or shopping center, “feel sympathy” for people on the street portraits of children or people with disabilities who need help ... Yes, we can often provide targeted assistance to specific goals and specific people.
In Russia, the beginning of charity is usually associated with the adoption of Christianity: the Charter of 996, Prince Vladimir, imputed it to the duties of the church. But for the rest of society, public charity was the lot of private individuals and was not included in the system of state duties. Since the end of the 18th century, charity has appeared in Russia in the form of patronage of art: patronage of art, collection of libraries, collections, the creation of art galleries, theaters, etc. Known dynasties patrons: Tretyakov, Mamontov, Bakhrushin, Morozov, Prokhorov, Shchukin, Naydenovy, Botkin and many others.
Since 1917, the state has assumed all social responsibilities and full responsibility for solving social problems, which has eliminated the need for the existence of charitable organizations in principle. The partial revival of private charity occurred during the Great Patriotic War: voluntary donations for defense needs. In post-reform Russia several foundations were created that were charitable in the sense of their activity: the Culture Fund, the Children's Fund, the Charity and Health Fund.
At the present stage, institutional charity is developing, organizations are being created that are able to provide systematic large-scale assistance to those in need.
But at this stage a number of problems arise. And the main one is the lack of culture in our society and the need for charitable activities. Demand, alas, does not create supply. In modern society, charity is not a one-time action under the influence of emotions, but a form of social responsibility, but in this respect, statistics show a low level of development of “sympathy bodies” both among private individuals and our business structures. In most cases, charity for us is “a by-product” and the influence of mood. And the same is evidenced by opinion polls, the CAF Foundation, VTsIOM, the Levada Center, the report of the Donors Forum, the non-commercial research service of the MEDIUM.
According to a study by the British charity foundation CAF on 2010, Russia ranked 138 in terms of private charity activities from 153 countries. At the same time, three types of charitable activities were considered: donating money to charitable organizations, working as a volunteer, helping a needy stranger.
Russia took the 138-place with the following indicators: 6% of respondents make charitable donations, 20% do volunteer work, 29% help those in need. Following the results of 2011 of the year (CAF research), Russia moved to 130 from 138. The growth of Russian philanthropy was mainly due to the increase in the number of people providing direct assistance to those in need and engaged in volunteer work. According to the results of the last CAF survey conducted in 2012, the Russian Federation took 127 a place in the world charity rating, which is the best indicator for all five years. The final list contains 146 countries of the world. Russia ranks only 127 in the ranking. In the past year, about 7% of Russians made charitable donations, 17% participated in volunteering, and 29% helped the needy.
At the same time, our increased indicators cannot be considered as positive dynamics. This is not the result of the development of philanthropy in Russia, but the result of a decrease in the total amount of charity on a global scale, which suggests the general trend of philanthropy in the world as descending: 146 countries in the world in 2011 compared to the previous period showed a decrease in the number of citizens who donate money to NGOs, act as volunteers or directly in need, on average 100 million people for each type of charity.
What are the reasons for the weak development of institutional charity in Russia?
The Public Chamber of the Russian Federation in 2011 for the first time presented a report on the state of philanthropy in Russia based on a study of 301 organization of various institutional status. From the results of the analysis it follows that only a third of charitable organizations (107 organizations from 301 studied) are ready to disclose their statements, and their annual turnover is 23,4 billion rubles. In Russia as a whole, about 700 thousand of non-profit organizations (NPO) are registered. Actually working from them no more than 10%. However, such a quantity is more than enough for such a “charitable market” as unsaturated with resources as the Russian one.
Due to the lack of transparency in the financial flows of charitable organizations, the skepticism of Russians towards their activities and their unwillingness to participate in it against the background of a positive attitude towards charity in general seems justified. According to the results of the All-Russian Representative Survey conducted by the non-commercial research service of the MEDIUM in 2011, 39% of Russians take part in charity events. Most Russians consider charity useful (72%), 14% believe that it does more harm than good. However, Russians seldom actively participate in charitable activities: more than half of the country's citizens (53%) do not engage in charity. Representatives of the most socially vulnerable groups speak about this more often: Russians with low material wealth and the unemployed. Also, less-educated Russians often do not participate in charity events.
The indirect problem of the development of philanthropy is the stereotype of its perception as a duty of the state as a kind of social policy that is fixed in the Russian public opinion, which undoubtedly affects the low activity of Russians in this area: 83% of respondents believe that the state must deal with the assistance This situation is associated with the Soviet stage of development of the social assistance system and the country's overall social development: a combination of a guaranteed social security system with a high level of state exploitation of the country's citizens. According to the results of all studies, it can be noted that, in the opinion of citizens, the state is more effective than charitable organizations and solves social problems.
The gap between a positive attitude towards charity and a low percentage of real participation can be explained, among other things, by a lack of trust in the activities of charitable organizations. For a long time this sector was one of the most closed, non-transparent and obscure for an ordinary Russian observer. The result of which at the present stage is the uncertainty of the prevailing public opinion about charitable organizations, largely based on social myths and full of contradictions.
In modern Russian society, the circle of trust is generally rather narrow, which affects the level of low generalized trust in charitable organizations in particular. So, a low level of trust is indicated by the conviction of almost 64% of Russians surveyed that the money they give will be misused, 31% of small and medium-sized businesses are also not going to donate to philanthropists.
On the other hand, the problem of domestic institutional philanthropy is the lack of publicity and a small amount of public information, which affects the low level of awareness of citizens about this area, and, as a result, lack of interest and trust. Most citizens receive information about charitable activities from television and radio programs. The information provided by the charitable organizations themselves (with the help of flyers, website, brochures, electronic mailings), take into account only 2% of Russians.
Unfortunately, very few charities can afford to inform citizens about their activities on television or in print. Meanwhile, the role of the media in the country is enormous, and it is they who are able to break existing stereotypes regarding charity. However, any information about charitable activities is perceived by the media as an advertisement with the consequent desire to receive payment for its placement. This is where the Russian situation differs from the Western one, where the press, on the contrary, is determined to talk about the charity of both organizations and private citizens, promoting social responsibility of business. Consequently, a developed, competent and supported by the media communication strategy of charities is required.
Some positive trends can be noted when conducting a quantitative media analysis: from 2008 to 2011, the number of materials on charity increased by 60%. The number of information events has increased, the list of organizations mentioned in the media has expanded. However, qualitative analysis reveals one-sidedness and superficiality of the presentation of this kind of material: the media cover events narrowly, most often mentions associated with the names of VIP-persons, significantly fewer publications about the activities of organizations in general, their living conditions, very few texts devoted to motivations for participation in charity and ethics of charity. Russians have the idea that charitable "stars" (30%) and businessmen (20%), which is the result of the media. Only 18% of respondents know specific people performing charitable activities (without separation on a permanent or temporary basis) among their friends or acquaintances. Quite often, the activities of charitable foundations in the media are mentioned in connection with various events, both initiated by the foundations themselves (42% of publications) and those in which the foundation only participated (22%) (according to 2011 year). If we turn to the analysis of the content of publications on charitable activities, we can identify their main trends and features: 1) in all types of media, the texts of information models dominate, there are very few analytics; 2) the prevailing evaluation context of publications is neutral; 2) most texts (56%) contain the key idea of the undoubted benefits of charity to society and report on the assistance already provided or what is planned to undertake to help.
An important reason for the low degree of development of institutional philanthropy in Russia is non-stimulating legislation. The main law governing charitable activities is the Federal Law 11 of August 1995 N 135-FZ “On Charitable Activities and Charitable Organizations” (as amended by 23 December 2010 g.). Public authorities and local governments, recognizing the social significance of charity, do not always provide the necessary support for charitable activities. This primarily applies to tax and other benefits provided to charitable organizations, both at the local and federal levels.
The new version of the law provides for the expansion of the list of areas of charitable activities and exemption from tax burden payments to volunteers. In accordance with the new law, the list of charitable purposes includes the promotion of preventive work on neglect and the commission of juvenile delinquency, promoting the development of scientific and technical creativity of young people, supporting children's organizations and youth movements, initiatives and projects. The list includes the social rehabilitation of children left without parental and neglected care, the provision of legal (free) assistance to non-profit organizations, and work on legal education of the population.
After the adoption of the law, charitable organizations may enter into contracts with voluntary assistants and prescribe in it clauses for reimbursement of financial expenses related to voluntary activities (rent for premises, transportation, protective equipment). At the same time, the organization will be exempted from paying insurance premiums to extra-budgetary funds from payments to volunteers.
The law eliminates several provisions that were a clear injustice to charitable organizations. Taxation of volunteers' expenses has been eliminated - for example, on business trips related to their voluntary activity. Previously, an organization that sent volunteers to extinguish forest fires had to pay insurance premiums from the amount of expenses and withhold income tax. A very important is the new provision, according to which goods and services received in kind are no longer subject to income tax. For example, if a law firm had previously provided free legal advice to NGOs, then the market value of the services was taxed on profits. In addition, there are similar provisions related to taxation of final recipients. Previously, people who received assistance, in some cases had to pay taxes.
In 2011, there were noticeable changes in the Russian charity legislation. They concerned not only the law on charity, but also laws in the tax sphere. 19 July 2011 of the year documents were signed providing for the introduction of “amendments to part two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation to improve the taxation of non-profit organizations and charitable activities” into the Federal Law. The Tax Code includes a number of amendments to facilitate the activities of charitable organizations.
An obstacle to the development of philanthropy in Russia is the difference in orientation in the areas of charity between private donors and organizations. It is easiest at this stage to raise funds for expensive treatment and social support for disabled people and orphans, since these topics do not leave anyone indifferent. But here, philanthropists are mostly private donors.
If we talk about large business structures, they are more interested in global social projects that have a narrow regional location related to the interests of business. As for the very important object of charity - educational programs for different target groups, it is quite difficult to collect the necessary funds. But this is precisely the part of the cost of charity that gives the greatest return, which is based not on one-time assistance, but on the system one. For example, training of specialists working in the field of pediatric oncology and the rehabilitation of children after very difficult therapy for them - seminars, trainings, meetings for the exchange of experience. According to the Report of the Donors Forum for the 2011 year on the development of institutional charity, the most money is collected and spent on the environment - 3,6 billion rubles. 1,3 billion rubles is spent on charity in medicine and healthcare. In third place is charitable assistance in the field of education - 524,1 million rubles.
What prevents us from assisting those in need is not a one-time, under a sentimental mood, but constantly showing social responsibility, the best qualities of the Russian mentality - “compassion for one’s neighbor”, which, we are told, is one of the elements of “spirituality” and “held together” for Russian society?
Many will probably say that the level of income and the overall poverty of the population ... But not the richest countries in charity ratings are higher than Russia: Libya - 14 place, Philippines - 16 place, Indonesia - 17 place, Nigeria - 20, Turkmenistan - 26, Kenya - 33, etc.
Alas, the reason may be different: research shows that in most countries, happiness plays a greater role in the matter of donating money and helping the needy than wealth. And in the rankings in terms of happiness, Russia is not the highest places.
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