Participants discussed the development of endowments, their role in supporting education, culture, and the nonprofit sector, as well as prospects for improving legislation.
Oksana Oracheva, General Director of the Vladimir Potanin Foundation, spoke about changes in the infrastructure of the endowment market. She recalled that the Foundation has been involved in developing the endowment model almost since the adoption of the relevant law. During this time, 39 new endowments have been established with the Foundation's assistance, while a total of 59 endowment funds have received support. Today, the focus is shifting from raising awareness of the mechanism to building a professional community of endowment management specialists. The Foundation's own endowment, established in 2022, amounts to approximately RUB 125 billion in 2026, while almost RUB 5 billion has been allocated to charitable programs over the past three years.
While in the past we focused more on supporting the idea of endowments itself and making it better understood, today it is important for us to turn endowments into a professional institution. We want these to be professionally run nonprofit organizations with dedicated staff, specialized professionals, and clear operating standards,
Oksana Oracheva noted.
Anastasia Zolotukhina, Director of the Department for the Development of the Social Sphere and Nonprofit Sector at the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, discussed the development of the endowment market in Russia. She noted that while there were only 16 endowments in the country in 2007, today there are 454, and the amount of funds raised has increased almost 50-fold. Universities account for almost half of all endowments, while secondary education and public organizations account for approximately another 13%. Museums, cultural institutions, and the social sector currently account for only 2–4% of the market, indicating significant potential for growth. Among new areas of development, Zolotukhina highlighted place-based endowments aimed at the comprehensive development of regions, as well as digital platforms for attracting donations and supporting the creative economy.
Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage Museum, shared the Museum's practical experience in managing an endowment in the cultural sector. He emphasized that the endowment has become an instrument of financial independence for the Museum and has made it possible to use investment income to acquire new exhibits and develop the Museum's collections. Piotrovsky also spoke about plans to establish an inter-museum endowment to support joint projects within the museum community. To optimize the Museum's financial strategy, attract investment, and ensure its effective use, the State Hermitage Museum has established a Board of Trustees, chaired by Vladimir Potanin since 2003.
Sergey Belov, Dean of the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg State University, addressed the importance of endowments for universities. He explained that an endowment helps a university preserve its academic traditions through named scholarships and support for scientific research. Belov noted that in the future, the endowment mechanism could be used more broadly, including for more effective management of property and financial assets.
Yulia Ulyanova, General Director of the Blagodarya (Thanks To) Specialized Endowment Management Fund and Director of the Raz Dva (One Two) digital platform, focused her remarks on philanthropy and donor engagement. She reported that Russia has approximately 66,000 high-net-worth individuals with assets exceeding RUB 300 million, 44,000 of whom are already involved in philanthropy. Ulyanova said that new donors need to be attracted by building trust in endowments as an instrument, and that such trust is created through transparent reporting and clear mechanisms for managing funds. Digital platforms capable of making information about endowment activities more accessible to a wider audience should play a significant role in this process, she added.
During the discussion that followed, the experts focused particularly on improving endowment legislation. Proposals included developing model charters and methodological materials for new funds, clarifying oversight and reporting mechanisms, simplifying regulation for small nonprofits, and making endowment management more flexible. The participants agreed that further growth of the market will require not only financial instruments but also the development of a modern legal infrastructure.
A recording of the session is available here on the Forum's website.
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