In the run-up to its tenth anniversary, the Roscongress Foundation will contribute funds to a charity event: specialists working in five different areas will receive grants totalling RUB 2.5 million. Evaluations will be carried out on the proposals and achievements of experts in the following areas: ecology, social sector, culture, medicine as well as youth initiatives and entrepreneurship. The decision to provide a grant of up to RUB 500,000 will be made by an expert jury and professionals from these industries.

Russia is actively developing the volunteer movement and volunteerism. Support for charitable activities provided by business and the government play a particularly important role today. Roscongress has always supported promoting socially significant and charitable initiatives. As the Foundation develops these new activities, it has established a directorate to interact with charitable and public organizations.

“Our goal is to systematically support and promote social, cultural, educational, and environmental projects that are being developed and implemented as part of Russian and international forums and events that aim to support socially important areas for the state and positively influence Russia’s image at the international level”, Roscongress Foundation CEO Alexander Stuglev said. “We are ready to invest our limited resources in creating unprecedented opportunities for successful social initiatives. This helps to overcome barriers and creates most-favoured-nation treatment for promising ideas. Our plans include providing further assistance to social, cultural, educational, and environmental projects”.

The criteria for selecting finalists and the details of the contest will be announced as part of the Non-Profit Organizations (NPO) Laboratory’s work at the Russian Investment Forum in Sochi, which will be held on 14–16 February. The NPO Laboratory is a platform that Roscongress will offer to charitable foundations and non-profit organizations to present their programmes as well as to hold general events and lectures that aim to develop the social projects sector as a whole.

“We are seeing the comprehensive and rapid development of various charitable focuses in our country. Roscongress is a good example of how voluntary principles can be integrated into some of the largest business events in the world. I am confident that the involvement of experts in the forums organized by the Foundation will provide an additional impetus and attract the attention of business community members to charitable support”, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation Anton Kobyakov said.