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5 June 2015, Moscow, the Wealth Transformation Center (Skolkovo Moscow School of Management) and the Vladimir Potanin Foundation hosted a joint expert discussion ‘The Future of Private Philanthropy’ aimed to share experiences of private foundations both in Russia and abroad.


The participant list included head of Skolkovo Wealth Transformation Centre Veronika Misyutina, executive secretary of Russian Donors Forum Natalia Kaminarskaya, chief executive director of Robert Bosch Stiftung Ingrid Hamm, director PHINEO Dr Philipp Hoelscher, senior managing director ‘pfc social impact advisors’ Jim Litwin, general director of the Vladimir Potanin Foundation Oksana Oracheva and others.
The discussion started with Natalia Kaminarskaya’s report on the state of Russian foundations, Donors Forum annual analysis of the sector. The report covered not only statistical information, but also sections on motivation and values. Ingrid Hamm focused on the issue of sustainability in the context of the Robert Bosch Foundation.
The Wealth Transformation Centre is completing their research ‘Russia’s Wealth Possessors Study’ which addresses such issues as motivation behind philanthropic activity, infrastructure and education opportunities for high wealthy individuals in Russia.
Veronika Misyutina: ‘It is of a critical importance for the sector to have an understanding of the barriers that might hinder the growth of the philanthropy sector in Russia as well as of the most pressing needs of donors and foundations. We are also interested in best practices both Russian and international’.The experience of Vladimir Potanin in establishing his own foundation and social impact which the foundation has produced with its 17-year history were presented by Jim Litwin, a senior managing director of ‘pfc social impact advisors’, an international organization who conducted a study of the foundation.
In their work ‘pfc social impact advisors’ is collecting illustrations of Deliberate Leadership in social change to be published independently as case studies in a forthcoming book by Stanford University Press called Good, Evil, Wicked: The Art, Science, and Business of Giving.
Gayle Peterson, co-founder of pfc social impact advisors and program director for the Impact InvestingProgram at Saïd Business School, Oxford University who led on the study of the Foundation: ‘The Vladimir Potanin Foundation case study is a critical part of our research and knowledge dissemination work. It’s an excellent example of how philanthropy can foster systematic change in emerging economies, as well internationally. The Foundation’s unique approach to partnership, testing, and refinement offers a strong model of Deliberate Leadership for new philanthropists and social investors who want to make meaningful change with lasting results.’

Jim Litwin: ‘To understand how global leaders tackle the world’s most complex and wickedly difficult problems we at ‘pfc’ have conducted hundreds of interviews worldwide. Analytical reports produced as a result of this work represent cases of such organizations as BNY Mellon, Vodafone India, ClimateWorks Foundation, WK Kellogg Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Thomson Reuters. The case of the Vladimir Potanin Foundation is an important player in the field.’

Oksana Oracheva: ‘The case presented us with a unique opportunity not only to assess the impact of our work and identify the scope of positive social change our grantees achieve with their projects, but also to get an independent review of the 16 years of the Foundation’s work. I am sure that today society and donors organizations need to engage in a dialogue to discuss the role and impact of private philanthropy in Russia’.
The case study of the Vladimir Potanin Foundation is regarded as a real-time and timeless teaching tool designed to help a fast growing social community mature. It is planned the case will be taught as part of the Impact Investing course at Saïd Business School, Oxford University.
The summary of the case can be downloaded here.



PHOTO Darya Razumnikova