Faith in Philanthropy: From Ethical Guidelines to Professional Standards
Over the last 20 years, the charitable sector in Russia has changed and grown significantly, now generating a couple of hundred billion roubles. And, like any other sector, the level of professionalism is increasing. According to polls, people are not yet willing to support this trend towards professionalization. The general public is extremely wary of contributing to administrative overheads, and salaries at market rates are unacceptable in this sector, as is expenditure on marketing. And there is no room for mistakes. The defining feature of the public mood is a lack of trust in charitable foundations. One of the reasons for this is insufficient transparency in the sector itself, the absence of any clear, well-understood and, most importantly, generally accepted standards. Does the sector need its own specific professional standards? Which good practices could be borrowed from other sectors, and in particular from the world of business? How could such standards be promoted? How could work to influence public opinion be taken forward?
