Volnoe Delo Foundation was established by Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska

Oleg Deripaska

Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska is the Russian Chief executive officer of Basic Element company and a member of the Board of Directors and CEO of United Company RUSAL, a Russian aluminium industry company...

 in 1998 and became by 2009 one of the Russia's largest private charity foundations., The Foundation supports a wide range of initiatives with a particular focus on education and children. The Foundation’s mission is to find effective solutions to key social problems in areas such as education, the development of science, the preservation of spiritual and cultural heritage, the improvement of health care, and increased access to social welfare and assistance.

Budget

Volnoe Delo has expanded rapidly with its budget increasing 17-fold from 2003 to 2010. A decade after being established, the Foundation has already allocated over 230 million dollars to support over 400 charity programmes.

Alliance magazine, which covers global philanthropy from London, named the Volnoe Delo Foundation the largest of private foundations in Russia. According to the magazine, Volnoe Delo made grants of over $36 million in 2006.

Recipients of the Foundation include more than 86,000 schoolchildren, 4,000 teachers, 8,000 undergraduate students, 4,000 academics, 1,000 pensioners, and more than 1,100 educational, scientific, cultural, healthcare, sport, religious and other establishments.

Activity

The Foundation supports the Moscow

Moscow State University

Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...

 and St Petersburg

Saint Petersburg State University

Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....

 state universities, the Hermitage Museum

Hermitage Museum

The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...

, Bolshoi

Bolshoi Theatre

The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...

 and Mariinsky

Mariinsky Theatre

The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...

theatres, and many other educational, cultural, historical and religious centres in more than 40 Russian regions.

Science and Education

The Foundation works to modernize Russian schools, to increase the quality and accessibility of education for every citizen, from schoolchildren to workers and retired servicemen.

Since 1998, the Foundation has carried out 25 programs and projects affecting: 35 regions, 520 schools, 4 000 teachers, 80 000 pupils, 69 universities, 500 university professors, 40 000 college students, 1 600 scientists, 18 vocational schools, 1 500 future qualified specialists.

The large programs in the field of education and science coincide with these priorities:

• New Generation School
• “Computers for Students”
• Robotics
• ALMA MATER
• Support for Russian Science
• New Generation Workers
• Servicemen retraining
• The “University Rating” Project
• Kuban State University Scholarship Program

Culture

The Volnoe Delo Foundation has supported for many years Russian theatres and museums, theatrical schools and artistic ensembles, young performers and authors.

Programme recipients include:

• Bolshoi Theatre
• Mariinsky Theatre
• Hermitage Museum
• Kuban Cossack Chorus
• Moscow State Ballet Academy
• Moscow Youth Chamber Orchestra
• Musical Education Theatre
• Moscow Art Theatre School

Phanagoria

Since 2004 the Foundation has financially supported the Taman Expedition of the Archeological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Expedition conducts excavations of the ancient city of Phanagoria in the Krasnodar region (Kuban).

Tamara Rumyantseva, the fund’s director, to The Moscow News, August 2011, on Phanagoria and plans to build a Phanagoria research and museum center in the neaby village of Sennoi:

Spiritual Revival

Over 170 churches, chapels, Sunday schools and orphanages built, restored or renovated since 2004 with the Foundation' support.

178 religious, educational and social institutions in 27 regions of Russia and six other countries received support.

The Foundation supports Orthodox teaching academies and is involved in publishing and distribution of Orthodox literature.

Healthcare

In the Ust-Labinsk region the Foundation aims to provide necessary means for easy access to quality healthcare, supports and develops medicine and promotes healthy lifestyles and early disease detection.

With the Foundation's help, hospitals in Moscow and other regions can purchase modern medical equipment, surgical instruments and pharmaceuticals.

The Foundation’s Anti-HIV/AIDS program was conducted in partnership with the Caring Heart Charity, the Krasnodar Krai administration, the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, the Television and Radio Association of Kuban, Yuga.ru and Kuban.info. Over 9000 people have taken part in interactive seminars and contests. This activities as well as the extensive media coverage of the program succeed in raising the level of HIV/AIDS awareness among Krasnodar region citizens.