Togliatti -- a major center of Russia’s automotive industry, with a population of more than 700,000 people --
is at the forefront of that country’s emerging charitable sector. Home to Russia’s first community foundation, Togliatti serves not only as a model for other communities but also as a leading advocate for philanthropic development in a country where private fortunes are being made daily.
In the interest of building a more effective and well-managed philanthropic sector, the Togliatti Community Foundation recently invited seven members of the Berks County (Pennsylvania) Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) to Russia to share their experiences with young people from Togliatti’s Youth Bank.
During their 11-day trip, the teenagers from the Reading, Pennsylvania, area also spoke at the annual Russian Community Foundation Conference.
The teenagers were part of a “first-ever” exchange between an American YAC and a Russian Youth Bank -- similar philanthropic models that encourage young people to become engaged in raising charitable funds and learning how to distribute these funds for the betterment of the community.
“Our kids are inspired to do so much more with their own group, after seeing what these kids can do with so very, very little,” said Heidi Williamson, one of three Berks County Community Foundation staff members who accompanied the youth.
“The seven of us are beginning to realize how much more we could be doing back home,” wrote Lindsley Burton, one of those who made the trip.
“These kids over here (Russia), who have half the resources that we do, are coming up with amazing projects …, but now our heads are full of ideas. Because of this trip, we’re all beginning to understand how much influence and say we really do have in our community.”
The Berks County YAC chronicled their trip on a blog. The entries clearly indicate there is “mutual learning taking place among the Russian and American youth,” said Foundation Mott Program Officer Nick Deychakiwsky.
The youth exchange was partially support by Mott Foundation grant dollars that assist the German Marshall Fund's Transatlantic Community Foundation Fellowship, which offered direct travel support for the youth exchange. In all, Mott has invested more than $1 million in support of community foundation development in Russia.
Kevin Murphy, president of the Berks County Community Foundation, was one of the first Americans to participate in the Transatlantic Community Foundation Fellowship program established by the German Marshall Fund and Belgium’s King Baudouin Foundation. Over the past six years, Mott has provided $435,000 in support of these annual, three-week fellowships.
“My time with the community foundation staff in Togliatti convinced me that philanthropy is a universal urge, waiting to be developed,” Murphy said. “The folks at Togliatti are doing incredible work in helping to build a sense of community in a society that deprived itself of that for over 70 years.”
He kept in touch with his Russian counterparts. In late 2004, Svetlana Chaparina, a staff member at the Togliatti Community Foundation, issued an invitation to Murphy to bring some students from the Berks County YAC to Russia to help them as they set up a Youth Bank.
“We jumped at the chance,” Murphy said.
Boris Tsyrulnikov, executive director of the Togliatti Community Foundation, saw an opportunity to bring attention to the cause of youth philanthropy in Russia by showcasing members of the Berks County YAC and the Togliatti Youth Bank at the Russian Community Foundation Conference in Penza.
Word of the student exchange has spread among the community foundation network, and several former fellows are interested in replicating the model.
“This is the generation that will be most affected by globalization and it is important to expose them to other cultures and customs,” said Darcy Oman, president and CEO of the Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia. She is interested in setting up an exchange with the Community Foundation of Usti nad Labem in the Czech Republic, where she spent a portion of her fellowship.
The two youth groups hope to establish a global Youth Bank/Youth Advisory Council Web site and set up a permanent exchange program between America and Russia.
“We hope to work together in both the present and future to create a network of youth who help each other to improve conditions worldwide,” Chris Brubaker wrote. “It is very cool to see how people who have never met, and lie on opposite sides of the world, can unite and share a passion for the common goal of philanthropy.”