Wealthy Russians donating more to charity during the pandemic
Wealthy Russians donating more to charity, says TASS
04.08.2020
TASS has seen the results of a study carried out by Sberbank Private Banking which has clients with assets in excess of 100 million roubles. They show that wealthy Russians have been donating more to charity during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the research, funding provided by Sberbank clients to charitable causes increased from 0.2%-0.5% as of the first half of 2019. The average donation from one of Sberbank’s clients was 612 times more than that of the ordinary customer.
Funding for charities increased five times in May this year which is the highest rise compared to 2019. “Our clients have been actively involved in funding activities to help in the fight against COVID-19. Sberbank customers have also cut back on paying for clothing, recreation and entertainment by 30-40%”, said a Sberbank representative in conversation with TASS.
Sberbank is seeing a “trend in responsible consumption, care for the environment and for people” which can be seen in the level of charity funding by its clients.
“Environmental issues and social responsibility are coming increasingly to the fore. Sberbank fully supports this approach and is providing appropriate mechanisms for investment”, said Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of Sberbank’s Board of Directors when speaking to TASS.
