#МыВместе (We Are Together): the New Face of Volunteering and Charity Work

Civil society’s response to the pandemic has been the unprecedented growth of volunteer activity. Spring saw the launch of the all-Russia mutual-aid campaign #МыВместе (We Are Together), within the framework of which anyone can offer their help or ask for it. The campaign was organized by the DOBRO. RU platform, the All-Russia People’s Front, the Public Movement of Medical Volunteers, and the Association of Volunteer Centers supported by the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation. The campaign had a round-the-clock hotline to help the elderly and people with limited mobility, with call-center specialists consulting, and registering appeals for help. Volunteer stations in all the Russian regions provided timely response to appeals.

Over 118,000 volunteers from all around the country provided unpaid assistance to elderly people living alone and those with disabilities, orphan children, and war veterans. Everybody who needed support was provided with food, essential goods, medicines, and help around the home. Since the launch of the campaign, over 9,000 partner organizations have joined.36 Donations from businesses and private individuals were collected to a total value of over 1.8 billion rubles, which facilitated the charitable support of approximately 3.5 million people all around Russia,37 for many of whom it was a real life saver

Regional civic chambers were also actively participating in this work, coordinating the volunteers’ work, providing the authorities with local information about where there is tension surrounding restrictive measures, and where the support measures are working and where they aren’t. Due to the efforts of the regional civic chambers, hotlines were launched to organize voluntary assistance, including that concerning: adherence to self-isolation regimes; and provision of personal protective equipment, information, and legal consultations for citizens, medical workers working with people infected with coronavirus, and nonprofit organizations, concerning the question of their continued work in times of restricted measures. With increased demand for personal protective equipment, the chambers helped nonprofit organizations to organize their own production of masks, from materials acquired by nonprofit organizations, to be given free of charge to medical organizations.

© Mikhail Japaridze/TASS

The regional chambers also realized public oversight over pricing policy in grocery stores and pharmacies, and the reservation of additional beds equipped with ventilators in medical organizations.

Religious organizations of all traditional Russian confessions made a significant contribution to the organization of social assistance for people and the medical community. Social services and volunteers from religious communities provided help for those who asked for it, irrespective of their religious worldview. Special attention was paid by these religious organizations to the safeguarding of the rights of believers during the pandemic. The leaders of religious organizations and secular authorities in the regions jointly discussed solutions to the question of visiting religious institutions and observing all necessary health regulations.

In “Assistance for doctors” 7,000 volunteer medics helped in 160 medical institutions around the country, assisting doctors. They actually performed the duties of medium-grade medical personnel, gave psychological support, used their own transport to ferry doctors to their places of work, and delivered food packages and personal protective equipment to hospitals.38 With a deficit of medical masks, protective suits, and respirators in pharmacies, they also organized production of masks and their unpaid delivery to medical facilities.39

In the process of providing hands-on assistance to the population with the effort of volunteer associations and nonprofit organizations, several bottleneck situations became apparent in the country’s healthcare system, among which were bed space, doctor training, laboratories, mobilization plans, and orders for providing scheduled assistance.40

The experience of volunteer associations and nonprofit organizations in providing help in an emergency situation must be consolidated, and the best practices should be introduced to the Russian regions. In this connection, it is proposed to confirm, in all the regions, the order of cooperation between medical institutions and volunteer organizations in the provision of medical assistance to the population.41

Since September 29, 2020, the #МыВместе (We Are Together) mutual-assistance campaign was reactivated and is now active in most of the Russian regions.

Meanwhile the lack of information became a significant problem. With an abundance of all kinds of rumors, and the general panicked mood, a lack of popular access to, and understanding of, official information about active restrictive measures in the relevant regions was revealed. The pandemic highlighted the need for qualitative changes in the information transparency of the government, and the formation of unified demands for access to information about government actions and for standard publications of regional laws and regulations, particularly those concerning restrictions of the rights and freedoms of citizens.42

In response to difficulties experienced by people facing their first serious restrictions introduced by federal, departamental, and regional acts and regulations from the regions’ chief public health officers, the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation launched the special #НаКонтроле2020 (Under Control 2020)43 informational project, aimed at clarifying support measures for the population, business, and nonprofit organizations during the pandemic.

A very important part of the project was the work of four hotlines dedicated to supporting the population, business, and nonprofit sector, and the disclosure of false information about COVID-19 and the activities of medical institutions. The same subjects were covered by five topical sections of the website, which were constantly updated.

The main information sections of the special project #НаКонтроле2020 (Under Control 2020):

• #НашОтвет (Our Response) – initiatives, expert opinion, expert explanation of support measures for people and business;
• #ВместеНКО (NPOs Together) – nonprofit sector work in the new situation and information about measures of its support, a platform for the exchange of success stories of socially oriented NPOs reformatting their work and assisting people during the pandemic;
• #Доктор Прописал (Doctor Ordered) – an internet platform for the exchange of information between doctors and the patient community. Leading medics from the capital and the regions gave advice and recounted their experience of treating COVID-19 patients;
• #Антифейк COVID (Antifake COVID) – exposure of false information, explanation of the law and tactics to oppose local-level fakery, analysis of fake news and messages, life hacks, and recommendations on how to distinguish true facts from misleading statements on the Internet;
• #Меры Регионов (Regional Measures) – information about local-level problems arising in all 85 Russian regions, restrictions and support measures for the population, doctors, businesses, and NPOs.

Within the #НаКонтроле2020 (Under Control) project, citizens and regional civic chambers of the Russian Federation drew attention to a wide range of problems such as: the deficit of medical masks and personal protective equipment in pharmacies; the halted work of companies in various spheres of business; the build-up of significant debt for utilities companies and organizations in connection with delayed payments, in particular owners and leasers in shopping centers; and the low level of preparation of the administration of educational organizations, teachers, students, and parents for online education, and the low quality of education in this format.44 Also a serious problem connected with failures in the rendering of home-based assistance and in cases of the hospitalization of socially vulnerable people needing constant nursing care and social support, who are infected with the coronavirus or have been in contact with infected persons became highlited. In the “Community” forum, the Civic Chamber organized a discussion of all the questions mentioned with leading charity organizations and NPOs.

The forum noted that problems such as administrative barriers, insufficient public awareness of volunteer activity and the resulting low involvement in it, as well as problems with legal status and insurance guarantees for volunteers remain critical. In this connection in particular, it is necessary to ensure public oversight over the fulfilment of the “Plan of Action to Realize the Concept of Facilitating the Development of Voluntary Work in the Russian Federation until 2025,” with respect to charging the regional governments of the Russian Federation to support the development of voluntary work.45

Analyzing and consolidating the work experience of volunteer organizations during the pandemic, the Civic Chamber formulated an extensive package of recommendations to increase the effectiveness of collaboration between volunteers, the competent authorities, and civil society. It is particularly worth improving: public accessibility of information concerning the possibility of receiving assistance; security for volunteers; the regulation of volunteer access to social and medical organizations; assistance for medics and social workers; and the provision to organizations of the social servicing and social protection of computer technology and Internet access.46

Although the pandemic continues, the results of 2020 show a new paradigm of collaboration between the government, organized civil society institutions, NPOs, and volunteers, when for the first time in recent memory they helped to create and successfully launch operative horizontal network structures for mutual assistance.

Support Measures for SMEs and Nonprofit Sector

The pandemic, and the lockdown enforced in the spring to stop it, threatened business and had a negative effect on the economy. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), forced to swiftly reorganize their business strategies in the absence of resources and reserves, found themselves in a very hard situation.

Since April, support measures were available for SMEs in respect of deadlines for providing documentation concerning tax payments, extensions or instalments for tax payments, advance payments of taxes and insurance premiums, and the suspension of checks, subsidized loans for job retention, etc.47 In July a program was launched proposing the subsidies for socially oriented NPOs and SMEs to follow the recommendation of Rospotrebnadzor.48

The Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation were monitoring support measures for SMEs in the branches of the economy worst hit by the pandemic. It evaluated the potential of the government’s support measures, forwarded proposals to the Government of the Russian Federation concerning the necessity to extend deadlines for applying to receive the status of social entrepreneur,49 and provided a platform for the exchange of best social business practices during the pandemic.50

The first government economy support package only contained support measures for entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations were not accepted as serious participants in the economic process capable to make a fair contribution to economic development and support.

At the same time, society showed solidarity in solving rising problems. Public volunteer associations, as well as socially oriented NPOs, came to the aid of elderly people, those suffering from chronic diseases, and disabled people (providing targeted aid and delivering groceries, medicines, and personal protection equipment), providing support to government medical and social institutions.

The Civic Chamber was among the first to draw attention to problems of socially oriented NPOs, which arose due to the pandemic and the introduction of restrictive measures, and it proposed to approve support measures for NPOs. The demand and effectiveness of socially oriented NPOs during the pandemic was acknowledged by the Russian President and Government. The Civic Chamber proposals formulated between March and May 2020 were heard, and reflected the relevant instructions of the Russian President and state-approved laws and regulations.51

In April the Civic Chamber launched the #ВместеНКО (NPOs Together) hotline. Organizations forwarded to the hotline information about how they had reorganized their work, and were now helping people in these hard times, as well as about what they needed themselves.

Based on the work done, the Civic Chamber achieved the unprecedented support measures for the NPO sector with regard to: temporary exemption from paying taxes and insurance; checks; provision of subsidized loans and a series of other tax incentives for businesses donating their assets free of charge to socially oriented NPOs.52Approximately 40,000 nonprofit organizations became potential beneficiaries of government aid.53

The government created two registers of NPOs with the right to receive support measures. The first includes: organizations that have received financial support from all levels of public funds, including Presidential grants; providers of social services in the last three years; and NPOs included in the register of public service providers. The second register includes NPOs excluded from the first but in need of support, inasmuch as their activity has suffered seriously as a result of the pandemic – educational and charitable organizations.

The Civic Chamber was the most active participant in the formation of both the NPO registers. The Civic Chamber, public councils under federal executive authories, and regional civic chambers did everything possible to make sure that not one NPO was forgotten. As a result, the Civic Chamber promoted the idea of combining the two registers.

The proposal to create a single register of socially oriented NPOs was raised at a meeting of the Russian President with the new Civic Chamber composition. The President supported this idea and charged the Russian Government and Civic Chamber to jointly work out proposals concerning the development and management of a single register of socially oriented and other NPOs with the right to receive additional government support.54

In August the Civic Chamber began publicly debating bills and planned regulations aimed at merging of two registers into one. The single NPO register is to be developed with understandable rules concerning inclusion in, and exclusion from, it. The digitalization and public online accessibility of the register will facilitate a huge increase in transparency and efficiency of regulation and support for the nonprofit sector.55

In its special report to the Russian President,56 the Civic Chamber proposed changing the approach to the development of the single register of socially oriented NPOs, originally proposed by the Government, and expanding the circle of organizations liable for inclusion in it. It proposed providing socially oriented NPOs which did not fulfil the criteria for automatic inclusion the right to appeal to the Ministry of Economic Development for inclusion in the register based on additional criteria, and also endowing the Civic Chamber and regional civic chambers with the right to plead on behalf of NPOs if they consider they have been unjustly excluded from the single register.57

The Russian Civic Chamber continues to analyze the effectiveness of the support measures for socially oriented NPOs.

In total, for the support of socially oriented NPOs, the Government earmarked:

• subsidized loans for resuming the activity of organizations, for 1,008 socially oriented NPOs to a total of 2,744.6 million rubles. At the same time, for the same aims, loans were given to 208,107 small and medium businesses to a total of 270,306.92 thousand rubles;58
• subsidies for prophylactic measures against coronavirus infection, for 4,180 socially oriented NPOs (employing 130,313 employees) to a total of 930,896 thousand rubles. At the same time, for the same aims, loans were given to 288,998 small and medium businesses (employing 1,211,403 employees) to a total of 10,696,623 thousand rubles;59

On top of this, the second quarter of 2020 saw nonprofit organizations using the following support measures:

• exemption from paying advance payments – 1,742 socially oriented NPOs to a total of 162 million rubles;60
• exemption from paying insurance premiums – 24.2 thousand socially oriented NPOs to a total of 8.8 billion rubles;61
• 6,166 tax payers received personal-income-tax deductions, for sums itemized as contributions, to a total of 1,347,834 thousand rubles.62

To support socially oriented NPOs during the pandemic, a special unscheduled competition was held by the Presidential Grants Foundation. The results of independent evaluation produced 900 winning organizations. The total value of grants awarded by the President within the special contest was 2 billion rubles.63

In general, the measures approved to support socially oriented NPOs did not simply prevent the cessation of activity for a host of organizations, but also set the direction of development for the sector for years ahead. A significant step forward was taken to support both the nonprofit sector and socially responsible business.

It is all the more important not to lose established potential in the worsening epidemiologic situation of autumn 2020 (the second wave of the pandemic). Continuing its work in consolidating the experience of the nonprofit sector, now in the second wave of the pandemic, on November 24 the Civic Chamber formulated a series of recommendations aimed at increasing and maintaining the integrity of organizations whose activity is aimed at helping socially vulnerable categories of people, and presented them to the Russian government. Public appeals for support from NPOs continue to grow with the difficult epidemiologic situation. It is necessary to introduce additional measures of support for the NPOs and volunteers which allow them to provide assistance to all those in need.64

“Regional NPO” Ratings

The pandemic especially brightly showed the high demand among citizens for the help of nonprofit organizations. In those regions where the sector is more active and cohesive, with well-oiled cooperation between them and the government, socially responsible business, and the press, the role of NPOs in the solution of problems created by the pandemic has become more significant.

In order to reveal the level and quality of the development of the regional nonprofit sector, to define its potential and possibilities for its realization, in 2020 the Civic Chamber realized a pilot project to establish the “Regional NPO” Third Sector Rating. It is based on a multidimensional model that includes 9 factors, 39 indicators, and 185 primary parameters. The Civic Chamber’s partner in this project was the RAEX rating agency

The Rating was presented at the final “Community” forum in Moscow on November 2, 2020.65

The main questions answered by the Rating are how developed the nonprofit sector is in the region, how great is its potential, and how effectively is that potential being realized in practice for cooperation with the main interested parties.

To develop the Rating, a wealth of knowledge was gathered from ministries and agencies, and from open sources: the Justice Ministry, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Federal State Statistics Service, Agency of Social Information, and SPARKInterfax, among others. The results of an expert poll conducted by the Civic Chamber among members of the regional chambers and experts were also used.

According to the Rating, the following regions made the top 10: Moscow, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Tyumen Region, the Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district – Yugra, St. Petersburg, the Chukotka Autonomous District, the Republic of Karelia, the Republic of Buryatia, the Tula Region, and the Samara Region.

The regions can use the Rating to evaluate not only their positions according to level and quality of development of the third sector, but also how effectively managed and transparent the regional NPO-support system is, how actively NPOs participate in finding solutions to social problems, and how well established mutual relations are between the nonprofit sector, the government, business, and the media. Aside from which, according to all the indicators used in the rating, a chart of recommendations has been prepared, which regional governments and NPO support and development institutions will be able to use in their practical work.

The Civic Chamber reckons that the “Regional NPO” Rating will stimulate discussion on federal, regional, and local levels: what or who does third sector development really depend on, and what needs to be done so that this development is progressive and sustainable.