Analysis of charitable work and volunteering activities in Russia and abroad[Анализ Благотворительной Деятельности И Волонтерства В России И За Рубежом]

The urgency of sociological analysis of such phenomena as charitable work and volunteering activities is determined by the need to comprehend and interpret the processes of institutionalization of the civil society activities under the conditions of uncertainty and instability due to COVID-19 pandemic. Certain experience has been obtained that made it possible to consolidate resources and mobilize civic movements activists to solve the problems caused by the epidemic threat. The paper describes and analyzes the regulatory framework that ensures and stimulates development of charitable work and volunteering activities. Besides, it evaluates the results of the supporting measures of civil activities provided by the state. Based on comparative analysis, the genesis of the legislation in the sphere of charitable work and volunteering activities is revealed. The stages in legislation development have been singled out according to the efficiency of stimulation function of these legislative acts. The original conception of the areas for development in charitable work is presented. Along with the charitable work, volunteering activities are paid attention to; the paper analyzes a new trend in volunteering known as corporate and intellectual volunteering. These forms of volunteering have not been properly studied yet and they require further examination. The following methods have been used in this work: analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction and the method of document analysis. The empirical basis of this research contains sociological studies conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Foundation, the Centre for Studies of Civil Society and the Nonprofit Sector of the National Research University Higher School of Economics and the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre. As a result, the main obstacles in implementation of the state’s supporting measures of charity have been identified. The international experience of the state support of nonprofit organizations has been analyzed. New areas for development of volunteering activities in Russia have been singled out, including corporate and intellectual volunteering. Besides, the paper determines the main goals of corporate volunteering, evaluates the scope of corporate volunteering in the Russian companies, identifies the advantages for the companies that implement charity programs and analyzes the process of institutionalization of intellectual and corporate volunteering.