By early 2026, SPbGASU will launch an endowment fund, which will accumulate extra-budgetary funds for the university's development. This was announced by University Rector Evgeny Rybnov at a training seminar on the fundamentals of endowment and fundraising held at our university. Over the course of two days, staff members received basic training on this activity.

"Today, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation has tasked us with more actively engaging both alumni and the professional community in co-financing the university. Such support will be factored into the university's ranking and assessed by the ministry. In line with our university's development vector, at this year's Academic Council meeting, we decided to establish an endowment fund. Currently, SPbGASU receives a significant share of extra-budgetary revenue, yet its enormous potential is largely untapped. Developing fundraising is an important task. To achieve this, we must first analyze potential contacts and opportunities and then create a professional team of fundraisers. We have been working intensively in this direction for the past several months. The fund should be operational by early 2026," said Evgeny Ivanovich.

The Rector noted that our university is collaborating with experts from the National Endowment Association and the European University at Saint Petersburg (EUSP), who are helping establish the fund, optimize its operations, and train the working team. The seminar would help take a significant step in this direction, the Rector noted.

Svetlana Lavrova, Advisor to the EUSP Rector and Chair of the Board of the National Endowment Association, emphasized that fundraising is a search for extra-budgetary funding, and therefore it is incorrect to understand it as a simple request for money. It is more accurately viewed as an invitation to join in an important task.

The purpose of endowment is to provide long-term financing for projects, spanning 5 to 15 years. It works as follows. A donor makes a contribution to the endowment fund. The money raised by the fund are transferred to the management of a management company. The management company invests the funds under management to generate income in accordance with an investment strategy agreed upon with the management of SPbGASU. The income generated from investments is used to finance the university's activities in accordance with the endowment's objectives. The endowment itself remains inviolable—the funds transferred to the endowment cannot be withdrawn or spent.

"The sources of funding for any university include the state budget, revenue from paid educational services, the scientific and technical activities of educational institutions, and the commercialization of their results. There is always a risk of underfunding, so we're talking about planning for a maximum of five years. An endowment allows us to think long-term. The analytical data provided by SPbGASU suggests that the university's endowment fund will prove effective," noted Svetlana Lavrova.

The following experts also spoke at the seminar: Alla Samoletova, Head of the EUSP Rector's Office and an expert in endowment funds; Yulia Selyukova, Head of the educational and outreach projects "Clover Laboratory" and "Our Children" and a practicing fundraiser; Nadezhda Yusupova, an expert in fundraising; Evgeny Mokhovikov, Executive Director of the Aurora-Ala Foundation and Assistant to the Executive Director of the EUSP Foundation.