Supermodel, founder of the Naked Heart Foundation Natalya Vodianova, in an interview with the Social Information Agency, discusses trends in the development of the non-profit sector, pressing problems of families with children with special needs, as well as whether the foundation will always be associated with her name and why people like the rapper Kanye West attends charity auctions.
Natalya, your fund for helping children has existed since 2004, for the fifth time this year the forum “Every Child Deserves a Family” was held - the organization already has an impressive history. From your perspective, has much changed in the nonprofit sector over the years?
I think the situation is much better today. We have seen significant changes especially in the last five years, when the foundation began to work more purposefully and on a larger scale with families raising children with special needs. We started when practically no one was doing this at all, and now other excellent non-profit organizations operate with us, conduct their own effective projects and create successful communication campaigns.
What is the main thing that is currently missing to solve the problems of the families and children with whom you work?
From the very beginning, we understood that in order to qualitatively change the situation, we first need specialists in working with children with special needs. But in Russia there are almost none of them: literally just a handful. And they are all in great demand and booked out a year in advance. We are often unable to provide support in response to requests to the fund, simply because there are not enough qualified specialists.
Therefore, now our main task is to promote an increase in the number of specialists in the field of child development, working using modern methods with proven effectiveness. Working with schools and kindergartens, we not only gradually achieve results among the children themselves, but also contribute to the professional growth of teachers and other specialists. We can say that we are taking them to the next level, trying to multiply this “handful” in order to overcome the acute deficit.
Now we have more than a hundred teachers, pedagogues, child development specialists and speech pathologists, and they are passionate about their work. This is truly an achievement and we are proud of it.
If there is such a demand for specialists, why is there no intensive development of the institute for their training? Doesn't the state need this?
This is not a simple problem, but a multi-stage one. In Russia, in principle, people with special needs are not visible. It’s as if we don’t have a problem, so we don’t have a formulated request for specialists. But it’s really not like that for us.
I am an absolutely apolitical person, and our organization, of course, is also not political. But as a foundation, we always try to tell the truth: if something at the state level does not exist or does not work, we directly say that it is so. And at the same time we always try to offer a solution.
Has this situation with “as if they were not there” moved from a dead point? Are you noticing any positive changes?
Yes, things are still getting better now. Parents who give birth to a child with special needs do not find themselves in an information vacuum, since in five years proper communication has been built: people understand that they can live with this. Now there is no fear that you are left alone and only you have such a child, when, moreover, in the maternity hospital they will tell you “you will give birth to another healthy one, and everything will be fine.” I really hope that now the parents will be strong enough to say “no, this is our child, and everything will be fine with us.”
And the next step we have to take is to help keep the child in the family. This is only possible thanks to support, the system of which is still beginning to develop, although not quickly enough. But there is still a positive shift.
What events in the life of Naked Heart do you think were key to promoting the ideas of inclusivity and accessibility?
Often these are events and processes that people don’t even see, so the main changes occur in a very narrow circle of families and children with whom we work. I'm talking about our school project to train teachers to work with children with autism, which is currently being implemented in Nizhny Novgorod, Tver and St. Petersburg.
Such projects are little noticeable from the outside, because it is still a very internal story, covering about 200 families with children with special needs. Some of these children are very profoundly autistic. Previously, they were not taken anywhere, but now, after three years of our work with them, they went to regular schools. This work is very important to us. This is what we build all the rest of our activities around, for the sake of which we generally do everything.
Of course, there is a need for more such projects, because in our country there are not 200 children who need such support and who want to go to school, but are forced to stay at home.
At the same time, our advocacy work is also very important - for example, projects such as “Don’t be silent” with Dima Bilan.
In addition to the foundation’s own programs, there were also external events?
Of course there was one that happened to my sister Oksana. The situation was very negative and emotionally painful for all of us, but despite this, it served as another reason to once again talk about people with developmental disabilities and attitudes towards them.
In the summer after the “Running Hearts” race, you wrote that Dima Bilan became part of the history of Russia’s formation on the path to inclusion. Who else would you consider to be part of this story?
Yes, we are very happy that Dima has become one of the main advocates of inclusion, because the video “Don’t be silent” is not our only joint project. He supported us at auctions in favor of the fund, and repeatedly raised the topic of people with developmental disabilities in his interviews.
Together with him, of course, we are very supported and Yana Rudkovskaya. Polina Kitsenko- a super volunteer of the foundation, for two years in a row she has been organizing for us on her own and with the strength of her team, and this is not only an event to raise funds for our programs!
Firstly, the race has a special distance for people using a wheelchair, that is, the race is completely inclusive, and secondly, the Podium market team, and all participants, and corporate partners - absolutely everyone - were involved in disseminating information about how to speak correctly about people with developmental disabilities. For us as an organization, and for me personally as a sister of a girl with special needs, this is the main thing.
Celebrities who promote the ideas of inclusion also work with other public organizations...
Yes, of course, I cannot help but acknowledge the people who lead or support our partner organizations working on the topic of developmental disabilities. This and Avdotya Smirnova from the “Exit” fund, and Lyubov Arkus with the center “Anton is nearby”, and Ivan Urgant, And Anton Komolov, who have long and actively supported our partner organization - the Center for Curative Pedagogy, and Ksenia Alferova with the “I Am!” Foundation.
Every year there are more and more of these people, and I am very pleased that this is happening.
Why do you think famous people come to charity?
Speaking at ours, Lyubov Arkus (Russian director, film critic and founder of the Anton Is Near Center. - Note ed.) said that her former profession helps her in her current profession. She knows actors, directors, producers - this is her resource and luggage, her bag, which she can open, like the brownie Kuzya a magic box with fairy tales. You open it - and there is magic that is accessible to a very narrow circle of people. But it is available to you, and you can use it for the cause that you support.
Completion of the V International Forum “Every Child Deserves a Family” That is why they are probably going into this issue. Because they know that they can positively influence the situation, and they do it.
And I understand Lyuba very well, because for me the main engine of success, the main flow of funds into the fund, in addition to its high-quality and professional work, is the multibillion-dollar fashion industry in which I am located, and the contacts that I have thanks to this industry .
So Naked Hearts will always be associated with you?
In general, I really want the foundation to exist independently, separately from me. Both our team and our activities deserve this - year after year we prove our effectiveness. Yes, and I myself see a trend towards this.
If earlier meetings had to be held only with my presence, all communication took place only through me as the founder of the organization and the first person, now Asya (Zalogina, president of the foundation. – Note ed.) and absolutely all members of our team work directly with partners and can communicate with them at absolutely any level.
Still, now our organization is already treated as a structure separate from me, independently standing on a solid basis. If something suddenly happens in my family, and I can no longer take part in the work of the foundation for some time, then I am sure that the foundation will be able to continue its activities. If I’m suddenly no longer involved in the work of the foundation, then nothing will fall apart, everything will function perfectly.
This is conscious distancing because it is important to the organization. After all, in principle, how can you evaluate your work? Precisely in this way: by assuming whether the organization can exist if you are not in it.
You are in the charitable, non-profit sector, as they say, seriously and for a long time, like those celebrities you remembered. What, in your opinion, motivates those who only occasionally turn to charity? For example, visitors to your charity auctions?
They are also people who share their image and who consider it their duty to help, since such success has come to them. At the same time, it doesn’t matter to them where the child who needs help is from - the nationality of those who need help is not important, which we are now proving to the whole world by raising the issue of refugees. There are no other people's children, so you shouldn't be surprised that, for example, Kanye West came to an event that raises funds to support children from Russia.
But at the same time, the quality of the event they come to is important to them? Or is it enough that it is carried out with your participation and that it is about charity?
Of course, it is important that the product is of good quality, and it does not matter what it is: an auction, a communication campaign, a cartoon or a clip. You cannot make allowances for the fact that this is a charity and do not do your job as well as you can, because it is believed that people will donate money for children anyway - this is unacceptable.
It’s good that now leaders from business are coming to charity, who look at their organization as a company with an important social mission and understand how to organize work. This is important because often a nonprofit's money is public money or funds from specific donors that the organization must spend properly. The responsibility is huge, so organizationally you should treat this like a business.
That is, do you see that the non-profit sector is gradually moving away from purely ideological charity to a more conscious one, working according to the rules of business?
Yes, but people still remain ideological. The idea is the main engine of charity. After all, in the non-profit sector no one earns a lot of money: salaries are very small and do not correspond to the commercial market. The driving force behind everything is passion for what you do.
You go to the sector with your heart. But if you do not have the necessary skills and qualities for the job, then you need to build a team around you, involve people in your work who will help you do it professionally. It is wrong to go into the sector with sheer enthusiasm, because we are talking about other people’s lives and other people’s money.
Natasha, you have been offered to become an ambassador for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. You stopped at the second one. Why?
It's more of an internal choice. I am very interested in the Paralympics and its athletes as heroes of this movement. These are strong-willed, strong personalities. They constantly remind me that life is what we make it. As an ambassador of the Paralympic Games, I participate in various events and come up with creative projects myself.
Information has appeared in the press that you are ready to end your modeling career and focus on charity...
They've been talking about this for ten years now! (Laughs.) In fact, journalists sometimes like to change the meaning of what was said in order to make sensational material. The question was asked: what is more important to me - work or charity work? And I answered that charity, of course, comes first. But all endeavors in this area are fueled by my career and publicity.
Was there a specific incident after which you realized that you need to help other people?
The events in Beslan in 2004 were a big shock for me. I always worry when there is obvious injustice in the world. And then there was a terrorist act directed against children. Moreover, on September 1, such a joyful holiday. I realized that I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully if I didn’t do at least something. This is how the Naked Heart Foundation was created. We started by building playgrounds. I am familiar with the situation when children have nothing to do in the yard. In Nizhny Novgorod, for example, there were two benches where the older kids drank beer, and a sandbox where the kids played. I know that the problem of playgrounds is still relevant in many cities. We are trying to solve it to the best of our ability.
How was the foundation team formed? How do people even get involved in charity work?
For a time, only a few people worked at Naked Heart. But then, with the expansion of the scope of activity, there was a need to increase the staff. As soon as we post an ad on the site, we immediately receive hundreds of responses. Despite the fact that our salary is low, our responsibility, on the contrary, is great. Everyone who comes to our foundation does so at the behest of their hearts. These are mostly young, energetic women, good specialists. Before that, they worked in prestigious companies, but decided to devote themselves to charity. In my opinion, people simply lacked the feeling that they were doing some good, useful thing.
Were there any touching moments associated with the work of the foundation?
There are many of them, because we work with special children. Often, in families where children with disabilities grow up, there is a rather pessimistic attitude. We do not tell parents that their son or daughter can be cured, but we give hope that they too can become full-fledged members of society.
You once said that your sister Oksana showed you the right direction in life.
My sister has always been a ray of light for me. This is difficult to explain... I lived next to a person who is always happy and does not complain about his fate (My younger sister Natalya is diagnosed with autism. - Ed.). Oksana can be both funny and charming. She always vigorously expresses her sympathy - she loves to hug and kiss. And no matter what sad events happened in my life, she always knew how to distract me from sad thoughts, she was a kind of therapist. Of course, caring for a special child is not an easy job, and there are some life restrictions associated with it. This is truly a test of strength. But at the same time, such children give incredible joy. The feeling of their selfless, boundless love is a balm for the soul.
How important do you think it is for a person what his childhood was like? Does it determine his future fate?
Completely! It has already been scientifically proven that the formation of personality occurs precisely in the first years of life. You need to communicate with the child, invest as much love and knowledge into him as possible, give him the right to choose and show him his capabilities.
By Russian standards, you are a heroine mother - you have three children. What is most important to you in raising them?
I try to spend as much time as possible with my children. We read books together, watch movies, always talk before going to bed, and discuss our day. I take my responsibilities as a mother no less responsibly than I take my work or social activities. I won't feel good knowing that my kids are missing my attention. Finding a balance between work, career, and family is an important task for a modern woman.
Which of the three children is more like you?
They are very different, but in each I see my own characteristics. I love them all, but I have my own special relationship with each of them. The interests of sons and daughters are very different - they cannot all be seated together to, for example, assemble a construction set. I read books with my daughter, I go fishing with my sons. So far I am very pleased with our communication and friendship. Children are also involved in my charitable activities and are not jealous of other children.
Is your family comfortable living in Paris?
We really like the city. We would like to come to Russia more often, but in French schools there are strict rules and you cannot miss classes.
You said that a difficult childhood taught you to be on your guard. Are you able to relax now?
Probably, I just have a very lively character and quick reaction. I feel danger, and it doesn’t matter which direction it comes from. But mostly I still live in a state of harmony.
How would you define the role of a woman in the modern world?
It’s great that, albeit slowly, we are still moving towards equality between the sexes. I think this is important. Women have a more developed sense of empathy, compassion, and we are more patient with others. And it seems to me that the more opportunities we have to express ourselves at the highest level - in politics, business, the more harmonious our society will be.
On March 2, the team of Natalia Vodianova, the Naked Heart Foundation for Children and the Guerlain company ran a charity half-marathon in Paris for the fifth time. This year, the team took part in the race to collect donations for a summer educational integrative holiday for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities: autism, Down syndrome and mental retardation. Natasha herself did not take part in the race due to her situation - Vodianova is expecting her fourth baby.
Brigitte Bardot and the Parrot (1956)
When in 1973, the world-famous French star Brigitte Bardot announced that she was leaving cinema to help animals, many decided that this was a whim of a very beautiful woman. No one could believe that one of the most sought-after stars of his time would just take and refuse new roles and new fees. But Brigitte kept her word and still does.
She was 39 years old and had been interested in philanthropy for some time, but it was one thing to be interested, and another to put her own successful career behind it. Bardo decided otherwise. In her opinion, she did not achieve fame in order to rest on her laurels. Fame, in her understanding, obliges her to have an active life position and enjoy popularity in the name of humanity and humanity.
In the name of noble goals, in 1986, the actress founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals to protect animals. The opening of her own foundation can be considered not only an important milestone in the charitable, so to speak, career of the actress, but also the zero kilometer, the starting point that marked the beginning of a completely different life for the sex symbol of the century. At the same time, she also became a vegetarian, which also expressed support for the ideas promoted by her organization in society.
Many people asked the question why the sexy blonde turned her tender gaze specifically to animals, and not to children, old people or other representatives of the suffering population of the planet. One day Bardo, tired of constant questioning on the topic, spoke out, a little sharply, but clearly and to the point: “If I could somehow influence how people treat each other, I would do this, but since it’s not “To the best of my ability, I will limit myself to the attitude of people towards animals.”
What is Bardo fighting for? For the humane treatment of animals, be it a stray dog or a thoroughbred horse. The actress actively protests against the killing of horses for meat, as well as fur-bearing animals for their fur, which is then used to make fur coats. “Shuba is a cemetery. A true woman will not carry a cemetery on herself,” the actress responds about this.
Among Brigitte's other initiatives, for which she fought fiercely for many years, was a ban on the use of cat and dog skins in the fur industry. Despite the fact that at first this idea found little support in society, after a while, thanks to the work done by Bordeaux, a corresponding law was adopted in France and a number of other countries.
Brigitte also paid attention to the touching seal pups, organizing a loud demonstration near the Norwegian Embassy in Paris in 1977. The reason was the passionate love for the charming whites of poachers and society ladies. The latter valued the snow-white fur of the animals, and the former valued the money that could be earned for it. The harp seal especially suffered from hunters. By the mid-1960s, its total population had dropped to almost 2.5 million, and only 300 thousand seals remained in the White Sea.
Shortly after Bardot's demonstration, France banned the import of seal fur products, becoming the first country to introduce measures against the killing of seal pups.
Today, Bardo's main work is aimed at drawing attention to the problem of stray dogs around the world. In 2013 and 2014, the actress even wrote open letters to Vladimir Putin calling on him to respond to the initiative and pass a law to protect homeless dogs as soon as possible.
Now Brigitte Bardot is 81 years old, and she continues to actively participate in the life of her foundation. However, her support for animals does not end there. The actress lives on a ranch with her favorites - dogs, cats, rabbits, sheep, pigs and horses - in total, Brigitte has more than a hundred pets for whom she cares and for whom she imagines a better life.
Angelina Jolie
“Working at the UN has changed me a lot. I met people who experienced horrors that most of us cannot even imagine. I was amazed by their extraordinary fortitude. Thanks to them, I rethought my life,” says the actress about her work. Not one that is limited to the boundaries of the film set, but one in which thousands of people’s destinies are involved.
When you are called “the most desirable woman on the planet,” when your name is persistently labeled as a bad girl, when your fees are among the highest in Hollywood, it is so easy to go all out and become a “star.” Not the one that shines for everyone, but the one that throws the loudest parties for the most chosen ones, the one that does not allow fans to come within a kilometer, the one that is looked at with both adoration and fear. Angelina Jolie is a shining example of how scandal and success can be successfully invested in good.
Today, for stars, charity is comparable to filming in the next blockbuster or performing in a huge arena in front of a crowd of raving fans - it’s the same work: it requires effort and brings significant dividends. When Jolie began traveling around the world on missions in 2001, charity was not yet of such a commercial nature and was perceived as an act of goodwill; moreover, many were also surprised: why would a spectacular beauty from the frame travel to the poor regions of our planet when she could comfortably relax on the sea coast.
The answer to this question was formulated by the UN Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lobbers: “First of all, she attracted public attention to the fate of these people, forcing the world to listen to their problem.” Can not argue with that. During her charitable work, she spent tens of millions of dollars of personal money, helping people in more than 30 countries.
As we wrote above, it all started 15 years ago, when the actress found herself filming the film “Lara Croft – Tomb Raider,” which took place in Cambodia. Then Jolie saw what no camera could capture - the fear, poverty and pain that paralyzed the whole country.
After filming, the actress turned to the UN Refugee Commission with a request to send her as a volunteer to the countries where the organization’s missions are located in order to learn more about the problems of the Third World. Since then, she has visited more than one country on humanitarian missions: Cambodia, Sierra Leone and Tanzania are the countries from which the actress’s difficult path to her current status as a UN Goodwill Ambassador began. Star status helps her open doors that are closed to others, but she never enjoys the privileges that come with this status. In all missions, Jolie lives and works on an equal basis with other team members, experiencing the same hardships of missionary life as the rest.
In addition to her trips on humanitarian missions, the actress founded several charitable organizations, which she is actively involved in to this day. In 2003, the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation was announced. The foundation is dedicated to environmental conservation in the province of Battambang, Cambodia. A few years later, in 2006, the actress founded the Maddox Chivan Children's Center, which treats HIV-infected children in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. Among other organizations in which our heroine is involved is the Jolie/Pitt Foundation, organized with her husband, to finance the Doctors Without Borders programs, as well as an organization that helps children affected by man-made or natural disasters and was invented together with economist Jean Sperling - Education Partnership for Children of Conflict.
If you look at the numbers, the amount that the actress spends on charity is considerable. After her first tour of refugee camps, Jolie donated $1 million to the Refugee Commission, becoming the largest private donor in UN history. In 2003, the actress bought 60 thousand hectares of forest in western Cambodia, turning them into a national park, thereby supporting villages in that disastrous territory. In 2005, the Jolie-Pitt family spent $8.4 million on building houses in New Orleans, which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. In 2010, they donated $1 million to earthquake victims in Haiti. And this is only a small part of what one fragile woman helped the big and cruel world.
The famous actress also involves her children in charity work. This January, news about the touching act of Shiloh and Zakhara spread throughout the world media. Finding themselves in Southeast Asia, where their mother was working on the film “First They Killed My Father: Memoirs of a Cambodian Daughter” about the fate of Cambodians who suffered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, the Jolie-Pitt sisters met a girl from a very poor family. Imbued with her story, the heirs of the famous family decided to help their peer. They not only gave her and her family several bags of clothes and new bicycles, but also helped them financially.
“These people live in constant torment all their lives, from the first day to the last - the pangs of hunger, the pangs of fear of everyone who is stronger, the pangs of uncertainty, the complete absence of any future. I was where there is no law, justice and conscience. I saw terrible things, and it hurts me that I can’t help them all,” explains the actress, who for some reason has recently been condemned, about her desire for charity and her active life position.
Natalya Vodyanova
It’s hard to believe that this girl with an angelic appearance and transparent blue eyes is a real fighter, of which there are few on the planet. When Natalya started doing charity work, she was only 22 years old. Then in 2004, the top model founded the Naked Hearts charity foundation. The impetus for this event was the events in Beslan. In an attempt to help children survive the consequences of the tragedy, Natalya came up with an initiative, which soon became part of the program of the charitable foundation she organized. The idea was to relieve children from anxious thoughts through play. Thus, vibrant play spaces began to be created throughout Russia.
Vodianova knew firsthand how important the play moment is in the development of a child, especially one who grew up in difficult conditions. The girl also understood that on ordinary playgrounds there is not a place for every child - children with special needs require certain conditions. The result was the “Play with Meaning” program, which is engaged in the construction of inclusive children's play parks and playgrounds where special children can play side by side with their other peers.
Today, the Vodianova Foundation is also working in the direction of “Every child deserves a family,” developing systems of free services for vulnerable families raising children with special needs. Since its founding, the Foundation has built 158 play facilities, including in a number of orphanages and hospitals, cancer and rehabilitation centers.
Recently, Vodianova has also been organizing charity races. To be more precise: for about six years in Paris and two years in Moscow. The French race is not an independent event. It takes place as part of the large-scale Paris Half Marathon and brings together people from all over the world who want to run with the Natalia Foundation team and do it with meaning. But the Moscow race is a completely independent story, growing out of that Paris Marathon. “Year after year, more and more volunteers joined our idea of running with meaning. Every year we announced in advance the target amount that we would like to raise and for what program we are collecting donations. This simple knowledge of how many families with children with developmental disabilities will have access to high-quality free services, thanks to the fact that you are running, can work wonders at the finish line,” says Vodianova about the idea of charity races. – Every year more and more volunteers from Moscow and Russia began to fly to Paris to run a half-marathon with us in support of Naked Hearts. Watching this emerging trend, I always wanted a similar charity race to take place in Russia.”
No sooner said than done. On May 16, 2015, the first charity race “Running Hearts” took place in Gorky Park. Then we managed to collect more than 13 million rubles for the “Summer with Purpose” project, an integrative summer educational vacation for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. The second race took place on May 29, 2016. This year, the goal of the marathon was to collect donations for the development of early assistance services of the Naked Heart Foundation, that is, for the creation of a network of free support services for families raising children with special needs. This year we managed to collect 37,000,000 rubles.
Last year, the model ran the marathon along with the rest of the race participants, but this year she was unable to join the runners because she was in the last months of pregnancy. From Natalia’s family, her eldest son Lucas flew to the race and ran 10 km in support of the Foundation.
Another high-profile social initiative of Vodianova in favor of the foundation is the Love Ball event, which is held to raise funds for charitable purposes. The first ball was held in Moscow in 2008 at the Tsaritsyno estate and raised $5 million. In the following years it was held in London, at Valentino's estate near Paris, and in Monaco. This year the Love Ball will take place for the fifth anniversary during Paris Fashion Week. A private black tie dinner for 250 guests and a charity auction will take place in the unique building of the Louis Vuitton Foundation. Among the top lots are works by outstanding contemporary artists. This time the ball will be held under the patronage and in the personal presence of Mr. Bernard Arnault, head of LVMH / Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Let us remind you that the last charity evening Love Ball was held under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco and his family.
In 2004, a native of Nizhny Novgorod founded the international foundation "". With her example, she inspired millions of people around the world to do good deeds.
Natalia Vodianova was brought into charity by her personal history and inner need to help the weak. The successful model and mother was greatly shocked by the events in Beslan. After the incident, she realized that she could not sit idly by and wanted to do at least something to help the children survive this tragedy. This is how the idea of the foundation was born, and from that moment on, its success made sense.
Fund for those who care
Natalya Vodianova was lucky: she did not encounter any serious difficulties when organizing the foundation; her like-minded people supported her at every step of its formation.
The only thing that took quite a lot of time and effort was registering the fund in Russia. But this was done in a manner prescribed by law, and this is what every charity goes through. It just takes some time.
Who provided support at the stage of formation in Russia and the world?
Nizhny Novgorod provided the greatest support. The fund was registered there. And the designer Diane von Furstenberg, who has since become one of the foundation’s closest friends and a personal friend, helped me organize my first fundraising event in 2004. But in general, the foundation has many friends and supporters, and we are very grateful to them for that.
How do you choose the vector where to send help?
This is primarily personal experience. In general, I believe that charity is effective only when there is personal motivation and understanding of the problem from the inside. I know all the social problems that the foundation deals with - supporting families with children who have developmental disabilities and solving the problem of lack of play spaces - from my personal experience.
How much money goes through Naked Heart each year? What are you sending them to?
The amounts vary from year to year. In 2012, for example, we donated about 160 million rubles to social projects, and in 2011 - 49 million rubles. It all depends on how much money we manage to attract. But I can say that over all the years of the foundation’s existence, the total amount invested in charitable projects is more than 16 million euros. The funds go to the foundation's two main programs - the construction of play parks and programs to support families raising children with developmental disabilities. Our main goal of working within the framework of this program is to stop the influx of disabled children into orphanages and boarding schools. Moreover, we finance not only the foundation’s own projects, such as the annual international forum for specialists in childhood disorders “Every Child Deserves a Family,” but also dozens of other organizations. Among them are the Center for Curative Pedagogy in Moscow, “Perspectives” in St. Petersburg, “Valeocenter” in Tula, “Aistenok” in Yekaterinburg, about 20 projects to conduct summer integrative camps for children with disabilities and many others.
What is the structure of the fund’s budget by sources of formation: what share is made up of membership fees of the founders, charitable donations, receipts from the federal budget and receipts from fundraising activities?
The foundation's budget consists of 100% charitable donations. They come in a variety of ways - through a specially created page on our website, at events we organize, from companies and individuals who believe in what we do and simply want to help. Quite often, my personal fees go directly to the fund, but the majority are, of course, donations from caring people.
According to the law, organizations can use 20% of funds allocated to administrative needs for administrative needs. What are you spending it on?
In this regard, we are a unique organization, not only by Russian standards, but also by global standards. The fact is that we only spend 5% on administrative expenses. So we treat the funds entrusted to us very responsibly and use them exceptionally clearly. We have a small but strong team: we don't need 50 employees to do what we do. Today there are 13 of us, including me.
Create a culture of giving
According to Natalia Vodianova, in Russia those who make donations lack tax benefits, charitable organizations lack public trust and the opportunity to receive funds from the state, and everyone lacks clear rules of the game. And most importantly - dialogue and exchange of best practices between non-profit charitable organizations and government services, close cooperation. This, in her opinion, is the key to the success of all social initiatives.
What is typical for charity in Europe, the USA and Russia and how are they fundamentally different?
American philanthropy has a long history. Therefore, today, according to Price Waterhouse Coopers, more than 62% of US residents give to the charitable sector and non-profit organizations. In Russia - about 20%. Both there and in Europe, helping others is not the prerogative of the rich, but an absolutely normal practice for all members of society. And I am very pleased that in Russia the culture of charity is developing. This is evidenced by the fact that the vast majority of donations to Naked Heart come from Russians.
That is, Russian charity does not yet reach the world level?
Yes, and the numbers show this. But I really hope that, given the natural tendency of Russians to help each other and the development of the economy, we will soon reach a sufficiently high level when public initiatives will be financed by the members of society themselves.
What do you think about the popularity of online fundraising?
In my opinion, today it has become an absolutely integral part of our lives and the existence of the charitable sector around the world. The Internet provides enormous opportunities not only for raising funds, but also for disseminating information about social problems and ways to solve them.
What projects has Naked Heart already implemented in your hometown?
Nizhny Novgorod is a special city for us. Here we built our first play park, and here in the Swiss park we will implement our 100th play facility this summer. And most importantly, our Family Support Center has been operating in the city since October 2011. There, parents of children with developmental disorders such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and mental retardation can not only bring their children to classes with specialists, but also seek help. The center's specialists will teach them how to communicate with their children and help them obtain benefits and resolve legal and legal issues. Today, about 60 families regularly visit the center, but the demand for these services in the city is much higher. It turns out they are absolutely free.
What else are you planning to create here in the future?
We are planning to expand this year. The city municipality has just allocated us a building with an area of 700 sq.m. in the Moskovsky district. Thanks to this, our foundation will be able to work with a larger number of children and their families and expand the range of services.
In addition, we have financed a number of projects in the region. For example, the integrative summer camp “Young Nizhny Novgorod” for children with disabilities, a project to support foster families at an orphanage in the city of Zavolzhye and, of course, we continue to build play facilities in the region. In addition, the foundation is on the verge of launching a joint educational program with the city department of education - the introduction of modern technologies for teaching children with autism spectrum disorders in correctional schools in Nizhny Novgorod. In general, we have a lot of work in the region.
Does your foundation collaborate with other charitable organizations, do you do joint projects?
We fund a range of charities working to support children with special needs. And our relationship, of course, is very close and partnership-like. We don’t just allocate funds, but also help them grow and become stronger, providing them with access to modern expertise and the latest developments. We have common problems, and, of course, we need to solve them together.
There is an opinion that charity is akin to business and it can be
make good money. Do you agree with this?
Charity is similar to business only in that it must be just as well organized. But for me, making money from charity is fundamentally out of the question.
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Natalia Vodianova is known not only for her brilliant modeling career, but also for the charity events that she carries out. The Naked Heart Foundation, founded by Natasha, has been raising funds for the construction of children's playgrounds in Russia for several years now. Numerous designer friends help her with this - they create unusual lots for ongoing auctions.
The event, which will take place in July, has been in preparation for several years. The evening, called “The White Fairy Tale Love Ball”, is dedicated to Russian fairy tales - they were the theme for the creation of forty magnificent outfits that will be available for purchase there.
Designers from all over the world worked on these masterpieces. The project was attended by former Balmain designer Christophe Decarnin and former creative director of Dior John Galliano, Russian fashion designers Alena Akhmadullina, Vika Gazinskaya, Denis Simachev, Ulyana Sergienko. Even Alexander McQueen managed to participate; his work will also be presented at the auction. In addition, dresses from Chanel, Prada, Dolce&Gabbana, Givenchy, Lanvin, Louis Vuitton, Alexander Wang, Gareth Pugh and many other famous fashion houses will be on display.
Giambattista Valli
Louis Vuitton
Yves Saint Laurent
Gucci
Viktor&Rolf
Vika Gazinskaya
Oscar de la Renta
Alexander McQueen
Balmain
The presented lots will not only help raise funds for Vodianova’s charitable foundation, but will also decorate someone’s collection. Each outfit is made in a single copy!
