Elena Smirnova: You don’t have to be elected to someone to help

How to teach people to help professionally, why in the charitable sector has no place of pity, which gives feedback to clients and why the large fees destroying the possibility of targeted aid work, the passion for the sport and the family says the head of Fund “Creation” Elena Smirnova.

Elena Smirnova. Photo: Anna Danilova Pravmir.Ru

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You don’t have to be rich, a favorite to help someone

– At the last charity auction of your Fund Creation in one evening managed to collect about 14 million rubles. You as the Director should “be able to sell.” How do you do it?

– The point is that we sell. We’re sellers of happiness, we sell people a pleasure to help. It is important to understand that everyone can help people, charity is not the destiny of 10 thousand people that are in the first list of Forbes, and those who are close to them.

The charity is all about: it is about young children who save their pocket money and bring them the world on a dime; about grandmothers who are of retirement buy a pack of diapers; about the grandfather, who with his wife collects things from around the entrance, washes and brings to the Fund; about the teachers who organize school fairs, by inviting children to do good deeds; about the students, about the young moms and dads about motorists, of all the people. Charity is available to everyone.

You don’t have to be rich, the elected, do not have to live in Moscow, you can live anywhere, and someone to help. To help someone professionally and get feedback – this is probably the most important goal that we pursue.

– Still think that people involved in charity very little, it’s the people that are in a specific information field. For example, they have Facebook, to everyone in the PM came Elena Smirnova and wrote: “You lost me in this mystery, now put some money into the Fund Sozidanie”. This process is carried out manually.

– We are expanding this field, buying envelopes and sending paper letters to those places where there is no Facebook. Lately, due to the fact that I went to study courses in the Higher School of Economics, we understand this ideology. We began to consider its brand and its existence, comparing it with the business, because the NCO is no different from business structure – we also sell, we are also looking for buyers, we are also something we offer people, trying to involve them in certain activities. Our niche is to help there, where no one helped.

There are some area where no one helped?

– A lot of them, starting with the TRANS-Baikal territory, ending with some of the smaller hamlets, villages, villages. For example, I know a little funds, which help small rural libraries. And we help, and not only with books, although books are very important for them. So we sent them a new children’s book publishing house EKSMO, and it is a queue of 70 people, they are waiting because they have no opportunity this is the book to buy. They have the choice to save money on a new pair of shoes or a book, and it is clear that the book they will never buy.

Assistance to libraries. Photo: BF Sozidanie

The library is the only leisure centre that was left in many villages, and a program of assistance to libraries, we are indeed very extensible. Initially we had the program “Reading Russia”, now there is a program “treasures of the great country” – this is the layer of culture, the formation of beneficiaries, which still no one is interested. It’s really manual work, you’re doing it manually: do not translate back the money, and send care packages manually. We give you the opportunity to send such parcels to all people in any part of the world, rural libraries receive them from other countries.

– Don’t you think that it is still a very unstable system that exists as long as there are a few key players, it is very much necessary. It is not a system history. Not scary?

– It is terrible.

– Many large funds, such as the “gift of life”, “Faith”, as far as I know, has gone from manual control, from any piece of projects, and engaged in collecting money.

– Our Foundation is the number of good deeds that we do during the year. We don’t all agree, of course. You can’t count many things that you do spontaneously on emotion: when you come to hospital and support person for 5-6 hours while his child is in surgery. Or you can’t count the rubles of your friends who go and two days to spend with the children left without parental care, making them the coolest training that these children will receive, will allow them to choose a profession. You can’t count money, you do it because you think it is necessary.

We are some time ago looked at the numbers and thought it would be good to collect some amount of money. But it is not important for the Fund. It is important not to be the tenth player on the same site. Why do I need to collect for treatment of a brain tumor, if it perfectly does the Konstantin Khabensky charity Foundation, with whom we are friends? Why do I collect for operations of children with heart defects, if they are well paid by the Fund “Children’s hearts”? Why do what other funds? That’s why we have quite specific, but multidisciplinary care, and for those programs that are underrepresented in other funds.

Between the funds we have going on excellently. It happens that for a month we exchange with 40-50 funds everything – people, volunteers, machines, goods, toys and so on, and this time, we all time in this regard. It creates a real coalition when we make common cause together, and it works.

When you stop counting money you begin to do such things, which cannot be by any amount.

– How do you feel about the recent stories about litigation in connection with patent “Respond” to the words “children” and “good”?

I do not know, it is very difficult to judge the conflict, when you delve into the essence. I madly respect the “Rusfond”, Leo Ambinder was my first teacher. This is a man who, without any ambition and unnecessary words answered my silly, stupid and constant questions that I asked, scribes like a little puppy in his wicket. And I still appreciate it very much.

Valery Panyushkin, who came out, this is also a great story, “Rusfond”. Someone is not pleased that “Rusfond” took place on the First channel, but look who was the first, and sneakers. Go on, who wants to Putin, who does not want to Medvedev, there is still a lot of people, which is something to register, to book some brand.

We no longer ask “Goldilocks”, and offer cooperation

Of what you are taught on a business course at the Higher School of Economics, is really important for the charity? What was new to you and useful that you will apply?

– There was a lot of interesting things. I, of course, be in the best situation, because with me the course of listening to top managers and company representatives who are at very high positions. They don’t need to do branding, it is not necessary to write about ideology, to develop a platform to watch some of the matrix, to consider the conditions of the site (products, brands, and so on). These people (which is good) can apply along with me in their minds to writing my thesis at the charity Fund “Creation”.

– Managed to engage them in the work?

– There are a few people. For example, absolutely marvelous boy, who is now in Udmurtia make dumplings, he got there in order to learn how best to represent your brand. We already agreed that we will cooperate. There are people who deal with books. There are different people, but mostly, they are already very well versed in this and know everything, and this course is for them – more information.

Elena Smirnova. Photo: Anna Danilova Pravmir.Ru

It’s not just lectures, you work all the time, you have all the time enabled head, we are constantly in some kind of dialogue, relationships. Leading the course is absolutely brilliant Anton Bulanov, who works in the company “Invitro”, he brings a huge amount of information, which becomes clear even to me. It’s so interesting that you then sit and watch you have an umbrella brand or a monolithic, where the house brand? You go to a restaurant, eat soup and then I think: yeah, this soup is the brand with which you zachetku given. You can start a business to speak their language. Not so: “We are from the NGOs, we have small salaries, we know nothing, we never studied, we Finance not passed”.

You can talk quietly with people in the language which they speak, and not to be below them. You come not as a supplicant, and offer cooperation. You should come along, in my understanding, you have to offer something.

– It’s hard. It seems to me that until now, when you come on behalf of the Fund, you come to the big uncle to ask: “Give us money for…”

– We haven’t come. It’s already gone. We really offer a mutually beneficial cooperation. These courses also help you with this ideology to form and convey in a few sentences. Not about what we like and why we need to cooperate, not due to the fact that we have such wonderful caregivers, no. Need to find a niche and to convey.

This ability in three sentences to tell about yourself is very important. The funds should come for cooperation.

On our website there are children in which we collect, but we do not ask: “Give us, please, Goldilocks, if he didn’t, she’ll die.” Because we believe that charity is not about pity, charity – it’s about joy, about good and about the opportunity to help everyone.

That’s another story.

Speaking of pity… We know how the subway there are people that collect a child, the operation, and so forth, and out of pity they served a bunch of coins, and know where all the coins go, but people continue to help because it is easier to give. I’m easy to take the beggars in metro documents and publicly they say that these documents are not valid and what they represent, not true. But you find yourself immediately in the position of an outcast, because you all hush you say: “You what is it? People have a sick child, they Blokhin lie.” There are already hospital changed its name, they are one and the same documents from the 90th years, but no matter: “they lie on Kashirka”.

If each of us demonstrate some sort of civil position, do not say anything, then, may be, first one person will think that’s not true, next time think five. But we somehow lock, avoid to talk about it. Get out of the charity Fund, and “I’m in the house.”

But in fact, it is the culture of charity. And it is necessary to speak, wherever you can – on the subway, at school. I come to parent meetings and be sure to tell us that children can help, too. Now I go on business courses, and report back. It is important to introduce into the minds of those who don’t believe in charity people that their assistance can be delivered to the address that’s really a very cool, very cool to help, and we are lucky that we have the opportunity to help someone. We got such an honor. I think this is the coolest of the classes that we do the best job.

Photo: BF Sozidanie

The more money, thosem harder to help address

– What do you think of the recent discussions that the charitable Fund should be as a good a large Western company with relevant market wages?

– If the Fund will be working professionals, we owe it to them to pay large salaries. If we take a person that worked for a long time, ITAR-TASS news Agency, then worked in Lenta.ru then again, he perfectly writes the lyrics and wants a big salary, because that’s where he got it, the Fund is obliged to provide it. If we say that NCO is not a third world country that NGOs should be at the level of business, of course, funds have to pay people big salaries. Today we have a small salary, not because we are not professionals, but because we came to work under other circumstances.

We recently discussed this, remembering a grandfather, which every New year they brought us the spruce branches, and rode 150 km from Moscow, in order to please us. We were remembering the time (we have the people work for many years), and I said, “Remember, we had three payments per month”. The employee says to me: “Lena, yesterday was 90”. I say: “Imagine we came with you for three payments per month with a certain amount of work, he rose a thousand times, but you continue to receive such salary as was received earlier.”

I don’t need higher wages, but for my employees, I would like a higher salary. First, I don’t want them left somewhere, just because a little money. Second, I want their hard work was appreciated. But if we talk about the Fund as a business model… Here in the West is the story of private home shops, and now it is reborn. You can come in a wonderful network supermarket where you can buy cheaply and all at once, or in a private shop where you can talk, buy more expensive, but get great pleasure from this.

Elena Smirnova. Photo: Anna Danilova

Therefore, each Fund decides for himself: he can move to another category, to earn money like a machine, and to help more people (which is good); and can stay in their niche and do their job professionally, just different. It’s just a different model of development funds, one is no better and no worse than the other.

– The story is about the market level of salaries of Fund managers does not harm the charitable community?

– I do not think that the scandals are hurting. What harm can they? The fact that your employee will say tomorrow what she wants 100 thousand? This suggests that funds have to employ professional people. Why I went on this course? I recently went to Novosibirsk for a conference “in vitro” and there I was in one section with the wonderful people who talked about their company. I was a dinosaur compared to them, I didn’t even open his presentation, because after their presentation, after the show I realized that we don’t know how to do. It was cool to be done, and we must do the same.

If you’re playing at this level, you are obliged to do their work. So I went to learn and want to do the work so that I didn’t explain all the words and danced the hopak, and the people all clapped. I have thousands of stories, have a story to tell, but without presentation. But when to help you to professionally made layouts, you is a big plus. If you take a professional, you must understand that he will do well professionally the business, and you’ll ask him.

But even in our Fund we treat this very differently. On the Board people are divided in half – half believes that we need to go this route, and the other half thinks we should go the other way. We have, I think, a transitional period, we decide who we want to be and how.

If I want to get an impersonal letter from a major Foundation, which I help five times on different things, and in return I receive the same letter: “Thank you, that we make common cause, thank you for you help. Help us to help,” one and the same. I wish I wrote: your stuff or that you gave, Palpalychu is very handy, and he was very happy. For me it’s a human story rather than a business story.

For me this is the story of people who are interrelated: those who receive help and those who donates. Why do we each scholarship program attached to their donor? Why do children write letters to their donors? Because the donor is important to know that the girl did in the summer, as she helped grandma, how many jars of pickles they closed, the name of their cow, how many vegetables and fruits grown in their kitchen garden, as she graduated school how they went to camp their entire extended family.

Unfortunately, this feedback stops working, with the increase in the number of funds it becomes very difficult. You begin to compose and to say that the funds we honestly all dispensed. We really sit down and consider all the monthly recurring payments spent on a single some kind of charity program, or pay for the treatment of a particular child. But the more this becomes, the harder it is to do address. We insist that assistance should be targeted, but this position is specifically for our Foundation. Nothing worse, I repeat, the position of the business model, which enables the Fund to help more people. It’s just different behaviour patterns, different models of existence on the market.

Photo: BF Sozidanie

Targeted assistance involves working with specific people from different parts of the country is not prosperous regions. Working with many of these people, do you understand what we most lacking?

– We systematically not enough honest officials. If each region was a man through whom we could address to donate clothes, books, toys, help libraries, to learn from him who is in need of help…

– And systemic – not enough jobs, wages, qualifications?

We don’t have enough jobs, because the collective farms collapsed, the people in the villages have forgotten how to work. They drink, parasitism. But take, for example, the Kaluga region – it works. Because they built factories, gave jobs, it is interesting, a lot of people from there do not leave, I want to work there. Need a good official (Governor, mayor), subsidized (if subsidized region) and the chance to people to earn money. People from villages go to the city to earn money in shifts and come back. In the city they need to eat, to rent a house plus money on the road – it turns out that back they money does not bring. That is, those who are trying to earn, are no different from those who sit at home and drink, and it makes no sense.

In the regions people are very passive: they close schools, hospitals, and they start to go to another school 5 miles from home, the bus does not stop. So write, call Putin, call your Governor, tell me “What is it? Make a stop for my baby”.

Leaving small settlements, because there is no work. There is no opportunity to make money, no way to feed their children, have nowhere to go, where will they go? They have destroyed everything, nothing. Come in any Kyrinskiy district in Zabaykalsky Krai – there’s nothing in the villages, but there was one house of culture, fine.

I once skipped a training session and remember it for life

– You are a master of sports in diving, won the world Championships. How many times?

– I am a world champion in diving for the Masters program in Kazan in 2015, Hungary in 2017, and in between in London in 2016.

– How many times a week do?

– Not at all. Since last August never was.

So, can I?

– I – Yes.

The competition

– How did you get into sports?

I was puny, I had a breast of the shoemaker, I did not take, was sick all the time. And there was a coach with such a big buckle, and said, “I’ll take it”. I thought she has a belt, and it was the lounge area. I had the best coach in the world, Tatyana Maximovna Petrukhina, unfortunately its now gone.

She not only raised me as an athlete but also educated me (along with my parents) as a cultured, educated person. When we went to competitions in Dresden, we were obliged to visit all the galleries. Of course, we were young children, had to think of something, fought and so on, but then with age, I realized how much this man put in me, and how much of this I now have, and how much I can pass on to their children.

– What if you was a taboo that was impossible?

– It was impossible to skip a workout. I skipped over a lifetime, only once, deceiving parents. I really wanted to watch “the Guest from the future”. All the children were on vacation at this time (and this film was shown only on vacation), and I said I go to the gym, and she went to my girlfriend’s house and watched there movie.

Then I wet a towel with the swimsuit, put it in the backpack and came home. And was spanked it with a towel because mom was already crying, the coach called with a question where I am. I remember it for life. I don’t think we skipped a workout, and we never had the intrigues, betrayals, we had a team.

– Why you didn’t?

Because that was the education in our small team. First, we had 15, then it became 10, then left 5, then even less. I won’t say that we were close friends, because when you’re spending a lot of time together, especially during adolescence, you want to have some interests on the side.

But some General things: to help each other, not to substitute another, to help him to lend a helping hand, is not even discussed. It’s like it was blood and not only touched our team. Our sport is not a team game, everyone jumps over themselves. But if you see that everyone’s worried about you as well as for yourself, you’re more worried about what you are experiencing and not that you’re some kind of prize will not take.

– Now this no, it’s gone.

– Now all jumping into the water after the Chinese began to win all the first places, unfortunately, become such a automatic history. When you know who will win next time, you do not bring athletes that are long and beautiful will jump into the water. Chinese girls for 12 years already jumping around spinning, which we could not imagine. We in this age have gained school.

But it is a fleeting history: won – gone. We were brought up so that you become stable an athlete for many years. Unfortunately, I left early from the sport, when I was 17 years old.

But now I have a wonderful young coach who help me all time praises. She really likes the way I leap. When I lose weight, after the workout she said to me: “now go buy three cakes,” she me “you” calls because she is 20 years old, and a bottle of beer, tomorrow to come to two pounds more.”

Photo: Anna Danilova Pravmir.Ru

– Well, when the coach always praises? Or should be blame? That leads to a better result?

– I train my coaches sometimes could not afford to blame, but the competition never shouted, it’s pointless.

Now when I am 47 years old, I need to be praised. And then it was really hard work, the same as in music as in architecture. It’s a job that’ll bring results. And then you assess: is it worth your achievements, medals and everything else your efforts? Everything has a cost – elapsed time spent nerves, physical form.

But if I’m not coming 20 years in the pool, going to a fitness club (never been to the fitness room) and there three times disappoint, I will have a figure like a young girl. Because you all have laid. Diving is a wonderful sport. If you have such a coach as we had – she took the time to drive us to a high tower, even when the back is not fully grown, and do not rush things when you had to wait a bit.

– And you, the coach did not want to become?

I was a coach, and I really liked it. But I knew very well that I don’t want to be a bad employee. But if I want to become the best trainer, you will be obliged to travel 300 days a year on fees from their pupils. I believe that my life is primarily my family, so I wasn’t ready to sacrifice their children for his work. So for me it’s passed history.

Coaching is constant travel, you are constantly not at home, you their children are depriving yourself. I have five children and I would like to see each stage of their growing up, I love it, and it gives me the greatest pleasure in life. I don’t live their life, but I am very interested in how they grow up. No matter how old they are – 4 as Vasilisa or as Pasha – 21.

In fact, when you leave, what are you going to remember? Remember these happy moments that you spent with your favorite people, whether loved one, parent, child, friends, girlfriends. Everything you like and brings pleasure.

Work, again, brings a tremendous amount of stories that you will remember for a lifetime. This is happiness. This is the story, which you’ll feed when you retire, put on a straw hat and you’ll be on the beach to ride with some old man.

Children Of Helena. Photo: Anastasia Bush

– Now in cinema often have to raise the issue of harsh professional drill in sports, there is a debate about how hard life is in the children, and how it actually has the child for meaning. I realized that their children in professional sports definitely not give.

– I believe that in many cases (except when it is clear that the child is very gifted and will be some great medal) parent at the expense of children realizes their ambitions. What they had failed to achieve, they want to get through the child. If I post a picture of my Sasha with honors, you get 500 likes. Though I have to do something, but it’s not my merit, and my daughter, but I get wonderful compliments.

– And if you still want the child to be involved in professional sports?

– General physical training. I have five children, each of them, and only one is engaged in professionally. And I don’t know whether it will be a few years of doing it professionally if she would be comfortable.

The first two years you can try, and then you decide what you want. Maroussia, the only thing is diving. Artem is engaged in fencing, Sasha, acrobatics, Pasha – swimming, Vasilisa went to the artistic gymnastics.

And if some day the child refuses to go to class?

We’re not talking about that, everyone has their duties. It is his duty. But at the same time, I quietly allowed once a month to skip school. We take one day and officially not have to go to school. And they understand that when they are tired, they can say about it.

– And will not the child to remember what worked 10 years he hated fencing?

– No, Subject, like fencing, he thinks it’s a good balance between the mind and physical form. As for Marousi, in my understanding, she jumps beautifully. It wouldn’t be the first, because there’s children better than her that go to workout 7 days a week, but it will jump nicely. And the coach also it focuses. It takes some prizes and very personal, because beauty is, ultimately, save the world.

I realized that each of my children need separate, my mom

– How do you fight procrastination?

– What is it?

– When you sat down to answer three very important emails for work, and an hour and a half to discover that reading, how was the second birth in any of the Duchess of Cambridge, which you do not intend to read.

– I do not read the news or watch TV.

Great. What system do you have?

– There is no system, I’m not interested in just what’s going on.

– The Internet is also not read anything? Facebook?

– Very rarely. I read close to interesting people. I have about half of the scandals do not know. This is just my cultural ignorance.

– What are your vital principles? You once said that I hate it when people lie.

I hate it when they lie, betray.

– What is betrayal in your understanding?

– Betrayal is when your back is thing that you very hurtful, and which is quietly the man could discuss with you. This happens infrequently, and it is very good about screening people who’re never around.

As for the lies… When I met my girlfriend, we worked in a marketing company, and I had the nickname “Vrulya”. I kept up with some extraordinary stories, without understanding why. And at some point I realized that I can’t stand myself because I’m lying. I was 25 years old, and I never tried to not cheat, and do not like when people deceive.

Photo: Anna Danilova Pravmir.Ru

It seems to me that we live so little, what a pity to waste time on some intrigue, lies, to understand this lie, then rake it all.

You can completely different your time to spend more efficiently, benefit: cook soup, to embroider a picture, then you will be able to sell or hang on the wall, to make a good photo. Can spend well and good, and can spend on the proceedings. So don’t read and news including.

– As you have plotted what you have to do, what are your rules?

– I have children studying in different schools, three (Pasha in the army). We need them in school, collect, and deliver. The theme of walks on robotics and fencing. Masha goes to the saxophone, the piano, plus every day with a workout in the pool. Sasha goes to the basketball, is also a teacher, and so on, Vasilisa goes to a speech therapist and in sports.

And as you build more work, and study?

– Wait, why do I have to adjust to the children? Children live their beautiful rich life. The only rule is – by the way, this is one of the rules of our family – I have to be with each child at least 15-20 minutes a day. And it may be this: you took him from school, brought him home and talked on the way. You’re just a good build disciplinary your day, follow the routine. If you fit all of the day, you got it. Or night you can talk to the child before bedtime. Not all together and each separately.

Yesterday Sasha had a long talk, she was 15 years old. I posted a photo of her on Facebook and write: “Eldest daughter of Alexander”. She says: “Sasha, actually”. They’re children, and they need our warmth, our care and attention. They need to feel the best, the most loved, the most only, most beautiful, most beautiful, most successful, most excellent. You must maintain this status in them. For the development of the self, of course, and for them, and for herself. Because, of course, our kids are the best. By the way, I don’t remember jealous if I ever the fact that someone’s children better. I think it is so weird.

The theme, as I saw on the street Krishnas, looked, then made me buy him the book because he wanted to study. When I started to tell that it is a different religion, all are long-lived, from life to life go, that Orthodoxy is another, he said to me, “You know, I like this religion. Their God happy. They smile all the time, dance, sing, beautifully dressed and happy with life.” I didn’t know what to answer that.

In such a moment you realize that children a totally different way to see life. We see the puddle, and they see in the puddles the reflection of the bells. We don’t know what they see, and it would be great if they us had shared. And it would be great with them to discuss it, to see it through their eyes. We do not see, we’ve already been there, but have a chance through the children to see another bunch of interesting things.

And there is no way that you want with your child 15 minutes to sit alone, and it is not necessary?

– Yes, of course, just sitting in silence. But sit. You can discuss the book, you can at this time to clean up, it’s time to feed him. It is with the appearance of Vasilisa began: I realized that they each need a separate, own mother. You should only be his mother at some point.

– I also try to enter, but I have older children the opposite reaction: “Mom, everyone, can we please go play?”.

– Yes, this is normal. It’s very good, but then one day when you don’t kiss him, 17-year-old, leaving his unshaven cheek, he will come out and say, “Mom, where’s my kiss?”. And you realize that it was all not in vain. Because “as if” they do not need.

Who among us does not need to hugged, loved, respected, accepted? Maybe in different ways and not direct such stuffing of love, may be some nooks and crannies you would come to this, but still, everyone would be good to know that he is the only one in the world and the best. He was born in order to be happy.

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