They shared their soul: banks collect record donations for charitable foundations

Banks are collecting record donations for charitable foundations. For example, in just two months, the T-Bank's Course of Kindness project attracted half of its annual budget to the Life as a Miracle foundation — 98 million rubles, and the total amount of fees in more than 800 funds amounted to 1.9 billion rubles by the end of 2024, and 451 million rubles in the first six months of 2025. Sovcombank previously launched a donation platform, which has raised more than 180 million rubles for all time. At the same time, the number of donations on the platforms is growing by 20% annually, experts said. Players are also launching new solutions — for example, Alfa-Bank has started offering CFAs for charity. Why banks are increasingly involved in such projects is described in the Izvestia article.

Banks have attracted record amounts of money to charity

Russian banks are raising record funds for charitable initiatives. This was told to Izvestia by the largest market players: T-Bank, Sber, MTS Bank, PSB, Alfa-Bank and Sovcombank.

For example, T-Bank has launched a project to double donations without restrictions, the Course of Kindness, in which the partner fund changes every two months. In two months of support from the first participant, the Life as a Miracle Foundation, the credit institution's customers transferred 49 million rubles from the bank's cards and through the T—Pay service, which T—Bank itself doubled. Thus, the fund received 98 million rubles, half of its annual budget.

These funds will be used to purchase equipment for the early diagnosis of liver diseases in children in 50 perinatal centers and hospitals across the country. In addition, the money will be transferred to 140 genetic tests for children, which will help doctors make an accurate diagnosis and choose treatment, as well as to train 77 doctors from different regions of Russia, the bank said.

The next partner fund of the project was "Anton is here nearby". The funds raised there are planned to be used to create the first resource center for people with autism in St. Petersburg. By the end of the year, two more foundations will participate in the campaign: Vera and Big Change.

Today, the number of transfers from banks to charitable initiatives is growing. Since the beginning of 2025, Russians have donated more than 300 million rubles to foundations through the SBS platform, which is 100 million more than the same period last year, said Elena Shlegel, head of the platform. In addition, the number of people who subscribe regularly for donations is increasing every year. Every month, money is automatically debited from the card in favor of one or more funds, she noted.

MTS Bank also noted an increased increase in donations. The surge in fees is especially noticeable when the information background is concentrated around this topic, for example, after the emergency in Anapa, said Anastasia Grigorieva, head of the Center for the Implementation of programs for sustainable development and ESG. They managed to raise about half a million rubles in a couple of weeks to solve the problem, she said. T-Bank also notes a multiple increase in fund support during periods of turmoil and emergency events. Thus, T-Bank's clients transferred 18 million rubles for flood victims in Orsk in two weeks, which T-Bank doubled from its own money.

In a number of banks, employees are also involved in volunteering. So, 7.5 thousand PSB employees joined in helping people in difficult situations, said Galina Sekirinskaya, head of the bank's Sustainable Development Department.

Sovcombank pro Dobro became another popular fundraising platform created by the bank in 2023. In a year and a half, more than 280 funds joined it, and 306 fees have already been closed. The total amount of funds raised exceeded 180 million rubles. At the same time, donations from customers are tripled by Sovcombank at the expense of "dobroballs" (this is the bank's money, which can be sent together with its own funds), the credit institution reported.

Banks are also starting to use new tools. For example, at the beginning of the year Alfa-Bank issued public CFAs for charity. The issuer became one of the largest funds that helps seriously ill children, Lifeline. He placed digital assets worth 6.4 million rubles. With the money raised, two children received vital treatment. Later, in May, the second issue dedicated to Children's Day was launched on the platform. The proceeds will be used to implement medical programs and purchase special equipment.

The role of banks in charity events

In the first half of the year, banks have already raised 10-20% more for charity than in the first six months of 2024, said independent expert Andrei Barkhota.

Today, banks are actually becoming systemically important participants in the charitable process, said Denis Goldman, an independent PR consultant.

On the one hand, this is a strengthening of reputation in the eyes of clients and the state, on the other, it is a real support for funds that are often unable to survive without a banking infrastructure, he explained.

— Business monitors the transparency of transfers to charity, which is traditional for financial management organizations. Bank customers are, in a good way, an army of millions of people. Services promoted by the market receive support, including from those people who would not respond to a small announcement on social networks," said Inga Moiseeva, General Director of the Center for the Development and Support of NGOs and Public Initiatives at D.Group.

At the same time, clients should be critical of the bank's offers to participate in a charity event, if little is known about this player, they should only trust reliable and trusted financial institutions, Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global, warned. Also, you should not respond to questionable mailing by SMS or email, it may turn out to be a phishing email, she added.

— The very fact that the largest banks do not take on all non-profit organizations, but rather select them on a point-by-point basis, indicates a high level of trust, since the market puts its reputation behind these NGOs. Meanwhile, the potential for collecting donations in our country is huge," said Tatiana Konstantinova, an expert in the field of NGOs and charity, a public figure.

Denis Goldman believes that the future of charity lies in integration into ecosystem applications. For example, bonuses from purchases can be automatically allocated to good deeds or offered as an alternative to a discount. The main thing is that it doesn't take much action and there is no sense of imposition, he concluded. For example, back in 2020, T-Bank launched the Cashback for Good service, which allows you to send cashback to verified funds directly in the application.