NMSTU has established its endowment fund
- Published: Wednesday, 26 February 2020 11:56
Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University, learning by positive experience of top universities of the world, has established its endowment fund. Now grateful graduates can make a contribution to development of their alma mater and participate in critical educational, scientific, social and cultural projects of the university and the city in general.
What is an endowment fund? How to become its donor? These questions and others were discussed with Rustam Murtazin, Executive Director of the NMSTU Endowment Fund.
- Please tell us in detail what the endowment fund is.
- This is one of the forms of charity. This is a fund of special-purpose capital, where every grateful graduate, student, teacher – anybody who is not indifferent to life of the university – can contribute any amount aimed at development of the university. An endowment fund acts as follows: a donor’s money is transferred to trust management provided by a managing company to generate income. In other words, money is accumulated on a separate bank account and dividends are accrued on them within a year. The return on invested capital is used to finance projects, that is, not the original donated amount, but income from investment. Then these funds can be used to support prospective projects – from scholarships for talented students and acquisition of research equipment to establishment of new centers and student parks.
- A concept of the endowment fund in education is inseparably associated with a concept of a grateful graduate. Could you please tell us in detail about it?
- Our life consists of material and non-material values. So, endowment concerns, first of all, non-material values: when you feel gratitude for your current position towards your home university. The university played its critical role in helping all of us become who we are today. The endowment fund provides non-indifferent graduates with an opportunity to make a contribution to show gratitude towards the institution that once contributed to them. Such grateful graduates can donate money to leave behind something significant and influence further positive changes in their alma mater.
- Who was the first benefactor of the Fund? What is a current total amount of donations?
- The Fund started functioning since late autumn of 2019, and now, in three months, it has accumulated over one million of rubles. The first donor was Evgeniy Ishmetiev, Leader of Transformation of NMSTU 2035. Some well-known university graduates intend to make their contribution soon.
- Have you already identified specific projects receiving first funds?
- We cannot say exactly what projects will be the first to be financed. There are many areas: science, education, sport, culture – at this stage it is still difficult to identify one priority project. Top decisions regarding distribution of money will be taken by the members of the board of guardians consisted of directors of companies, being partners of the university.
- I also have a wish to support my home university. What specific steps should be taken?
- If you want to make a small donation, you may do it directly via online payment platform on the website. If the donation is large, it is not feasible to use the online platform; in this case, you should sign a donation agreement and transfer money to the account of the fund. All instructions on payments by any methods and the details of the fund are given on our website. You can also find there all relevant direct contacts.
- Coming back to the topic of grateful graduates, in your opinion, what is a main motivation for charity?
- It turns out that we live in a society that got used to constantly consuming something: from the state, society, the university, in particular. It is time to avoid a consumer’s attitude to life: we should not only take, but also give and learn how to be grateful to the family, school, university, the city and the country. As for me, I graduated from NMSTU several times, and I am very thankful to the university for the given life experience, knowledge and skills, and the vector in my life set by the university.
I believe that everyone, to the best of his or her abilities, can make something good, live not only for ourselves, but be an example for people around, make fine gestures to be a true citizen. The endowment fund is one of opportunities to make an appropriate contribution to development of education, so that our children and grandchildren receive better education at one of the best universities in Russia. That is why, I encourage all concerned people to contribute to future of the university, which is a center of attraction of education, science and culture in Magnitogorsk.
If you want to join grateful graduates and make your donation to the university fund of development, please follow the link: www.endowment.magtu.ru. Contacts: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., tel.: +7 (3519) 29 84 12 /29 84 13.
