Dynasty: A Non-Profit Foundation

The non-profit Dynasty Foundation was founded in 2002 by Dmitry Zimin, president emeritus of Vimpelcom, Inc. (Beeline).

The Dynasty Foundation seeks out talented scientists, scholars, and educators. It supports their ideas and projects in the natural and social sciences.

The Foundation's priorities are the development of fundamental scientific research and education in Russia, creating conditions so that scientists can research and teach at home in Russia, the popularization of science and civic education.

Dynasty is the first family philanthropic foundation in post-Soviet Russia. It is managed by a Board of Directors, who make decisions about strategic development and set the Foundation's priorities.

Dynasty runs twenty programs and projects for the support and popularization of science and the development of formal and civic education. These include programs that support gifted schoolchildren, future scientists, young physicists and mathematicians, and teachers.

The Foundation is especially proud of its popular science website Elements (elementy.ru, Russian) and the Dynasty Foundation Library publishing project.

Each year, the Foundation holds thirteen open grant competitions. Grants are awarded to young theoretical physicists, young mathematicians, teachers of physics and science, Science Museums of the Twenty-First Century, and others.

Russia's leading scientists, teachers, and experts in education, publishing, and museum work are members of our Academic Council, which judges our science and education grant competitions. They also serve on the advisory councils that help us manage our other programs.

The Dynasty Foundation is a Steering Committee member of the Grantmakers East Forum and the member of the Donors Forum, a major association of Russian and foreign grantmaking organizations.

The Foundation also focuses on the development of Russian philanthropy. We actively cooperate both with major philanthropic organizations and the expert community. Among the Foundation's partners are the Donors Forum; the International Center for Fundamental Physics, Moscow; the Natural Science Foundation; and such internationally recognized institutions of higher learning as the New Economic School and the European University at Saint Petersburg.

Since it upholds the principles of openness and transparency, the Foundation makes its annual reports available to the public.

In a mere nine years, Dynasty has gone from being a small private foundation to becoming one of the most professional major philanthropic foundations in Russia.

The planned 2012 budget for programs and projects of the Foundation is 314 million rubles (293 million rubles in 2011).

Anna Piotrovskaya Executive Director tells about the activities of the Dynasty Foundation.15^th Annual Grantmakers East Forum. 2010 (video)

Quick Facts about the Foundation

In 2007, for the first time in Russian history, a private family foundation—Dynasty—was turned over to a board of trustees appointed from members of the public.
In 2011, the Foundation’s operating budget is 314 million rubles.
Each year, the Foundation runs 13 open grant competitions. Grants are awarded to young theoretical physicists, young mathematicians, biologists, high school math and science teachers, and others. We also have a grant competition for Science Museums of the Twenty-First Century.
Preeminent scientists from Russia’s leading centers for research in theoretical physics and mathematics join our country’s best teachers on the advisory boards that name the winners of our grant competitions.
Each year, more than 100 young physicists—students, grad students, postdocs, professors—receive stipends and grants from the Foundation that enable them to do their research work at home in Russia.
The Foundation organizes public lectures by world-class scientists and scholars—physicists, mathematicians, biologists, and economists.
In 2009 the project “Science Without Borders” started: in the framework of this project, the world's leading scientists give open public lectures accessible at any point of Russia and the world via the internet.
The Foundation has supported more than 300 international and local scientific conferences and seminars on fundamental physics.
Each year, 490 Russian math and science teachers win grants from the Foundation for their outstanding work.
In 2009 the support program for teachers was widened: in addition to physics and mathematics teachers, chemistry and biology teachers will also participate beginning in 2010.
In 2008, the popular science website Elements, which was developed with support from the Foundation, was recognized the best science education website on the Russian segment of the Internet.
In 2009 two categories of the “Enlightenment Prize” were established: natural science and the humanities.
In 2011, the second international popular science festival ScienceArtFest was held by the Dynasty Foundation. It lasted 25 days and was visited by over 15,000 people.