Future Programs

The Pendill Fund continues to search out and evaluate programs of interest for the future, as funding permits. Currently, there are several new programs under consideration.

Support of Talented Young People with Special Needs
One of the major interests of the Pendill Fund is supporting the Specialized Institute of Arts, one of the few such institutions of higher learning in the world, established in 1991 for young people with health problems or disabilities, including being hard of hearing, vision impaired, or suffering from motor system dysfunction. This is a unique institution where talented but disabled young men and women can be educated in various disciplines of the arts and earn a university degree.

The Institute has the following three departments:

• The Music Department offers degrees in instrumental performance (piano, violin, cello, flute, clarinet, bayan, accordion, guitar, balalaika, dombra), vocal training, conducting, and musical sound production.
• The Fine Arts Department offers degrees in painting, graphic arts, design.
• The Theatre Department, prepares dramatic actors for theatre and cinema for hard of hearing students, using sign language.

The Pendill Fund plans to help talented students by:

• Granting scholarships
• Purchasing professional instruments
• Providing digital hearing aids
• Buying computers with special voice devices
• Paying for the internship of young artists
• Covering the cost of student participation fees in Russian and international festivals and competitions.
• Paying for needed art supplies
• Purchasing special books with large fonts for the Institute's library
• Organizing and covering the cost of exhibitions
• Providing support for the teaching staff

Attracting Retirees to Work with Children and Teens
The Pendill Fund, jointly with the city of Archangelsk's “Center Guarant”, is planning to co-sponsor one of its programs in which retirees would be encouraged to volunteer as helpers, tutors, counselors or surrogate aunts, uncles or grandparents, involving them in community life while benefiting children and teens with their interest.

This program, developed together with Center Guarant, would be supported not only by the Pendill Fund, but also by the local business community and municipality, both of whom have expressed interest in joint funding. A social projects competition to “seed” this type of program could take place in the Archangelsk region, serving as an example and beginning of collaborative efforts between the Pendill Fund and Russian business.

Support of Russia's Emerging Community Foundations
The Pendill Fund has the opportunity to conduct joint projects through grant competitions with Russia's community foundations. These joint competitions serve to support grass-roots organizations in various regions. The benefits to the Pendill Fund of partnering with community foundations include:

• The Pendill Fund will be able to attract donations from the Russian business community toward socially significant projects
• The selection, evaluation and monitoring of regional NGO's programs is enhanced through close participation with community foundations' boards and staff
• The support of emerging community foundations in outlying areas helps to spread the philanthropic movement in Russia to where it is most needed