The activity of Jewish non-profit organizations as a whole, and the activity of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) in particular, is mostly funded by financial endowments and full support of the Jewish business elite, who are usually part of the leadership of such organizations. The largest benefactor of the EAJC is its President, Alexander Mashkevich. The Congress is also greatly supported by its Vice Presidents – influential representatives of the big business world.

To use the wider potential of the entrepreneurial community, the Congress has begun the “Development” project, headed by EAJC Executive Vice President Yuri Raskin. In its organization, the project depends on a new EAJC structure – the EAJC Director's Council.

EAJC leadership bases the “Development” project on an understanding of the following factors:

• the interest of representatives of the business community in charity is bigger when they are perceived not only as “financial donors,” but first and foremost as the bearers of a spiritual, intellectual, and cultural potential, which allows them to realize their own vision for the development of the Jewish community, the content of community programs, and what ends charity money is used toward;
• an effective method of reaching the statutory goals of Jewish charity organization is to use the professional commercial experience of representatives of the business community;
• representatives of the business world who receive support they require from a Jewish organization participate in its activity more productively and with more vigor.

Thus, members of the EAJC Presidium and Director's Council direct their efforts to support the initiatives and interests of business structures that participate in EAJC activity, to make the echange of business information possible, to create a space for informal, business, and interpersonal communication, to organize meetings and consultations with leading experts and experienced businessmen.

Due to their experience and authority in different business sectors, the members of the Presidum and the Director's Council are given the right to initiate and oversee programs and projects under the EAJC aegis, both non-profit and commercial, as well as to participate in their realization.

The execution of cooperative commercial projects is an important part of the “Development” project through its tripartite usefulness: it is economically profitable to the participants of the project, it raises EAJC authority as an effective operator of business services, and it allows for additional funding to charity projects, due to a share of the profits being transferred to charity.

At the current stage of realization of the “Development” project, the Director's Council is continuing its formation (its current chairman is L. Gandelman), interpersonal and commercial relationships are being formed inside the Council, and the members of the Director's Council are making their positions towards the EAJC clear, as well as their economic interests and capabilities. Work has been begun to initiate various community and commercial projects with the participation of Director's Council members.

The Congress College club has been functioning under EAJC aegis since October 2009. This club unites representatives of the business world, the cultural and scientific elite, politicians and community activists, who realize individual and collegiate tasks, both business-oriented and valuable to the community.

Top-priority tasks of the Congress College:
— formation of an interested, consolidated Audience;
— organization of events, varied in form and topic, that are in demand by club members;
— realization of joint commercial and humanitarian projects initiated by club members;
— creation of an effective mechanism of discussion for global commercial, economic, humanitarian subjects and solutions to collective tasks;
— creation of a shared data field and of a continuously functioning technology of an informational exchange inside the Audience;
— organization of interaction with Russian and foreign communities that are of interest to the Audience.

The activity of the community is realized through the following programs:
— “Economics and Commercial Interests”;
— “Roots and the Eternal”;
— “The Individual and Society”;
— “Quality and Style of Life”.

Congress College event formats are as follows:
— plenary meetings on currently important economic, commercial, and humanitarian topics;
— briefings and informal meetings with representatives of the political, social, cultural, and business elite;
— round tables;
— presentations of club member companies and projects;
— open collar evenings and cocktail parties;
— events organized by the Congress and its partners in Russia and foreign countries.
The advancement of collegiate interests of community members takes place through the initiation and realization of cooperative projects. When the project brings monetary gain, the participants gain proprietary rights to it.

Persons who share the approaches to the Congress College's creation and functions, interested in solutions to the main tasks of the club, and ready to accept the rights and responsibilities of club members, are welcome to become members of the Congress College.

The first members of the Congress College are members of the EAJC Presidium and Director's Council. The audience of the Congress College is being widened through invitations to guests who are of interest to the members of the community, as well as other persons invited to develop and advance collegiate projects.

 

EAJC Congress College Founded - December 10, 2009

 

Congress College Under EAJC Aegis: From the General to the Specific - Session December 17th, 2009

 

David Yakobashvili Addresses EAJC Congress College - Session on April 23, 2010