ALMATY, 29 April 2026 — The Aurora-Ala Corporate Foundation, in partnership with SDU University, has announced the completion of the first professional 72-hour program in Central Asia, "Fundamentals of Endowments and Fundraising." The program, aimed at professionalizing the endowment sector, concluded on 29 April 2026 with the graduation of 29 specialists.
Regional Significance and Scale of Training
The program was developed under the leadership of Svetlana Lavrova, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and launched four months after the signing of a Memorandum of Partnership in November 2025 at the Fourth Professional Meeting of Endowments of Kazakhstan.
The 29 participants included representatives of various regions and organizations across Kazakhstan, including universities, foundations, and commercial companies. The course covered all key aspects of working with endowments, including:
On completing the course, graduates presented practical assignments in which they outlined approaches to developing endowment mechanisms and plans for implementing them in their own organizations.
Ceremony and Future Plans
At the certificate award ceremony, Farkhad Kuanganov, author of the concept of the Law on Endowment Funds and Director of the Kazakhstan Endowment Association, gave a farewell address, stressing the importance of developing the professional community and strengthening expertise in the sector. He noted that "the sector is currently going through a 'zero' stage of formation, with an enormous amount of work ahead, so it is important for everyone to engage in educational outreach wherever they are."
Svetlana Lavrova, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Aurora-Ala Corporate Foundation, one of the experts who supported the creation of the sector's legislation and a specialist with many years of international experience, observed: "Training specialists addresses two objectives: raising the professional level and developing the community. Both are important, one might say, to an equal degree. Now that the law has come into force, we see strong demand for trained specialists, and therefore our programs focus on applied and urgent issues. In the future, we will deepen and broaden the range of topics, moving toward the creation of a large, comprehensive program."
During the meeting between the leadership of the Aurora-Ala Corporate Foundation and SDU University, the parties agreed to expand and deepen their joint programs and to relaunch the basic course in autumn 2026. Svetlana Lavrova announced further regular educational programs and alumni reunions to support the steady development of Kazakhstan's endowment community.
Regional Significance and Scale of Training
The program was developed under the leadership of Svetlana Lavrova, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and launched four months after the signing of a Memorandum of Partnership in November 2025 at the Fourth Professional Meeting of Endowments of Kazakhstan.
The 29 participants included representatives of various regions and organizations across Kazakhstan, including universities, foundations, and commercial companies. The course covered all key aspects of working with endowments, including:
- the history and prospects of the endowment mechanism;
- registration and re-registration of a fund;
- fundamentals of fundraising;
- investment of assets and distribution of income;
- accounting, tax accounting, and auditing.
On completing the course, graduates presented practical assignments in which they outlined approaches to developing endowment mechanisms and plans for implementing them in their own organizations.
Ceremony and Future Plans
At the certificate award ceremony, Farkhad Kuanganov, author of the concept of the Law on Endowment Funds and Director of the Kazakhstan Endowment Association, gave a farewell address, stressing the importance of developing the professional community and strengthening expertise in the sector. He noted that "the sector is currently going through a 'zero' stage of formation, with an enormous amount of work ahead, so it is important for everyone to engage in educational outreach wherever they are."
Svetlana Lavrova, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Aurora-Ala Corporate Foundation, one of the experts who supported the creation of the sector's legislation and a specialist with many years of international experience, observed: "Training specialists addresses two objectives: raising the professional level and developing the community. Both are important, one might say, to an equal degree. Now that the law has come into force, we see strong demand for trained specialists, and therefore our programs focus on applied and urgent issues. In the future, we will deepen and broaden the range of topics, moving toward the creation of a large, comprehensive program."
During the meeting between the leadership of the Aurora-Ala Corporate Foundation and SDU University, the parties agreed to expand and deepen their joint programs and to relaunch the basic course in autumn 2026. Svetlana Lavrova announced further regular educational programs and alumni reunions to support the steady development of Kazakhstan's endowment community.