SABANCI FOUNDATION Grant Programs Experience Sharing Meeting

The meeting was held at the Karaköy center of Sabancı University.  Organizations which attended the meeting are as such:

• Mother and Child Education Foundation
• Community Volunteers Foundation
• Women’s Center Foundation
• Foundation for the Support of Women’s Work
• Six Dots Foundation for the Blind
• Research and Development of Social Issues Association
• Youth for Habitat Association
• Tohum Autism Foundation
• Flying Broom Women’s Communication and Research Association
• Turkish Youth Federation
• Association of Southeast Special Education Institutions

Project coordinators from each project shared their experiences and best practices in their respective fields which helped to both inform one another as well as give the new projects (recently selected in the 2010 program) some ideas about what to expect and what to plan for. One of the most valuable aspects of the meeting was that grantees coming from very diverse fields of youth, gender and disability were able to share their experiences and insight and create new networks among organizations that traditionally do not work together.

Grantees from the 2010 program who are just about to start their projects shared their plans with great enthusiasm and included a list of foreseeable risks and challenges as well as any areas where they feel they need additional support.

Throughout the day, a number of group discussions revealed very important and useful information such as relations with media (local and national) and tips on working with volunteers. During the second part of the large group divided into two small groups for discussion on communication and impact assessment respectively.

An evaluation of the meeting revealed that participants were very pleased with the meeting in terms of logistics, design, networking opportunities and content.

Testimonials “A great success; this was a great asset for our project and we came up with many new ideas; I believe we will find strength in unity.“

“This meeting offered me the chance to take a step back and consider the project from outside. It was very important, valuable and motivational.  Many of my questions were answered.”

“We had the opportunity to learn about issues regarding youth and disability; areas that we had never worked directly in before.”