The Sabanci Foundation Has Supported 173 Projects With A Total Donation Above 28.5 Million Tl Within The Scope Of The Grant Programs In 14 Years.

Güler Sabanci: “During The Pandemic, Non-Governmental Organizations Have Faced Additional Challenges. Supporting Civil Society In Such Difficult Periods Is More Important”

The Sabancı Foundation gathered the non-governmental organizations supported under the Grant Programs together in this year’s meeting of “Sowing Season,” which was held online. The online gathering was hosted by Güler Sabancı, Chairperson of Board of Trustees of the Sabancı Foundation, on October 20 to share the project stories of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that received a grant from the Sabancı Foundation in 2019 to 2020. Being the only foundation to continuously fund non-governmental organizations for 14 years in Turkey, the Sabancı Foundation has supported 173 projects with a total donation reaching 28.5 million TL. The Foundation supports those NGOs that implement projects to solve certain social problems faced by women, young people, and individuals with disabilities by offering knowledge and experience as well as grants.

Stating that non-governmental organizations are the most effective actors working for social development, Güler Sabancı, Chairperson of Board of Trustees of the Sabancı Foundation, said, “Non-governmental organizations struggling with social problems have faced additional challenges brought by the pandemic. In this period, we regret to see that many organizations could not continue their activities, and even came to a close. In such difficult times, supporting civil society becomes more important. In the Sabancı Foundation, we strive to listen to the changing needs of non-governmental organizations we work with and to find solutions. We are the first Turkish foundation to sign the pledges initiated by the European Foundation Center and the Council on Foundations of the US to support the civil society. Right after that, the Sabancı Foundation published our own commitment. With this commitment, we have provided all kinds of flexibility to all the institutions we support so that they can continue working without interruption. In this period, we saw once again that the important thing is to be able to stand side by side and act together in such times”

Stating that they create a lasting impact for social development with the Sabancı Foundation Grant Programs, Güler Sabancı said, “We observe with concern that the pandemic deepens social problems and inequalities, as in the case of all disasters that affect the world. As you know, we focus on women, young people and people with disabilities, working for a society where they enjoy their rights equally. We see that the current period has especially affected them in a negative manner. Unfortunately, we are at risk of losing the gains that have been achieved over many years. During the pandemic, we held a meeting with non-governmental organizations working in this field, especially on women's rights, and I am very pleased with that. We discussed the needs and possible solutions. We did not only discuss, but started to take important actions for the needs. We will continue to follow up this meeting. We may have a few more meetings. With this way of working, the Sabancı Foundation Grant Program not only supports the grantees, but creates an impact that will accelerate social development. The Sabancı Foundation is involved in the process, together with the teams, in the non-governmental projects we support and keep company with them. If an organization receives a grant from our foundation once, it becomes our loyal partner working towards social development”.

The project representatives from Faculty of Education, Aksaray University, Living with Allergy Association, S.S. Youth Work Scientific Research and Development Education Cooperative, Miner Women Solidarity and Social Assistance Association, Nirengi Association, Naive Youth Association, Association of People with Hearing Impairment of Turkey, and Association of Supporting Women and Culture in Yüksekova told the results of their projects, their experiences while implementing their projects, their plans for the next period, and the stories of people who have benefited from the projects during the meeting, which was held online for the first time this year and moderated by Şirin Payzın.

The event was called “Online Meeting Time for the Sowing Season", which was followed by the Share Gatherings organized by the Another School is Possible Association, Rural Schools Transformation Network, Tohum Autism Foundation with SEÇBIR, Istanbul Bilgi University and Technology Development Foundation of Turkey.

The book "Sowing Season Grant Program Stories", which includes the stories of the projects supported within the scope of the Grant Program and which is also prepared digitally for the first time this year, is available at www.sabancivakfi.org/ekimzamani2020.