Our COVID-19 Pledge

Dear Stakeholders,

We observe that the COVID-19 pandemic deepens the current social problems and intensifies inequalities. We believe that the ecosystem of philanthropy should gain flexibility in order to support civil society’s coping capacity with the COVID-19 crisis and to ensure that the ongoing work in education, culture-arts and social change is not disrupted.

As a member of the European Foundation Centre (EFC) and the Council on Foundations (COF), we are happy to be the first foundation in Turkey that signed the pledges* initiated by the EFC and COF, built on “trust-based philanthropy” principles.

In these extraordinary times which remind us the importance of solidarity and trust both between individuals and institutions, we would like to share our commitments:

  • We donated 3 million Turkish Liras to provide medical devices and protective equipment during the pandemic. We will continue to follow the needs of hospitals and healthcare workers who are on the frontlines of the crisis.
  • Grant Program restrictions will be loosened or eliminated. Concerning the current projects with our grantees, in case the scheduled activities are unable to be realized or project outcomes are unable to be reached due to the pandemic, extending the duration of the project, changing, postponing or cancelling the activities will be possible.
  • The 2020 Grant Program process will continue as planned. During this process, it will be possible to revise the project activities and the project schedule, if needed.
  • The needs of our grantees, changemakers and other stakeholders during this time will be closely monitored; our programs will be revised in the light of these needs.
  • Turkey’s Changemakers Program will continue as planned. The support program designed for Changemakers will continue through digital channels.
  • Our scholarship payments and all our educational support will continue without any interruption.
  • The internship program application that our scholars will benefit during the summer period is transformed into an online platform and is available to our scholars.
  • The Awards Program will continue without any interruption. Education Awards will be given to the students without any delay according to the decisions and declarations of the relevant institutions.
  • We will continue to support the institutions that carry our name; the ones working on the COVID-19 crisis will be prioritised. The investment and maintenance-repair works of our institutions will be pursued by close follow-up of the statements and permissions of related official authorities.
  • We will support our grantees to lift up their voices in advocating that emergency responses during this pandemic should be inclusive and equal to all members of the society.
  • Trust-based and effective philanthropy principles will be followed in all our processes and procedures.

Respectfully,
Sabancı Foundation

If you would like to review and sign the pledges, you can access them from the EFC and COF web pages.

Please click here if you would like to view the report of The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Gender Equality: Problems and Solutions Meeting, held by Sabancı Foundation on June 30th, 2020

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