Missing links in Turkey's philanthropic sector

The history of organized philanthropy in Turkey started with foundations (known as ‘vakif’) which date as far back as the second century, when the legal structure was formally established. In the absence of a welfare state, foundations were the main vehicle for giving and provided a majority of public services that define modern municipalities and local governments today.

‘New era’ foundations, first established in the late 1960s, were founded by industrialists who earned their wealth in Turkey’s burgeoning market economy. Yet even in the presence of a welfare state, most foundations continued to subsidize basic public services by building schools, universities, museums and hospitals. Funding NGOs with grants was never a common practice.

Philanthropy today:  donors lag behind

The NGO sector in Turkey has developed more rapidly (mainly with foreign funding) than local funding practices. Giving directly to NGOs, and other mechanisms for ‘organized’ philanthropy, are still in their emerging stages (Bolu Community Foundation, Turkish Philanthropic Fund are some recent examples).

A snapshot of the Turkish ‘donor’ sector reveals some developments:

For individuals, the prominent form of philanthropy (not including religious forms) is known as ‘parochial giving’¹: individual-to-individual giving for immediate assistance. In its loosely organized form, individual giving is channeled through an estimated 9000 ‘hometown’ associations, which are attractive mechanisms for the millions who have migrated from rural places to large urban centers.

The Turkish government has just recently modified laws to allow transfer of funds and other resources to NGOs; yet, a system for government funding and respective mechanisms does not exist.

Companies are increasingly giving to NGOs, although most are one-off gifts, confusing CSR with corporate giving, and working without a defined strategy.

‘New era’ foundations have continued to fund only the building of facilities and scholarships, with one recent exception: After 34 years of building schools and other facilities, the Sabanci Foundation recently started making grants to NGOs in 2007, and is now developing strategies to expand grant-making in the areas of youth, women and the disabled.

The missing link: better policy and effective practices

The missing link in promoting philanthropy is better policy and practice. With this in hand, it will be possible to mobilize a stronger cadre of donors to support NGOs as they aim to eliminate crippling economic disparities, improve social policies and conditions for women and an increasingly young population, and ultimately, secure a better future for Turkey.

In terms of policy, laws and regulations for philanthropy are quite limiting. To promote philanthropy, the sector needs: 1) more enabling legal frameworks to encourage donors (e.g., payroll giving, higher tax deductions); 2) more relief from tax burdens for NGOs and donor organisations; and 3) development of audit and control systems to prevent abuse.

In terms of effective practice both donors and NGOs need to take more direct action. For example, companies need to be more strategic and knowledgeable in their giving strategies, and more ‘new era’ foundations need to adopt grant-making as a practice. Governments need to formalize systems for allocating resources to NGOs, while NGOs need to increase strategic capacity for fundraising, and to improve reporting for public accountability of funds raised and used. Finally, more mechanisms to find, engage and match donors to non-profit causes need to be established (e.g., community foundations, donor advised services, and systems such as Guidestar).

Global trends, local implications

International influences are a major impetus for change in Turkish philanthropy – in fact, the notion of ‘funding’ NGOs is almost entirely a result of global trends and practice. In an increasingly global context, fostering exchanges of knowledge and practice will be critical for the development of a more active philanthropic sector in Turkey.

Filiz Bikmen is Manager of Institutional Development and Programs for the Sabanci Foundation in Istanbul (www.sabancivakfi.org) where she is responsible for the strategic design and development of new grant programmes for youth, women and the disabled.  She also acts as an Advisor to the Chairman and the Board at TUSEV (Third Sector Foundation of Turkey www.tusev.org.tr), a network of over 100 Turkish foundations; and is a board member of the Turkish Philanthropic Fund, New York (www.tpfund.org), and the International Centre for Not for Profit Law, Washington (www.icnl.org).

This article is based on a chapter by Filiz Bikmen in Philanthropy in Europe: A rich past, a promising future (see the Publication notices section of this issue for more information), and a paper ‘From Hardware to Software, Charity to Strategy: A Roadmap for Progressive Philanthropy in Turkey’ published in the Turkish Policy Quarterly (Spring 2008).

 ^1‘Parochial giving’ is a term coined by Ali Carkoglu, a professor at Sabanci University, who conducted Turkey’s first public opinion study on philanthropy for TUSEV in 2004.