Sabancı Foundation has been supporting the projects of civil society organizations for the last 16 years in order to promote access women, youth and persons with disabilities to participate in all aspects of society through its Grant Programs. A total of 56 million Turkish Liras has been given to 218 projects conducted in 81 cities up to today.
Sabancı Foundation adopted the approach of “making a lasting impact” so that the effect brought about by the Foundation’s Grant Programs can be amplified and give rise to true social change.
With this strategy, on the one hand, the Open Call Grant Program continues for education-themed NGO projects, while on the other hand, projects in areas such as disability rights, the prevention of child and forced marriages, and the empowerment of teachers are supported as part of the Invited Grant Program, which is based on long-term and in-depth cooperation.
There were 303 project applications from 56 cities across Turkey for the Open Call Grant Program in 2022. These applications were reviewed by Sabancı Foundation experts and further assessed by independent experts before several were handpicked for grants. Below is a list of the seven projects the Foundation supported following the approval of Sabancı Foundation Board of Trustees:
| Project Title | Conducted By | Project Goal |
| Value to My City 2 | Four Seasons Lifelong Play and Learning Association | Introducing a new perspective to urban governance where we increase young people’s awareness about the city to encourage their local participation and representation, and to strengthen their rights-based empowerment |
| Participatory and Safe Youth Activism | Roots & Shoots Turkey Association | Enabling activist children with an interest in climate and ecology to protect themselves based on their rights and ensuring their active participation in social processes, as well as equipping the adults working with the activist children to better manage the children’s rights-oriented approach |
| Neuromuscular Disorders Education and Empowerment Academy | Neuromuscular Disorders Association of Turkey | Contributing to the informing of persons with neuromuscular disorders and their families on physical and psychological health as well as the social support systems, and in the development their skills |
| Accessible Tourism | Fethiye Tourism, Promotion, Education, Culture and Environment Foundation | Enabling accessibility in tourism for persons with disabilities by raising awareness among tourism students and professionals and by contributing to the accumulation of knowledge |
| Accessible Digital Education Is Possible | Accessible Life Academy for All Association | Creating a digital education portal for children and youth with visual impairment, and contributing in equal opportunity in education through advocacy |
| Change Starts in Our Neighborhood | Housewives Solidarity and Development Association | Contributing to the gradual increase of women’s participation in the democratic decision-making mechanisms starting from the local neighborhood |
| We Are in School Too! | Black Sea New Horizons Association | In Vezirköprü and Alaçam districts of Samsun, teaching young girls under the risk of dropping out of school about different career paths, equipping them with information about their rights, and supporting equal opportunity to continue in quality education |
Under the category of Invited Grant Program, the following projects on Disability Rights, Early and Forced Marriages, and Teacher Empowerment were supported.
| Project Title | Conducted By | Project Goal |
| Child Marriage Prevention Project—Phase 2 | The United Nations Population Fund | Raising awareness among individuals for preventing child marriages and establishing a comprehensive intervention mechanism at the local level |
| Educational Best Practices Conference | Education Reform Initiative | Bringing together the educators who create and are willing to share good examples to enhance the visibility of their work |
| English Together | Teacher Training and Development General Directorate of the Ministry of National Education British Council |
Training and professional development programs for English language teachers all around Turkey to improve their teaching skills and to enhance the English levels of students |
| Young Women Building Their Future | The United Nations Development Program The Ministry of Family and Social Services The Ministry of Labor and Social Security |
Making the problems and needs of young women not in education, employment, or training (NEET) more visible and establishing mechanisms to address these problems and needs |
| Business Against Domestic Violence | Sabancı University Corporate Governance Forum | Establishing support mechanisms in workplaces against domestic violence |
| The Purple Certificate Program | Sabancı University Gender and Women's Studies Center for Excellence | Incorporating and promoting gender equality awareness comprehensively across the education system |
| School Climate | Istanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education Development Workshop |
Implementing throughout Istanbul the school climate model that enables schools to identify their own needs and determine their development steps by involving all stakeholders |
| Teachers Network | Education Reform Initiative | Uniting teachers with their colleagues as well as people and institutions from other disciplines to empower them through a sustainable exchange and cooperation network |
Highlights from the Grant Projects Completed in 2022
Association for Supporting Women Candidates
We aimed to contribute to the mainstreaming of gender equality through training sessions provided to the personnel of 14 municipalities, NGOs, and women in these provinces and establish a municipality-NGO network.
Hempa Children’s Association
The project aims for children to benefit from the opportunities presented by their city, to notice issues, and to be active citizens. To this end, they must both be aware of their own rights and learn about the history and opportunities of the city to submit their own suggestions to municipal authorities.
Parıltı Support Association for Children with Visual Impairments
Providing comprehensive guidance support to visually impaired young people who are either in the 12th grade or have graduated from high school and are preparing to take the Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS) exam was aimed.
Dem Association
The aim is to raise awareness among deaf and hearing-impaired women regarding their rights, with a particular highlight on violence against women and mechanisms to fight the violence.
Grant Program Monitoring - Evaluation Work
Impact and monitoring-evaluation work is conducted for projects supported by Sabancı Foundation Grant Programs. Depending on the needs of the project, the support of independent professionals or monitoring – evaluation experts within the project team is solicited.
In 2022, independent monitoring and assessment were conducted on the findings of the Child Marriage Prevention Project Phase 2 run by the United Nations Population Fund as an Invited Grant Program.
Project goals were set in consultation with the organization receiving the grant. The project was then monitored and reported by independent specialists in compliance with concrete and measurable goals and in cooperation with Yaşama Dair Vakıf (YADA Foundation).
Once the other supported projects set their own goals, each project was monitored and assessed by the methods and specialists preferred by each organization.
The “Sowing Season” event was organized on October 18, 2022, at Sabancı Center with seven organizations sharing their experiences regarding projects completed in 2021–2022. Event participants included NGOs, stakeholders from different industries working in the same field, representatives from local administrations, and any others who are interested in project stories.
As we do every year, an "Experience Exchange Meeting" was organized a day prior to the event for project representatives of organizations to share their project experiences as well as their future plans. This environment nurtured potential cooperation between NGOs in different provinces of Turkey working in similar fields.
Social Gender Sensitivity of Gender-neutral Professional and Professional Chambers Participant:
“We’ve been perpetuating this discrimination without even realizing it. We found it out through this workshop. We now have to be very careful when we’re talking. Being a trainer comes with responsibilities. We now feel responsible for every step of our association members. We want to reach out to more colleagues to include them in this workshop. We want the Mersin Chamber of Drivers and Automobile Owners to be Turkey's most gender-egalitarian chamber."
A Youth Participating in the Value to My City Project:
"I never imagined that we could bring the youth together to find a solution to the problems we are having and to create a more livable city. I assumed they wouldn’t show up. But what happened was the opposite of what I expected. It turned out that what I considered to be a problem was just as crucial to others. This was the turning point for me.”
