News

A nation of women

02/02/2012

"Anadolu" (Anatolia) may very well be the "land of mothers," but as Turkey finds its place as a global leader, it needs to become a nation of women. According to the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap report released this week, it has a long way to go. Read more.

Raising girl power on Twitter

01/24/2012

On Tuesday, January 31 at 2PM EST and 9PM IST, we'll host a Twitter chat about empowering young girls with the hashtag #gendergap. Read more.

Social Entrepreneurship on the Rise in Turkey

01/17/2012

Social entrepreneurship is on the rise worldwide, especially Turkey. Ashoka Türkiye's Zeynep Meydanoglu and Matthias Scheffelmeier share insights about what's going on in Anatolia in this blog post.

301,927 has been raised to-date through Van Earthquake Relief Fund

01/10/2012

As long as individuals, corporations and foundations show interest in supporting the longer term recovery and reconstruction process in Van, Turkish Philanthropy Funds will keep the Van Earthquake Relief Fund open for contributions. Read more.

FAQ : General Information

What is your mission?

TPF’s mission is to help donors realize their philanthropic goals to meet community needs in Turkey and in the US. Through TPF, donors in the US can not only contribute to civil society organizations in Turkey but also support their local causes in the US.

While making goals meet needs, TPF also supports innovative projects that have the potential to create social change. To achieve this mission, we build relationships with everyone we collaborate with from grantees to strategic partners.

 
Is TPF affiliated with a religious or government organization?

TPF is a 501(c)(3) public charity and completely non-religious. In line with its by-laws, TPF does not support organizations that have political or religious affiliations.

Where did the idea of TPF come from?

In 2006, TPF's founder, Haldun Tashman, started to look for a vehicle to send funds to his hometown, Bolu. His search brought together leaders (Mustafa Abadan, Ozlenen Kalav, Erinch Ozada, and Haluk Soykan) from the Turkish-American community, which resulted in a passionate and ambitious project: starting a foundation to send tax-deductible contributions to Turkey while having the means to support local causes in the United States.

After a feasibility study and a detailed research, TPF was established as an independent public charity in February 2007 and has adopted the community foundation model. TPF became an official 501(c)(3) public charity in December 2007.

What is the power of modeling the organization after community foundations?

The community foundation model was chosen for its flexibility. Our message is "Anyone can be a Philanthropist." Community foundation model allows TPF to be a vehicle for connecting resources and social needs.

Community foundations democratize philanthropy, allowing everyone- those of substantial and modest means alike -to participate in giving back to their community. So, donation amounts to TPF vary vastly - from a businessman's millions to the young professional's payroll deduction. Yet, through TPF, with a gift of any size, people can support what they care about today and be assured that their gift will keep working tomorrow and for generations to come.

And, it is our structure that differentiates us from other diaspora organizations.