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.

Senay Ataselim Yilmaz

Senay Ataselim Yilmaz is the Chief Operating Officer of Turkish Philanthropy Funds (TPF), a transnational foundation that connects social needs in Turkey with US donors' philanthropic interests.

Senay comes to TPF with an extensive experience in non-profits, community organizing and philanthropy. She joined TPF in its start-up phase, taking an active role in developing the organization's structure first in her role as a consultant throughout 2006 and early 2007, then as the Chief Operating Officer. In 2007, Senay also served as an Advisor to the President of the Board at Turkish-American Business Forum (TABF), a network of over 500 Turkish-American business professionals, where she previously held the position of Executive Director for five years. 

From 2002 to 2007, Senay served at various levels of the arts and culture organization, Moon and Stars Project, holding the position of the President of the board between 2005 and 2007. At Moon and Stars Project, she played a key role in developing the organization's Marketing and Development Departments, and creating a successful volunteer management policy. Senay also served as an advisor to Bridges of Hope Project, an organization raising funds for educational projects in Turkey.

Senay was appointed as an International Herst Fellow by the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society's Emerging Leaders International Fellows Program in 2005. During her fellowship, she worked on a research project on current trends in philanthropic giving to Turkey among the Turkish Diaspora community in the United States and the motivations behind this giving.

Senay holds a BA in Political Science and Public Administration, University of Ankara and an MPA in Public Policy and Non-profit Management, Baruch College. She is currently a PhD candidate in Political Science at Graduate Center, CUNY specializing in civil society and philanthropy.