Building A Community

Nur Hamzaoğulları’s family immigrated to Turkey from Bosnia in the early 1900s. She grew up listening to stories that emphasized the importance of generosity and helping individuals who are in need. Those stories stayed with her all her life.

After moving to the U.S. to get an MBA degree, she was impressed with the contagious culture of giving. Her philanthropic journey started when she volunteered at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC while attending graduate school. As years passed her involvement turned into financial support as Nur and her husband’s wealth grew. However, Nur still continued to volunteer as she likes to be engaged with projects she supports by giving her time as well. From the stories of her grandparents, she knows that philanthropy strengthens communities. When she had children, she made it a priority to instill the values of her grandparents to them. Now they often volunteer in museums, soup kitchens and cultural centers as a family. “They serve food and first hand learn the life stories and experiences of many parents who strive and work hard to feed their children and themselves. This creates empathy,” she states which she believes is very much-needed in the world.

As her life progressed in the U.S., she had a constant desire to give back to her homeland, Turkey. That desire came true when she was introduced to TPF. In TPF, she found a way to give to many organizations and causes that are in need of support from education to women empowerment. Nur and her husband, Aziz, joined TPF’s Founders Society shortly after their introduction to TPF. Nur later served as one of the board of directors of the organization. She wanted people to be aware of the opportunity to give back to Turkey through TPF in an impactful and transparent way. Therefore, she hosted events and dinners for the Turkish-American community in Boston to share her newly discovered passion. Nur’s opening line in all these gatherings has been “TPF is an efficient and effective partner to ensure that funds are channeled to wherever one likes to devote resources as a philanthropist. That’s why I got involved with TPF and greatly enjoy my time there.” She wholeheartedly believes in the work of TPF. She hopes to continue her efforts to get more community members working together to leverage community resources – both time and money – and in turn, improve the lives of many in Turkey.