Osman Ciğeroğlu and his mother Sulun Ciğeroğlu
Osman Ciğeroğlu is tremendously intentional about his charitable giving and has partnered with TPF in a variety of ways to align his values with his personal giving.
“I’m a strong believer in social responsibility, and that you can advocate and influence change not only through giving charitably but in how you choose to invest your funds,” says Osman. “I give back to help create positive change. There are so many critical issues out there that need support, resolution, and helping hands. There are many great nonprofits I was introduced to through TPF that are championing causes and taking on the big issues.”
“I am largely inspired by my FAMILY, particularly my mother, to give of my time, talent, and money. I grew up watching her give my entire life,” says Osman.
Osman’s mother was an English teacher. She has always gone beyond helping students with their studies. She covered their school expenses and got them school supplies. As Osman grew older, he saw firsthand how his mother touched people’s lives. At a young age, he understood how important education and having someone believe in you and work for you to succeed is. The students Osman’s mother helped personally became very successful – one became the general manager of a big medical device company, another a prominent lawyer, and another an engineer. Giving back is something Osman grew up seeing and normalizing, which in turn made him who he is today as a philanthropist someone who wants to invest in children.
Osman came to the US in 2014 and was introduced to TPF a few years later by his friends, Onur Karayal and Serhan Secmen. They assured him that he can continue to give back to Turkey but with the comfort of knowing his donations would get to the right organizations and people. Learning more about TPF, he saw how this was the best way to give back to Turkey, as TPF is a very secure and trustworthy organization, works with a variety of nonprofits in Turkey, and has made transparency a priority.
Through TPF, Osman honed his values, often prioritizing transparency and effectiveness when considering charitable funding opportunities through the giving circle he became part of at TPF.
“I’m a strong believer in funding organizations that have permanence and a model that allows them to continue from year to year,” Osman says. “Effectiveness goes hand in hand with impact. I’m always looking for where our dollars will go the furthest, and I have a passion for supporting girls’ education. I want to uplift those that are underrepresented,” says Osman. Those are the reasons he had decided to give to PAYDA. The organization invests in the future of girls’ education living in underdeveloped areas of Turkey and who face financial hardships to continue their education. The most appealing part of PAYDA’s program was that the organization offered guardianship/mentorship programs for donors to help stay connected to the students. Through the program, you can opt in to be assigned a mentee and follow their journey. Osman was brought to tears when he had the first update of his mentee and her outstanding grades.
“I’m still learning and have a lot to learn, but the only way to do so is to dive in and participate in programs like PAYDA and educate yourself. And, more importantly, see the impact you can make first hand. When we’re more informed and see our impact directly, we can help support organizations more effectively,” says Osman. “The needs are so great and when you get involved, you want to do more and give more than just time.”
“From a time perspective, I want to be extremely effective in giving, so as our giving circle, we have been focusing on learning how to be better philanthropists, trying to discover more about different programs through TPF and how we can help,” says Osman. “Meeting with nonprofits with TPF has been fantastic and has made us more confident in our decisions, which often leads to deeper generosity.”
Osman was impacted by the small acts he saw his mother doing while growing up. His mother inspired giving in him. She was such a generous person. And, Osman is following in her footsteps by investing in the education of children in Turkey and giving them the opportunity to be the leaders of tomorrow.
