Sabancı Foundation

Embracing the late Hacı Ömer Sabancı’s life philosophy of “Sharing what we have obtained from this land with its people,” the Sabancı family established the Hacı Ömer Sabancı Foundation (Sabancı Foundation) in 1974 to consolidate all their philanthropic activities under one organization.

Sabancı Group harnesses the power of its industrial and business activities to support a wide range of social and cultural efforts through the Sabancı Foundation. As such, it has become one of the leading family foundations in Türkiye.

During its 48-year history, Sabancı Foundation has built more than 120 institutions – schools, dormitories, teachers’ centers, medical facilities, sports complexes, cultural centers and social facilities – in 78 districts across Türkiye. Since 2007, the Foundation has supported 218 projects carried out by civil society organizations nationwide. In the field of culture and the arts, the Foundation has provided long term support to major activities and events, including the State Theaters - Sabancı International Adana Theater Festival, a recipient of the Foundation’s support for 23 years.

Having provided 52,500 scholarships over the last 48 years, the Sabancı Foundation encourages and recognizes success with awards in the fields of education, the arts and sports.

The Sabancı Family has significantly contributed to Türkiye’s economy through the many industrial enterprises they have established over the years. Family members have also focused on launching societal institutions that benefit the public in the fields of education, healthcare, culture, sports, and social services. The Sabancı Family have played a major role in philanthropy in Türkiye. Reflecting the philosophy of the late Hacı Ömer Sabancı, “Sharing what we have obtained from this land with its people,” the Sabancı Family established the Hacı Ömer Sabancı Foundation (known as Sabancı Foundation) in 1974. Sadıka Sabancı, the wife of Hacı Ömer Sabancı, donated her entire wealth to the Foundation’s endowment. Sabancı Foundation’s financial resources consist of donations provided by the Sabancı Family and Sabancı Group, and revenues generated from the Foundation’s various assets.

The Foundation’s primary areas of activity include education, social change, culture, and the arts. The Foundation focuses particularly on women, young people, and people with disabilities within these activities.

The Sabancı Foundation has memberships in leading civil society organizations in Türkiye and abroad. It is a Founding Member of Third Sector Foundation of Türkiye (TÜSEV), a Member of Philea (Philanthropy Europe Association), a Founding Member of Philea’s Disability and Gender Thematic Networks, a Zero Project impact transfer partner, a Member of Foundations 20 Platform, and the US Council on Foundations (COF).

Social Change

The Sabancı Foundation supports projects carried out by leading civil society organizations with grants to seek solutions to today’s complex social issues and that have a lasting impact. The Foundation engages in long term, inter institutional partnerships to expand the scope and extent of its impact.

First launched in 2007, the Sabancı Foundation Grants Program aims to support civil society organizations in promoting social development to achieve equality and active participation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities in society. During its 16-year history, the Grants Program has extended support to 218 projects and initiatives, directly impacting more than 225,000 persons, and over 900,000 indirectly, nationwide.

On 18 October 2022, the Foundation organized a meeting under the theme “Sowing Season” to share information and experiences among the seven civil society organizations that had completed projects during the year with the support of the Sabancı Foundation Grants Program. Short informational videos of each project were also shared online.

During this year, the Sabancı Foundation launched its new big impact project – “Young Women Building Their Future” – focused on women who are in the NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) category. The project is implemented by Sabancı Foundation and UNDP in cooperation with the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. The project launch event and stakeholder meetings were held in 2022. Field research – surveys, in-depth interviews and focus groups – was conducted to understand the needs of young NEET women in Türkiye. A comprehensive training program for NEET women was designed and trainings have already commenced in the pilot cities of Adana, Diyarbakır, and İzmir. A digital portal for the effort was launched at www.geleceginikurangenckadinlar.org this year. The portal includes an Opportunities Map that enables young women to easily access job, training, internship, and entrepreneurship opportunities. Many major organizations, especially Sabancı Group companies, joined the Opportunities Map platform, highlighting their employment, internship, and training opportunities for young NEET women across Türkiye.

In 2022, the Türkiye’s Changemakers Program, which highlights the stories and efforts of individuals who make significant contributions to social development and inspire society in the country, successfully completed its 13th year. From more than 10 thousand applications, the Türkiye’s Changemakers Program has selected and video recorded 204 Changemakers since its launch in 2009. The videos were shared on the program’s website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube channels.

Following the successful publication of a series of children’s books about animal rights in 2020, the Foundation published a new series of books for children on environmental issues in 2021. Centered around stories about a rabbit named Papuduk, the environmental children’s books were distributed free of charge to civil society organizations working with children and to state schools located in disadvantaged areas. In addition, the Foundation held both in-person and online workshops to support the environmental themes of the book series with children throughout the year. An activity book on animal rights was also prepared during the year for children aged 4-5 with the aim of enhancing their awareness and skills on this emerging issue.

Over the last three years, the Sabancı Foundation has started to address the climate emergency by reviewing all its programs through a climate lens and creating a road map with the approach of “All foundations are climate foundations no matter what their area of work.” On 1 December 2022, the 15th Sabancı Foundation International Philanthropy Seminar was held around the theme “Climate, Naturally.” By bringing together civil society, academia, private sector and public agency representatives with national and international experts, the International Philanthropy Seminar facilitates experience sharing regarding new approaches in philanthropy and civil society. To strengthen its activities related to the climate emergency, the Foundation signed the “International Philanthropy Commitment on Climate Change” – the first signatory organization from Türkiye.

This year, Sabancı Foundation hosted 2022 PEXforum in İstanbul, co-organized by Philea and the Third Sector Foundation of Türkiye (TÜSEV). This major event brought together 106 participants representing 69 organizations from 20 countries to jointly advance the European philanthropy ecosystem.

The Foundation continues to participate and contribute to the work in disability rights and gender networks at Philea.

Institutions

Over the past 48 years, the Foundation has built more than 120 institutions in 78 districts throughout Türkiye, including schools, student dormitories, healthcare facilities, cultural centers, sports facilities, libraries, teachers’ centers, social facilities as well as Sabancı University – one of the most significant investments undertaken by the Sabancı Foundation.

In 2022, 20 of these institutions received repair and maintenance and other kinds of support from the Foundation.

Construction of two vocational and technical high schools in Istanbul and Hatay moved forward this year. The schools are being constructed by the Sabancı Foundation with funding donated by Enerjisa. Reconstruction of Sakıp Sabancı Secondary School in Adana began in 2022. Construction of an additional building for Sabancı Vocational and Technical High School in Kocaeli also commenced during the year.

Culture & the Arts

Through the years, the Sabancı Foundation has extended long term support in the area of culture and the arts. The Foundation has supported state theater via the Sabancı International Adana Theater Festival for the last 23 years, the Metropolis Ancient City excavations for the last 19 years, the International Ankara Music Festival for 14 years, and the Türkiye Youth Philharmonic Orchestra for the last 14 years.

The Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition was launched in 2016 with the motto “A Short Film, a Long Impact.” This popular competition raises awareness of social issues through art, while highlighting the creative perspective of cinema and offering empowerment and encouragement to young talent. The awards ceremony for the sixth Short Film Competition was held in January 2021 under the theme “New Jobs in the New World.” Applications for the seventh edition of the Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition were accepted in 2022 under the theme “First Time in the Lead Role” in conjunction with the Foundation’s big impact project “Young Women Building Their Future.”

In 2022, Sabancı Foundation celebrated 23 April Children’s Day for the first time with a kite festival themed “There’s a Festival in the Sky!” A kite featuring Atatürk was flown by children with disabilities and youth from disadvantaged regions.

Scholarships and Awards

Over the course of its 48-year history, the Foundation has provided 52,500 scholarships to students demonstrating academic excellence through its scholarship program. Currently, Sabancı Foundation scholarships support around 1,500 students each year, 350 of whom are first time recipients.

The Sabancı Foundation Awards Program recognizes individuals with awards for their exceptional performance in education, sports, arts, and culture both in Türkiye and abroad. To date, more than 1,200 Sabancı Foundation Awards have been presented to outstanding and accomplished individuals around the world.