2021 has been another tough year for the civil society organisations in Turkey and the world as a whole. The lasting negative effects of the pandemic continued to impact all vulnerable groups as poverty deepened and the gap between the privileged and the rest has widened. We were also deeply saddened by the Wildfires that struck the forests in our homeland.
Viktor E. Frankl, in his famous “Man’s Search For Meaning” says … “human potential at its best always allows for turning suffering into a human achievement and accomplishment, deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better, and deriving from life’s transitoriness an incentive to take responsible action.”
As Turkey Mozaik Foundation, thanks to all our supporters, we continued on our journey to take action in helping the civil society organisations that inspire us with their work and commitment during such difficult times.
Year in Review
In 2021, we raised over GBP 150,000, bringing the total amount since our inception in 2018 to over GBP 600,000. In 2021, we distributed over GBP 150,000 to 30 organisations and projects listed below.
In 2021, we focussed on two cross-cutting themes: poverty/inequality and environmental sustainability.
In January 2021, we launched “The Digital Transformation Fund for Organisations Working on Environmental Sustainability” in cooperation with Support Foundation for Civil Society with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). To celebrate the launch of our inaugural Environmental Sustainability Fund, we organised an online event for environmental inspiration and fun for the whole family.
In March 2021, we were proud to be a “Civil Space” contributor at the first-ever Women of the World Festival, Istanbul organised by the British Council in celebration of International Women’s Day. The recording of our WOW Istanbul video highlights our mission, inspiration, and also specifically our grants in the themes of gender equality and culture.& arts.
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In May 2021, we launched the Deep Poverty Action Fund that address deep poverty and widening inequalities in Turkey. We raised over GBP 29,000 with the Justgiving campaign and supported our previous grantees Basic Needs Association and Deep Poverty Network in their Mobile Food Bank Project aiming to deliver vital necessities and social support to families in need as part of the fight against severe poverty in Turkey, which has significantly worsened since the start of the pandemic. Hacer Foggo from Deep Poverty Network and Nil Tibukoglu from Basic Needs Association joined us in an online event to discuss their initiative.
In August 2021, we launched a Wildfire Relief & Mitigation Fund, to address the immediate needs as well as the medium/longer-term rehabilitation of those affected by the wildfires in Turkey. We were humbled by the overwhelming response from our community in the UK and abroad following these devastating events in Turkey, with over GBP 29,000 GBP raised from more than 380 donors and other individual campaigns.
In December 2021, Mino’s Song was launched. We take special pride in this project as we have been involved in the initiation and creation of this much-needed educational content for children in Turkey in addition to providing financial support for its development.
Turkey Mozaik Foundation continued to launch all planned grant programmes this year, including Gender Equality Fund, Institutional Fund, Children’s Fund, and Culture & Arts Fund in co-operation with IKSV.
Due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, all funds followed our grantmaking strategy updated in 2020 to focus on two priorities:
• Focusing on supporting anti-poverty measures, deprivation, and prioritising organisations that work with disadvantaged groups who became more vulnerable as a result of COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis.
• Responding to the needs that arise from changes in the ways CSOs operate (not only in terms of digital transformation but also taking into consideration the way CSOs organise, fundraise, deal with crisis etc.)
We would like to thank our local partner, Support Foundation for Civil Society, who effectively organised all existing and emergency support funds to ensure your donations were delivered rapidly to relevant organisations and individuals who are in need.
What next for Turkey Mozaik Foundation in 2022?
As we enter our fifth year of operation, we are proud to have grown with our community and been able to provide help to vulnerable groups in our homeland by improving the conditions for the civil society organisations creating positive change.
Our work is made possible with your donations and support. At the start of our journey, even imagining the figures above and working with organisations such as EBRD, the British Council or the IKSV was a dream. We thank each and every one of you for making our dream a reality. We are confident what we have achieved so far is only an indication of our full potential. Thank you very much in advance for your support in 2022 and beyond to help us grow further.
