The results are in! We asked you to give us your opinion on what programs we should prioritize in 2013 to have a positive impact on Turkey and you’ve responded! Read on to hear top results.

When we asked our readers what they thought was the greatest challenge Turkey faced for the upcoming year, the responses overwhelmingly indicated gender equality and education. Additionally, you felt we should focus more time working with programs and projects that ensure education is more affordable and accessible to all, this includes women and girls!

We were also interested in learning how our donors would like to help TPF achieve these goals. Here, we give our donors the option to choose if they would like to donate to a specific project, give to a fund that helps all projects or start their own fund. Through your responses, we learned that you are most inclined to give when we show you projects that are in need of help, so you can give directly to a project.

Lastly, responders to the survey vowed to help TPF by not only donating to our causes, but spreading the word. You said you would help us make a difference in Turkey by keeping informed and telling your friends about our cause via social media. Click the ‘Like’ or ‘Share’ button below to do your part and help, today!

Well, TPF is listening to your responses. At the moment, we have ten ongoing projects that support gender equality and eighteen projects tackling education for all!

Where the world thinks TPF will go in 2013

On top of what you think should happen in the next 12 months, we wanted to touch upon predictions for where philanthropy is going in the New Year.

In 2013, world sees crowdfunding going mainstream. This means you, your friends and family will be spending more time raising funds for causes that mean something to you. Here at TPF, we saw this coming! That’s why we created the start-a-campaign capability. This way, you can raise funds under your own name, and give to the project of your choice! You may choose to run a race, host a party, or just share via social media to get your contacts involved.

Another prediction points towards food and water insecurity. On top of all the social issues our globe faces, we will be challenges to tackle natural disasters. TPF is proud to announce a new partnership with an organization that specifically handles sustainability in Turkey.

Even though the survey has closed…have a suggestion? Email info@tpfund.org. We would love to hear from you!

As we kick off Women’s History Month today, TPF is working hard to make sure that all women realize their potential and assume rightful place as full participants in society. For the past month we’ve focused on gender equality in our Twitter and Facebook campaigns. As we look to International Women’s Day next week we plan to focus our efforts to find concrete solutions that will close the Turkish gender gap.

One of those solutions is to support a project that empowers Turkish girls. Next Thursday, March 8 we will announce the winners from our Facebook contest that had three terrific Turkish NGOs competing for a $10,000 grant for their work to advance girls’ rights in Turkey. The announcement will be made during an hour-long “town hall” video chat with leading Turks and experts on women’s issues.

The conversation will be held from 1-2PM EST/8-9PM IST/10-11AM PST.

To join, RSVP to info@tpfund.org and click on this link: http://www.linqto.com/rooms/tphilanthropy.

Please test your camera and mic before you enter the chat room. If you have questions, please let us know.

Warm regards,

Team TPF

Engaging men, focusing on childcare options and educating women were some of the suggestions made during our Twitter chat on empowering Turkish girls and closing Turkey’s gender gap. The chat kicked off Turkish Philanthropy Funds’s month-long campaign on empowering teen girls.

Istanbul-based journalist Claire Berlinski participated and, subsequently, had questions about the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap report, released last week, that ranks Turkey 122 out of 183 countries on its Gender Gap index. While that is a startling number, Berlinski noted that she’d

“like to see the data broken down a lot more. Turkey is a big country. What’s happening in Istanbul may have nothing to do with what’s happening in Diyarbakir; within Istanbul alone, Nisantasi (an upscale, wealthy neighborhood) and Sultanbeyli (a poor neighborhood) may as well be different planets.”

Rural Anatolia was a point that Turkish journalist Ahu Ozyurt brought up. She noted: “Girls have to take care of their siblings and help their mothers in rural Turkey. Families rarely afford to send all to school”.

She added that there is also the intense focus about “protecting the morality of the girl,” highlighting the cultural challenges that prevent Turkish girls from fulfilling their talent and potential.

That was something I highlighted in this Turkish Daily News column. My grandmother was illiterate because her parents didn’t see the utility of a girl knowing how to read or write – beyond “writing boys love letters.”

Many agreed that overcoming cultural stereotypes would require increased education. While there is near-universal enrolment of girls in primary school, the numbers start to slide in secondary school and drop further when it comes to higher education. Creating incentives and conditions for girls to stay in school is key.

Another suggestion made by Derya Kaya was to support more female entrepreneur and encourage more Turkish women to engage in start-ups and small business. As a fierce entrepreneurship junkie, I agree.

I also agreed with the points about engaging men into finding a solution to closing the Turkish gender gap. The empowerment of women cannot happen on its own. Men have an equal and important role to play to lift women up in Turkey. Many I know are eager to get engaged. We must hold them up as role models and include them in our fight for gender equality.

It is a fight that we’ll continue here at Turkish Philanthropy Funds for the next several weeks. Follow us on Facebook where we have a contest that will grant $10,000 to a Turkish organization supporting a girls’ empowerment project.