Cover photo by Conflict & Development at Texas A&M
By Birce Altay, Deputy Secretary General, TUSEV
Civil society and philanthropy actors in Turkey are going through a transformation that is encouraging them to think differently about their role, work together more effectively, and create better conditions for the sector.
This phase of ‘adjustment’ accelerated after Covid-19. For civil society organisations (CSOs) this phase was mainly about finding ways and resources to use online tools to implement their work, restructuring their activities while making sure to maintain their human resources and financial stability – in an environment which couldn’t have been defined as “enabling” even before these. For some funders it was about becoming more flexible to be more than just a donor. The corporate approach to CSOs’ work has shown signs of change, which can be considered a gain, but it still lacks the understanding of being equal stakeholders. Lastly, there was no sign or steps from the public authorities to encourage an enabling environment for civil society. Instead, there has been a sharp increase in the need to be controlling in the name of security, naming and shaming foundations, associations, and human rights activists for carrying out their missions, negatively labelling organisations that receive cross-border donations, and more violations of exercising the rights of peaceful assembly and association, among others.
When these are combined with the effects of economic instability, which worsened in the last months of 2021, some CSOs, including grantmaking foundations, found themselves in a place where they had to spend a lot of time and energy trying to be as consistent as possible in terms of budgets, spending for the upcoming year and funds to be distributed – despite the unpredictable nature of the situation.
The dynamics above provide the context for the change in perspectives outlined below. These are more than just coping mechanisms; they are new ways of doing things, which have happened in the midst of turmoil.
More stakeholders are thinking about the enabling environment for civic space and philanthropy
There is a common understanding in civil society in Turkey that organisations have their designated areas of work and their sole focus should be on those. As a subsidiary view, the enhancement of civic space in Turkey, though it is an issue for the entire sector, is attributed to a few organisations, such as TUSEV. Fortunately, thinking about the environment in which civil society works is definitely taking more space in other organisations’ agendas. In a culture where CSOs rarely reconsider what they do or how and why they do it, this can be counted as a huge gain since it allows different types of organisations to come together and collaborate at different levels. When different organisations combine their various characteristics and expertise, it improves the quality and the content of the advocacy carried out while being more participatory.
Rigid lenses of doing things are now being left behind
Both during and after Covid-19, the needs of the community and expectations from civil society increased dramatically. It was obvious that this sort of demand could better be answered only by doing things differently. We have seen foundations that didn’t distribute grants before partner up with organisations that did, to support their field of work in more efficient ways. We have seen examples of CSOs’ work which are more fluid, focusing on the final impact and the demand to meet society’s needs. As TUSEV, we’ve had encounters with organisations that would like to change or improve their way of working, all of which could be counted as positive gains for the sector.
Getting ready for the next problem before it happens is the new normal
It is tiring and worrisome, and not ideal, to work in an environment that is full of surprises. And it also requires planning for many scenarios, ranging from the worst to the not-that-bad ones. Though this is not favourable, it eventually leads to being ready for different possibilities, eliminating the initial shock and freeze mode. For example, some grantmaking organisations in Turkey are now creating extra grant programmes to be used if an emergency occurs. Similarly, rights-based organisations are coming up with internal solidarity strategies and mechanisms that will strengthen their resilience.
A shift in perspectives to funding mechanisms: where are the individuals?
In Turkey, individual giving doesn’t contribute significantly to CSOs’ incomes. The main reasons for this are the restrictive Law on Aid Collection and the difficulty of obtaining permission to collect donations. In addition, putting energy and time into growing a network of individuals that may want to support an organisation’s work consistently may not be doable for organisations that have been working endlessly in the cycle which could be summarised as ‘get-the-grant-do-the-project-close-it’. However, after Covid-19’s negative effect on the relationship with some funders, CSOs have started to work on their individual giving strategies.
The pressure dynamics are changing, and that’s good!
For the last 2 years, there has been a shift in pressure dynamics among the stakeholders in civil society. CSOs are pressuring corporate stakeholders to ensure being equals. CSOs are also pressuring other CSOs to take more bold, brave steps, helping them to change their perspective while also criticising one another in constructive ways; CSOs are pressuring their Boards to challenge their perspectives and pave the way for trying and doing new things. Though not all of the ways of applying pressure may end in the intended outcome, one can say that these certainly add up to the discourse on how we do things and do them better.
In conclusion, these “new ways of doing things” are solid signs of hope. Not only because we have seen these through some hard times, showing how resilient civil society is in Turkey, but also because all of these involve self-reflection and a will to adapt to achieve more and better.
Birce Altay is the Deputy Secretary General of Third Sector Foundation of Turkey (TUSEV)
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