About Us
OUR VISION
The Turquoise Coast Environment Fund (TCEF) aims to protect, restore, and regenerate the natural beauty, biodiversity and ecosystems of the exceptional marine and coastal resources of Turkey by:
- Raising funds from people and businesses with strong connections to their homeland, to support the best local initiatives working to sustain the diverse natural assets of Turkey.
- Supporting projects that bring both economic and social benefits to local communities, and which can be scaled up and replicated across the region.
- Building a strong network of people across Turkey, united in boosting the work of local environmental champions.
TCEF was established in 2022 to aid local communities of Turkey become actively involved in, and part of, the change towards sustainable food systems, biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, and building local organizations for the sustainable future of the coastlines. We believe that environmental sustainability need not come at the cost of economic development – rather, that the opposite is true.
Our People
Our local team consists of one Executive Director in charge of day-to-day management and coordination of work on the ground, assisted by a Local Advisory Board and the Steering Committee.
A Steering Committee (SC), comprising of founding and actively involved donors, directs the strategy. They analyse and approve grants and use their personal networks to broaden the base of supporters. The SC members have a wide range of backgrounds and interests, but all share a passion for protecting Turkey’s exceptional coastal and marine resources.
LOCAL TEAM
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Özge Sönmez
Executive Director
Özge has 18 years of experience in civil society, focusing on environmental education and climate change awareness for people of all ages in various organisations. In 2010, she founded an association dedicated to promoting environmental sustainability. She also offers expertise in capacity building and grant management to various civil society organisations (CSOs) in Turkey. In 2017, the Malala Fund recognised her as an Education Champion for her efforts in advancing girls’ education. Özge enjoys watching birds and clouds, hugging trees, and being around books. She dreams of a better and more just world for all living beings.
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Didem Karagence
Programme Asisstant
Didem has a solid academic and professional background in environmental sociology, with a strong focus on the intricate relationships between nature, culture, and justice. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, minors in City & Regional Planning, and a Master’s in Sociology from Middle East Technical University. Throughout her career, Didem has engaged in research and projects exploring the social dimensions of environmental issues, particularly within environmental justice and political ecology. She is passionate about fostering awareness around the intersection of social and ecological systems, finding impactful stories in human-nature interactions, and contributing to protecting nature through these stories.
How we work
- Channeling funds from businesses and philanthropists to grassroots nature regeneration projects.
- Helping donors achieve net zero emissions by coupling their carbon reductions with our nature regeneration projects.
- Tapping into our network of experts to ensure we support the projects offering the largest returns for nature.
- Seeking to build local coalitions that catalyse systemic change.
- Filling a gap by being agile, unbureaucratic, and ‘getting stuff done’.
- Providing projects with vital funds to scale their impact.
- Attracting new sources of environmental funding by showcasing what can be achieved by nature regeneration.
- Pooling funds and creating leverage for each donor to share in the successes generated by total TCEF funds raised.
- We strongly believe that supporting local environmental groups can make a positive impact and bring about long-lasting change.