Earthquake Rescue & Relief in Türkiye

We are closing this GoFundMe to continue to collect donations from: https://donate.tpfund.org/team/481135

Dear ATA Houston Community,

Thank you all for stepping up in an incredible way to show our brothers and sisters in Türkiye that they are on our hearts and minds. $49,000+ is an incredible amount to raise in three days and we know that it is just the beginning. Türkiye will need our continued support and we will work together to provide it. We also appreciate the huge trust that you placed in us by donating without knowing which organization we would ultimately support. We did not take this responsibility lightly as there is always, in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, a rush to donate and a wealth of opinions on where those donations should go.

After careful consideration and direct communication with the organization, our Board has unanimously decided to give the entire amount collected so far to Turkish Philanthropy Fund, or TPF. We are also closing the Go Fund Me account and have opened a team fundraiser page directly with TPF. Please start to share the page with your networks. https://donate.tpfund.org/team/481135

Our decision is based on several factors:

• TPF is a well-respected nonprofit with a 100% rating on Charity Navigator, a website that assess charities’ trustworthiness based on factors such as financial and governance transparency. https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/20839200

• TPF has the infrastructure in place to vet the nonprofits they donate to and ensure that funds are used for their intended purpose. Some of the organizations that TPF has already donated to for earthquake response are Ahbap, ACEV, TOG, Ihtiyac Haritasi, TEGV, and AKUT Foundation. However, we have been in touch with TPF directly and they are planning to broaden their base of NGO partners based on their assessment of needs on the ground in Turkey.

• 100% of our donation will go to TPF’s partner orgs, since it is for disaster relief, they do not take a cut of the donation at all and even cover the wire transfer fees. Though Turkish businessman Hamdi Ulukaya’s pledge to match $1 million in donations was met on the first day, TPF informed us that they have another donor ready to match donations, so ours will be matched as well, doubling its impact.

We have established a communication channel with TPF and will receive detailed reports on the impact of our donation, which we will share in turn with all of you. You can also follow their website to see updates https://donate.tpfund.org/campaign/tpf-turkiye-earthquake/c465112

Thank you again for your incredible support during this challenging time. If there is a way that ATA Houston can support you, please let us know.

Sincerely,

ATA Houston Board of Directors and Executive Committee