History

The Vehbi Koç Foundation (Vehbi Koç Vakfı) was first endowed on 17 January 1969. It’s establishment made it the first major private foundation of the Turkish Republic and brought about a revival of the age-old tradition of the Vakıf philanthropic endowments for the public good. The Foundation has since then carried out a great number of activities in the fields of education, healthcare and culture all of which are of utmost importance to the nation’s wellbeing and further development and has become a role model to a great many other philanthropists. In its first years, the Foundation used its resources to fund the establishment of several schools, student dormitories, libraries and clinics, handing each over to the relevant public administration. Later, it pioneered the setting up of a number of major not-for-profit institutions in each of its focus areas of education, healthcare and culture. Throughout its history, the Foundation has been providing thousands of scholarships to help talented students in need attain equal opportunity in education.

Aims

To help speed up Türkiye’s development through the work of its proprietary institutions, regular programmes and project support in areas that are most fundamental to life, namely education, healthcare and culture, to set an example for excellence across all of its activities, and to benefit the nation by creating sustainable and replicable models.