Creating sustainable value is at the core of Esas Holding’s investment approach, which for several generations, the Sabancı family has applied in making contributions to society. 

Esas Holding Chairman Şevket Sabancı and his family have a long history and practice of philanthropy and giving back. Over the years, they have funded the development of several institutions for education and culture, with an aim to serve the needs of the community in which they live and work. Among these investments is the Yıldız Teknik University Şevket Sabancı Library, Çukurova University Hayırlı Sabancı School of Foreign Languages, Turgutreis Hayırlı Sabancı Anatolia High School, Kaynarca Şevket Sabancı High School, Turgutreis Şevket Sabancı Culture and Art Centre and the Turgutreis Şevket Sabancı Park. The family continues to provide scholarships to university students. 

Building on this tradition of philanthropy and with a view to expanding the families’ social investments, Esas Social was established in April 2015. The founders of Esas Social span three generations of the Sabancı family: Şevket Sabancı, Hayırlı Sabancı, Emine Sabancı Kamışlı, Ali Sabancı, Can Köseoğlu and Kazım Köseoğlu. The main purpose of Esas Social is to invest in people and institutions that harness the potential to create sustainable social impact. The initial focus of Esas Social’s investments will be in the field of youth and employment – particularly supporting new graduates with two and four year university degrees (whose current unemployment rate is nearly 30%).

The purpose of these investments will be as such:

• Designing and supporting the ‘First Chance’ program which will empower university graduates and support them in overcoming barriers in the school to work transition phase by facilitating their acquisition of work experience and social awareness
• Developing and funding projects in partnership with civil society organizations and other expert groups, with a goal to create more services and programs to support youth in their school to work transition
• Creating a fund to support research on the topic of school to work transition in Turkey, particularly focusing on unemployed university graduates and the systemic challenges they are facing, with a goal of increasing the analytic capacity of the field to develop new solutions to address these issues

DONATED FACILITIES 
 

Yıldız Teknik University
Şevket Sabancı Library

Çukurova Unv. Hayırlı Sabancı
School of Foreign Languages

Turgutreis Hayırlı Sabancı
Anatolia High School

Turgutreis Şevket Sabancı
Culture and Art Center

Turgutreis Şevket Sabancı
Park

Kaynarca Şevket Sabancı
High School