Reports Database:
Vehbi̇ Koç Foundation Disaster Fund Social Return on Investment – 2023-2024 Period
“Executive Summary:
Major disasters such as earthquakes affect human life in many different dimensions in the short, medium, and long term. Eliminating or at least minimising these profound impacts requires a significant effort along with financial resources, such as coordination, flexibility, ability to act quickly, and sustainable strategy.
Children and young people are among those who are directly or indirectly affected by earthquakes and natural disasters. In addition to the difficulties caused by the earthquake, children and young people have difficulty imagining what these sudden changes will cause, negatively affecting their well-being. All young individuals, from the youngest ones to university students, who have experienced the fear of an earthquake have to face the uncertainties and difficulties brought by the post-earthquake period.
Education is children’s most fundamental right, regardless of disaster or periods of stability. Vehbi Koç Foundation established the Vehbi Koç Foundation (VKV) Disaster Fund with the support of Koç Group companies and employees immediately after the earthquake that deeply affected a large region in Türkiye. The VKV Disaster Fund is an example of a fund with broader support and a holistic approach that includes education, aiming to support the well-being of children aged 0-18 living in Hope Cities established in Adıyaman, Hatay, İskenderun, Kahramanmaraş, and Malatya, and helping them realise their maximum potential.
This evaluative report includes the Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis of the investments made for scholarship and tutoring support provided under the Vehbi Koç Foundation Disaster Fund between July 1, 2023, and August 31, 2024. The two main objectives of this analysis are to facilitate impact-oriented decision-making by management to increase the value created and to be accountable and transparent to funders and external stakeholders. The report has been prepared to understand which stakeholders are impacted by the fund and how much, and to support decisions to maximise positive impacts and the management of value created in line with these findings. It is recommended that the findings be used for internal management purposes and shared with external stakeholders.
There is another benefit of this report for the impact community in Türkiye, who would like to increase their impact thinking, impact measurement and management capacity, which is being able to witness the process of the analysis. This report was written to show all the processes transparently step by step needed to understand what to measure, how to measure, how and when to make the necessary judgements and decisions based on data to increase social value for stakeholders. One could easily understand the SROI analysis process and the thinking behind it by following the chapters and how the content has evolved in each step.
The SROI analysis was conducted using the Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology, social impact management, and social value principles, following relevant international standards. The methodology was applied to understand and account for the social value created in the lives of stakeholders as a result of the activities. A monetary value was created and compared with the investment made.
The analysis resulted in calculating the ratio of the social value created per amount of investment as 24,61. However, the sensitivity analysis revealed a range for the SROI ratio. Specifically, under various tested scenarios, the SROI ratio was found to vary between 1:7,97 and 1:30.19. This range shows that even with careful adjustments to assumptions, the program consistently delivers significant positive social benefits. This transparent presentation of the sensitivity analysis helps to understand potential variability more clearly, and confidence in the overall value proposition identified is strengthened.
| Total Present Value (PV) | 982.740.219,14 |
| Net Present Value (PV minus the investment) | 942.814.976,14 |
| Social Return (Value per amount invested) | 24,6129,76 |
The support provided under the VKV Disaster Fund included monthly scholarships for high school and university students, free exam preparation courses (tutoring) for middle and high school students, and graduates delivered by local tutoring centers, stationery and book sets for children, psychosocial support, and exam counselling. The primary beneficiaries of the Disaster Fund were children and youth aged 0-18 living in Hope Cities. Secondary beneficiaries included parents, tutoring centre teachers and managers, VKV headquarters employees, and field staff in Hope Cities.
As a result of the SROI analysis, it was determined that a social return of 24.61 TL was obtained for every 1 TL investment. The ratio is high therefore the risks of overvaluing was carefully evaluated and regarding the context of the activity, considered as reflecting the social value experienced by the stakeholders. This result shows that the VKV Disaster Fund has created a significant positive social impact. Positive changes that stakeholders have experienced include increased hope for the future, improved academic performance and self-confidence, decreased stress and anxiety, increased economic sense of security, and a greater sense of freedom. In addition, the psychological well-being of students, their parents, and teachers has been improved.
Some challenges and risks were also identified during the analysis. A small percentage of students experienced more stress due to increased expectations. In addition, field staff reported an increased sense of exhaustion/compassion fatigue.
The recommendations based on the findings of the SROI analysis, are shared in detail at the end of the report. However, the author wants to highlight here the need for a more complex understanding of academic success. The students supported by the Disaster Fund are considered as disadvantageous due to experiencing enormous natural disaster but have also experienced COVID with its online limited education, usually come from low social capital backgrounds and have had limited access to quality education and support. Disaster Fund support helps them remain in education and increase their educational goals, however overcoming all these conditions and competing with their more advantageous peers may require further support. Therefore, their success should not be benchmarked against the exam success but considering the progress they have made.
In conclusion, the VKV Disaster Fund has created a significant positive social impact on the lives of people affected by the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. SROI analysis provides information to improve the Fund’s effectiveness, ensure accountability, and promote sustainable positive change in impacted communities.”