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[title]Sponsorship program director, İKSV
How long have you been in this line of work?
“This is my eighth year at İKSV. It’s actually a funny story: I did my first job interview at İKSV upon graduating from college. The meeting went well, but I was unable to accept the position since the salary was lower than what I anticipated. Years later, I ran into a friend from high school who was on maternity leave; she told me they wouldn’t let her quit before finding her replacement. So that’s how my İKSV journey began.”
What are some of the challenges of this job?
“The international events and projects we organize all have huge costs – and as you know, İKSV is a non-profit organization, so around 60-65% of its budget comes from sponsorships and the rest is government support. As a result, we mostly rely on our corporate and personal sponsors. We sometimes have to deal with issues caused by Turkey’s economic climate and political conditions. Each year our job becomes more difficult.”
Is it possible to organize art events without sponsorship?
“Unfortunately, it isn’t in our country. The support of corporate entities might decrease proportionally if government support were to increase. İKSV is the only foundation in the world that manages to operate with minimum government support, relying entirely on other sources of revenue such as sponsorship fees, ticket sales and the Tulip Card Membership Program.”