The COVID-19 pandemic has made life difficult for everyone, especially for those battling poverty. In 2019, official figures said 18 million, or 22% of Turkey's population, were living below the poverty line; these numbers have likely increased this year as unemployment and inflation have risen, in large part due to the coronavirus. 

Turkey's 2019 municipal elections tipped the balance in favor of the opposition in local governments. The municipalities headed by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) govern 48.4% of the population. Although the Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has grabbed power from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party in many municipalities, the AKP’s control of local government is still second in rank to the CHP's.

In the face of the pandemic, municipalities started fundraisers to aid those in need. The central government's decision to declare them illegal stopped the fundraisers, including those run by the AKP.

However, people's needs did not disappear when Ankara decided that the central government should control the aid collection and distribution single-handedly. To help their constituents, local governments quietly connected donors with those in need. The system is user-friendly. Those in need submit their utility bills to the municipality. Donors go online and pay one or more of the bills. Donors receive a receipt, but the recipients’ names are confidential. Just in Istanbul, the municipality has received over 1 million requests for help.