FINLAND SOCIETY GRANTS FOR EXPATRIATE FINNS’ CULTURAL AND HOBBY ACTIVITIES
The Finland Society’s grants can be applied for twice a year: by the end of February and September. All applications received by the deadline are handled at one meeting. Individual applications are not handled separately over the course of the year.
Each decision (including a negative one) is mailed to the address of the contact person given in the application form. Grants must always be applied for in advance; meaning that the project must not be carried out before the next application term ends. For instance, if the application form is sent to the Finland Society in March, it will not be handled before the September application period has ended. Delayed applications are not processed.
The appropriated grants are meant to serve as partial funding. An application must always provide sufficient information about the project, such as timeline, cost estimate and a report on how the rest of the funding will be arranged. All sums mentioned in the application must be given in euros. When necessary, there should be separate attachments. Insufficient applications will be rejected.
In principle, grants are not given for the same purpose in subsequent years. The grant must be spent by the end of the application year for the specified purpose.
We follow the criteria and conditions of the Ministry of Education and Culture when appropriating grants.
With the application, we send a separate agreement signed between the applicant and the Finland Society on appropriation and use, as well as monitoring and conditions of the use of the grant. The agreement must be read through, signed and submitted to the Finland Society by mail or as a scanned attachment via email.
Grants are given for the following purposes:
– primarily to organizing costs of events arranged by Finnish expatriate organizations
– to individual projects by Finnish expatriate organizations’ and Suomi schools
– to expatriate hobby groups, such as training of amateur theater and folk dance group instructors and purchase of equipment and material
– for Suomi schools’ equipment and material purchases. Renovation expenses of school spaces are eligible for support over three subsequent years at the most.
– for expenses of founding new Suomi schools and Finnish expatriate organizations
– on a case-by-case basis for local excursions organized by an association
– in limited degree for travel and accommodation expenses of performers travelling from Finland
The grant is paid to an association, not the performer, with the condition that the performances are aimed at expatriate Finns.
Grants are not given for:
– studies, school books, daily allowances/per diems
– foreign language courses organized by an organization
– operational costs of an organization, such as rents, salaries and other regular expenses
– annual events, such as Christmas and spring festivals which may be considered part of the association’s normal activities
– projects which have been carried out before the deadline and for which there has not been time to handle the application yet
– incomplete applications
– the same purpose in subsequent years
Payment of grants and reports on their use:
The grant is paid to the bank account given by the applicant, usually by the end of June and December. If the bank information provided in the application is insufficient or incorrect, the costs of correcting them are reduced from the paid grant. The appropriated grant is not paid before its recipient has submitted a report to the Finland Society on any previously received grants. Nor is it paid if the agreement attached to the application on appropriation, use, control and conditions for use of the grant has not been submitted to the Finland Society.
The Finland Society has a right to collect a previously paid grant if the project for which the grant was earmarked has not been carried out. As part of the grant application, the applicant commits to use the grant for the purpose specified in the application, to follow the directions given on appropriating and monitoring the grant, as well as to submit a report on the use of the grant to the Finland Society by the end of February in the following year.