Basic arts education grants

A uniform set of assessment criteria is used when evaluating applications. Read through the criteria carefully before submitting your application and consider your activities in relation to the criteria. Applicants do not need to meet all the assessment criteria to be eligible for a grant, but awarding the grant and the amount of the grant will be assessed based on the criteria. In addition to the assessment of individual applications, the applications will be compared with each other, and the overall assessment will take into account matters such as the available appropriations. The grants are discretionary.

Artistic basis and content, in the case of which the assessment considers the following:

• The artistic goals and the strength of the idea, and how these are reflected in the planned activities.
• How clearly the application expresses the activity’s artistic starting points (e.g. the uniqueness of the activity).
• How professional, ambitious and interesting the activity is, and how significant it is within its field.
• How the activity will increase the versatility and diversity of the content on offer in the field of arts and culture in the city.
• The activity’s potential to create something new and to allow artistic development to take place.

Operational basis and implementation, in the case of which the assessment considers the following:

• How professional and credible the activity is.
• The activity’s impact, partnerships and scope.
• How feasible and realistic the activity described in the application is, and how uniform a whole the goals, the plan and its implementation form.
• How diverse the resources are, and what financial risks are involved in the activity.
• How necessary the grant is for the realisation of the activity.
• The development of the activity and how the development will be achieved.
• The organisation’s ability to evaluate its own activities.
• How equality and equity will be taken into account when arranging the activity.
• How ecological aspects will be taken into account when arranging the activity.

Diversity, accessibility and participation, in the case of which the assessment considers the following:

• How the activity will add to the diversity reflected by the artistic and cultural operators and offering in Helsinki.
• How the activity will be made socially, district-wise, culturally, language-wise, financially, age-group-wise, physically or otherwise more accessible to the audience and participants.
• How the target groups have been defined and what measures will be used to reach different groups.
• How the activity will expand the spectator and participant base in experiencing and creating art and culture, and how it will encourage people to engage in a more extensive dialogue about art.
• How the activity will build community spirit in the city and improve the opportunities of residents to participate in and realise activities themselves.
• How the activity will utilise and strengthen operating methods that are based on networks and communities.

Grants cannot be awarded for activities for which full funding is requested by means of said grant.

All cultural grants are subject to the strategic guidelines and the general grant terms of the City of Helsinki, as well as the grant allocation principles of the Culture and Leisure Division:

• Read the general grant terms of the City of Helsinki(Link leads to external service) .
• Read the shared grant allocation principles of the Culture and Leisure Division(Link leads to external service) (pdf, in Finnish).

New permits for basic art education or changes to existing permits must be applied for by Wednesday 12 February 2025 at 4 PM. For more information, contact Senior Planner Nina Gran, tel. 310 37 006.

It is possible to apply for a basic arts education grant once a year for the following year.  The application period for grants for basic art education and development grants for basic art education begins on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025 and ends on Thursday, September 25th, 2025 at 16:00. 

Familiarise yourself with the application instructions and obtain the necessary background information and attachments for submitting the application. You can apply for a grant through the City of Helsinki e-services. Start by logging in to the e-service. When you are logged in to the e-service, a link to the application form is available on the left-hand side of the page. You can log into the service by clicking the icon in the upper right corner of the page.

You can save your application as a draft and return to complete it later. Your application will be saved in your personal profile in the City of Helsinki e-services. Submit your application by 16:00 on the application period closing date. Grants will not be awarded for applications submitted after the deadline. We recommend that you submit your application before the closing date of the application period, as the service may experience high traffic.

If an application is incomplete, we will ask you to complete it. If the incomplete application is not completed by the deadline given by City of Helsinki, the application will be processed based on the information provided and rejected if the conditions for awarding the application are not met.

For more information about grants for basic art education, please contact Special Planning Officer Nina Gran, tel. +358 9 3103 7006, nina.gran@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)

Attachments required for basic arts education grants:

• An action plan for the following year
• A budget for the following year
• Financial statements for the previous year (the financial statements must indicate at least the result and balance sheet of the association, and must also include a copy of a signed audit or performance audit report)
• Annual report for the previous year
• The association’s rules (in the case of a new applicant, or if the rules have changed since the previous application)
• A bank statement or similar document indicating the account holder’s name and the account number (for new applicants, or if the bank details have changed)

Submit the necessary attachments via the e-services. Registered associations/entities, private persons and registered representatives of working groups are required to attach a bank statement or a corresponding report by the bank on the account holder (for new applicants, or if the bank details have changed), which must include both the account holder and the account number. If you attach a bank statement to the application, you may hide the transactions if you wish. An awarded grant cannot be paid in the absence of such a document.

The application will be processed by the City of Helsinki Culture and Leisure Division Cultural Services and Support partner unit. Decisions on grants are made by the Culture and Library Sub-committee of the Culture and Leisure Committee(Link leads to external service) . 

To better adhere to the city's budget confirmation schedule during the preparation process, decisions on basic arts education grants will be made in two parts. At the Culture and Library Sub-committee meeting  in December 2025, decisions will be made on the recipients of basic arts education grants for the year 2026. For those entities that received basic arts education grants in 2025 and are proposed to receive basic arts education grants for 2026 based on their applications, part of the grant will be awarded as an advance. The advance is 25 percent of the entity's basic arts education grants for 2025.

With the preliminary decision, we aim to provide continuity for the activities of those receiving grants and to secure the conditions for early-year operations. The Culture and Library Sub-committee will make the final decisions on the grant amounts for basic arts education grants at its first meeting of the year 2026 in January-February.

Applicants will be informed of the decision once the committee has made its decision. Applicants will be notified by post.

Read the latest decision (in Finnish).(Link leads to external service)

Basic arts education grants are paid as follows:

• Grants of EUR 50,000 or less will be paid in a single instalment after the decision.
• Grants of more than EUR 50,000 will be paid in two instalments: the first after the decision, and the second on 5th September 2025.

The payment takes into account the already received grant advance paid according to the Culture and Library Sub-committee's decision 2.12.2024, § 40. The advance is 25 % of the grant sum for 2024. The payment schedule for the 2026 operational grants will be announced later. 

If the recipient owes money to the city, the city’s recoverable claim from the recipient will be deducted from the awarded grant. Grants will not be paid abroad.

Grants will be paid into a bank account in the name of the recipient. If the recipient does not have a bank account, they must open one. To verify the bank details, a bank statement (for new applicants, or if the bank details have changed) or a corresponding document indicating the name of the account holder and the account number must be attached to the application. If said statement is not submitted, the grant will not be paid.

For more information about payment matters, please contact administrative secretary Minna Leino, tel. +358 9 3108 9044, minna.leino@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)

Conditions for the use of the grant

All cultural grants are subject to the general grant terms of the City of Helsinki, as well as the grant allocation principles of the Culture and Leisure Division.

• Read the general grant terms of the City of Helsinki (Link leads to external service)(Link leads to external service)

• Read the shared grant allocation principles of the Culture and Leisure Division(Link leads to external service) (Link leads to external service) pdf, in Finnish)

The person or entity to whom the grant is paid is responsible for the use and reporting of the use of the grant.

The grant can only be used for the purpose stated in the grant decision. If the grant decision does not specify the purpose, the grant must be used for the purpose stated in the grant application, in accordance with the guidelines and criteria of the specific grant type. The city has the right to reclaim the grant in part or in full in accordance with the terms and conditions.

The recipient is not allowed to use the grant for fundraising or for business and investment expenditure, or to increase its financial assets or any other long-term investments. Grants may generally not be used for the purchase of fixed assets. Fixed assets are defined as items such as machinery, equipment, buildings, and investments that can be resold.

The recipient of a grant must arrange its accounting in the manner required by law and so that the use of the grant can be monitored based on the accounts. The grant recipient must arrange an audit in accordance with the requirements of the Auditing Act. The recipient of the grant must arrange an audit even if the Auditing Act does not require one. In such cases, the audit may also be carried out by a so-called operations inspector. A statement is issued on the inspection conducted by the operations inspector, referred to as an operations inspection report.

The recipient must provide the City of Helsinki with the information the city deems necessary for processing the grant application, awarding the grant and monitoring its use, free of charge. The party awarding the grant has the right to audit the accounts and administration of the applicant/recipient and perform other audits regarding its activities as necessary.

The grant recipient must promptly notify the city of Helsinki of any significant changes that affect the use of the grant and must consult with the grant administrators to agree on the continued use of the grant or its repayment. Go to the contact page for cultural grants.(Link leads to external service)

The recipient undertakes to investigate the background of all suppliers used in the activities and to purchase services only from responsible operators who meet their social obligations.

Grants are not awarded for the purpose of redistribution to other entities, and the grant recipient is not permitted to distribute the grant further in the form of money or gifts. 

Reporting on the use of the grant

Reports must be submitted on the use of all grants awarded by the city. Reporting on operational grants will primarily take place when applying for the next year’s grant, i.e. by attaching the previous year’s financial statements and annual report to the application.

Using the Helsinki logo 

Whenever possible, grant recipients must include the City of Helsinki logo in their information and marketing materials. There is a Finnish and Swedish version, as well as a bilingual version of the logo. In any case, the recipient must mention the City of Helsinki as a sponsor of the event.

Download the logo of the City of Helsinki.(Link leads to external service)  

For more information on grants for basic art education, please contact Special Planning Officer Nina Gran, tel. +358 9 3103 7006, nina.gran@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)

Read tips for using the City of Helsinki grant application services.(Link leads to external service)