The discretionary targeted grants are intended for cultural activities that increase the wellbeing and functional capacity of elderly Helsinki residents. The application period for the grant is from 13 January to 7 February 2025 until 16:00. The Culture and Library Sub-committee will decide on the projects to be funded at its meeting in April 2025.
In particular, the objective is to enhance the opportunities of elderly people living at home to live good and agile life in which they are active operators Preventive measures to boost wellbeing address the challenges posed by the ageing population. The call for applications has been prepared in cooperation with the Culture and Leisure Division’s Sports Services.
In 2025, the budget for grants for culture is EUR 1,300,000. The grants are funded from escheats available to the City of Helsinki. Of the 2025 budget appropriation, €963,000 has been conditionally earmarked for two-year projects, leaving an estimated €337,000 available for grants in 2025.
Info sessions
We will be holding two similar info sessions on grants.
Grant info 1 at 13–16 on Wednesday, 1 December 2024. Location: meeting room AULA, Fredriksberg Building, 1st floor. Konepajankuja 3, entrance B.
Grant info 2 at 14–15:30 on Tuesday, 14 January 2025, online meeting in Teams. Separate sign-up is not required for the Grant info 2, simply join in! Teams link to the online meeting.(Link leads to external service)
For whom?
The grants can be applied for by legally authorised registered organisations operating in the field of arts and culture. Private persons and unregistered working groups are ineligible to apply for this grant. Applicants are required to form partnerships. Partners may also include unregistered communities or working groups, as well as companies. The forms and roles of the cooperation must be described in the application. The applying community is responsible for the use and reporting of the use of the grant.
For what purpose?
The grants are targeted at cultural activities supporting the wellbeing of elderly residents of Helsinki. In particular, the objective is to enhance the opportunities of elderly people living at home to live good and agile life in which they are active operators.
The evaluation and assessment will emphasise projects that promote the wellbeing and functional capacity of the elderly through new types of partnerships and operating models.
The application criteria emphasise accessibility and activities that strengthen the involvement and agency of elderly people. The grant allocation criteria also emphasise the participation of elderly people in the planning and implementation of projects.
Eligible projects must contribute to one or several of the following goals:
- Development of local culture services and activities
- Development of digital/remote cultural activities
- Development of voluntary activities and peer support
- Capacity building of art and culture operators and creation of new working methods/structures
Applicants are encouraged to take diversity into account in their plans, including elderly immigrants, for example. When evaluating projects, attention will be paid to regional equality, and projects will be aimed at different districts of Helsinki.
The evaluation and assessment will emphasise projects that promote the wellbeing and functional capacity of the elderly through new types of partnerships and operating models. Shared projects between various operators will be considered an asset in the assessment.
The grant may be used to cover project-related expenses that are not directly related to the basic activities of the operator. The projects must have a self-financing share, but no required amount of self-financing has been specified. The grants are discretionary.
In addition, the allocation of grants is subject to:
The application period for the grant is from 15 January to 9 February 2024 until 16:00.
This grant can be given to one- or two-year projects. Decisions on multi-year project funding are, however, made annually. Multi-year grants are conditional and dependent on the sum of the annual allocation reserved for the purpose by the City Council.
For applying the grant, the applicant must fill out two separate forms:
The electronic application form. The link to the application form is found on the left side of this page. The link will appear when you are logged in to the transaction service. You can find the login link in the upper right corner of the site. The name of the form is "Sports, general grant application". On the form, select "other" as the grant type and "2024" as the year for the grant.
The Webropol form. Go to the Webropol form(Link leads to external service). The form cannot be saved in between, so we recommend writing the answers in advance in e.g. a Word document.
The application form contains questions related to the applicant organization. The Webropol form, on the other hand, describes the content, goals and implementation of the project. All the questions on the Webropol form concern the project for which the grant is applied for, not the activities of the applicant organization in general.
Both mandatory forms with possible other attachments must be sent by the deadline. Late applications will be rejected. It is recommended to send the application before the last application date, when the service may be overcrowded.
The grant applicant must be authorised to act on behalf of the entity before signing up for the grant service. An individual cannot apply for the grant in the name of an entity without an authorisation.
The applicant submits the attachments mentioned below regarding the applicant organization via the electronic transaction service. If the attachments have already been submitted along with another City of Helsinki grant application, the same attachments do not need to be submitted again.
Attachments required for culture grants for advancing cultural activities for the elderly
- The association’s rules
- A bank statement or a copy of the bank statement indicating the account holder’s name and the account number (the applicant must have a Finnish bank account to which the grant is paid)
- Financial statements and the annual report from the year 2022
- An action plan and the budget for the year 2024
The application will be processed by the City of Helsinki Culture and Leisure Division Cultural Services and Support partner unit. The length of the processing time depends on the applied grant. Decisions on grants are made by the Culture and Library Sub-committee of the Culture and Leisure Committee.(Link leads to external service) Applicants will be informed of the decision once the committee has made its decision. Applicants will be notified by post.
The Culture and Library Sub-committee will decide on the projects to be funded at its meeting on 16 April 2024.
Targeted grants are paid in one instalment.
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 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)
The usage period for the special grants for promoting culture activities for the elderly is:
- single-year projects 1 Jun 2024–31 May 2025
- two-year projects 1 Jun 2024–31 May 2026
Conditions for the use of the grant
The grant may be used to cover project-related expenses that are not directly related to the basic activities of the operator. The projects must have a self-financing share, but no required amount of self-financing has been specified.
All cultural grants are governed by the general grant allocation guidelines of the City of Helsinki(Link leads to external service).
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 application. 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.
The recipient of a grant must arrange its accounting and auditing in the manner required by law and so that the use of the grant can be monitored based on the accounts. The recipient must arrange an audit in the manner stipulated by the Auditing Act. The recipient must arrange the audit even if this is not required by the Auditing Act. In such a case, the audit may also be performed by a lay auditor. An audit report must be submitted for an audit performed by a lay auditor, referred to as a ‘performance audit 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 recipient must notify the City of Helsinki without delay of any significant changes affecting the use of the grant.
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.
Reporting on the use of the grant
Reports must be submitted on the use of all grants awarded by the city.
Recipients are required to submit a report on the use of the grant, including an impact assessment. The aim is to link the projects more strongly to the urban strategy of Helsinki and other development projects related to the promotion of the health and wellbeing of the elderly. The report must be submitted to the granting authority no later than three months after the end of the project’s usage period.
A report must be submitted to the grantor no more than three months after the project usage period has ended.
- The report deadline for single-year projects is 31 Aug 2025.
- Two-year projects are expected to submit an intermediary report, and the final report deadline is 31 Aug 2026.
We have compiled background materials, studies and links on physical and cultural activities for the elderly to support project planning.
- Link to the background materials (pdf, in Finnish)
- Webinar: Ikäystävälliset kulttuuripalvelut ABC (Link leads to external service)(YouTube, in Finnish)
- Teams information event: Grants for advancing physical and cultural activities for the elderly (Link leads to external service)(14.12.2023, YouTube, in Finnish)
For more information about grants for promoting cultural activities for the elderly, please contact Special Planning Officer Sara Kuusi, tel 09 310 32204, sara.kuusi@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program).