Please note! The application period has ended.
On 23 November 2021, the Culture and Library Sub-committee of the Culture and Leisure Committee(Link leads to external service) awarded grants for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic to organisations and events in the field of arts and culture, as well as to educational institutions providing basic art education, totalling EUR 2.12 million. The grants were to be used by 31 December 2022. A report on the use of the grant must be submitted by 31 May 2023 at the latest.
Call for applications
Please note! The application period has ended.
Targeted COVID-19 grant 2021
Organisations and events in the field of arts and culture, and educational institutions providing basic art education
Application period
20 September to 8 October 2021 at 16.00.
The targeted grants are intended to support the recovery of the cultural and artistic sector and events in Helsinki, as well as recreational activities for children and young people as part of the recovery from the pandemic. Grants for cultural and artistic activities and events emphasise organisations not included in the central government subsidies system (VOS). Grants for recreational activities for children and young people are awarded to educational institutions providing basic arts education in Helsinki.
The total maximum amount of grants to be awarded is EUR 2.12 million. The grants are to be applied for in 2021 and must be used by the end of 2022.
An applicant organisation may only submit one application for this targeted grant.
The City of Helsinki Culture and Leisure Division requires applicants to study the application notice and instructions with care before applying for the grant.
Eligible organisations
Eligible organisations must be legally authorised. These include registered associations, foundations, cooperatives, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, proprietorships and general partnerships.
Other ineligible operators include private individuals, working groups and operators or entities that are owned by the City of Helsinki or that are part of the City Group.
Assessment criteria
Only the following criteria will be used for the comparison of applications in this call for applications.
Cultural and artistic organisations, operators and events
The grants are targeted at professionally operating registered artistic and cultural organisations in Helsinki, as well as operators in the entire artistic and cultural value chain whose activities and income have decreased or ceased due to the pandemic. The allocation of the grants will place emphasis on organisations not included in the central government subsidies system (VOS).
During the comparison of the applicants, the following will be assessed:
- Professionalism of the applicant: the applicant’s description of its previous activities in the artistic, cultural and creative ecosystem.
- Plan for the use of the grant: the applicant’s plan for the use of the grant and its effects on employment. When evaluating the usage plans, more weight will be placed on plans that will have a positive impact on employment and wellbeing, and that are feasible as a whole.
- Applicant’s need for additional funding: the applicant’s report on the need for additional aid, where the decrease in income and any previous targeted grants received by the applicant will be assessed.
Basic art education
The allocation of the grants will place emphasis on Helsinki-based operators and forms of art that have suffered most from the impact of the pandemic on education.
During the comparison of the applicants, the following will be assessed:
- Professionalism of the applicant: the applicant has a general or advanced curriculum for basic art education, and it produces basic arts education in accordance with said curriculum in Helsinki.
- Plan for the use of the grant: the applicant’s plan on the use of the grant and its effects on the provision of education to children and young people also in neighbourhoods with special needs. When evaluating the plan on the use of the grant, emphasis will be placed on the teaching of the performing arts and the wellbeing of service providers.
- Applicant’s need for additional funding: the applicant’s report on the need for additional aid, where the decrease in income and any previous targeted grants received by the applicant will be assessed.
Other terms and conditions
To receive the grant, the applicant must meet all the assessment criteria. The grants are discretionary and awarded based on an assessment and comparison of the applications and a general assessment. No applicants have a subjective right to the grant, even if they meet all the assessment criteria. The decision-making also depends on the available appropriations.
The applications and the intended use of the grants are public information. The grant recipients must be aware of and comply with the general grant application instructions of the City of Helsinki.
Applying for a grant
The grant must be applied for through the City of Helsinki e-services; see the application instructions below. A grant application, the mandatory appendix to a targeted COVID-19 grant application and other mandatory enclosures to the application must be submitted through the e-services. Applications cannot be submitted by email. The applications and attachments will not be returned.
Late application
If an application is not submitted by the deadline, it will be regarded as late and rejected. The applications must be submitted through the City of Helsinki e-services by 16.00 on the closing date of the application period.
Decision
Specialists from the Cultural Services and Support partner unit and the Culture and Leisure Division will assess the applications, and a decision on the grants to be awarded will be made by the Culture and Library Sub-committee on 23 November 2021. Decisions will be public after the meeting. Applicants will be notified by post.
Payment and use of the grant
The full grant amount will be paid to the recipient as a single instalment after the decision has been made. The awarded grant may be used for expenses incurred in 2021 and 2022 up until 31 December 2022. The recipient must submit a written report on the use of the grant at the end of the period of use. The reporting deadline is 31 May 2023.
The grants may only be used in accordance with the grant decision.
The use of the grant must be monitored in accounting at least in the form of a cash journal. Vouchers in chronological order must be available for all transactions. The accounts and vouchers must be retained for the period prescribed by law.
For more information about the targeted COVID-19 grant for 2021, please contact Project Planning Officer Riikka Mäkinen, tel. +358 9 310 35479, riikka.m.makinen@hel.fi (Link opens default mail program).