The remaining appropriation for sports grants for 2023 targeted at sports clubs in Helsinki whose financial situation remained challenging because of the COVID‑19 pandemic or whose operational preconditions were significantly impacted by the restrictions and changes carried out at sports facilities.
According to the decision, the grant must be used by 31 December 2024, and a report on its use must be submitted by 31 May 2025. You can submit the report through this link(Link leads to external service).
Applicants must comply with the application guide for grants for sports and the general grant allocation guidelines of the City of Helsinki when applying for, using and reporting on grants.
The Sports Sub-committee of the City of Helsinki Culture and Leisure Committee decided on the eligibility criteria as well as application method and period for the remaining 2023 appropriation at its meeting on 29 August 2023 (The decision of the Sports Sub-committee 29th of August 2023 19 § (in Finnish))(Link leads to external service). The remaining appropriation can be granted to the following sports clubs registered in Helsinki:
A) Clubs whose financial situation remains challenging due to the restrictions on operations and locations caused by the COVID‑19 pandemic (2020–2022);
and/or
B) Clubs whose operational preconditions were significantly impacted by the restrictions and changes carried out at sports facilities (for example, long-term closures of school gyms due to renovation).
A grant may be awarded to eligible applicants who have applied for the grant by the given deadline. The amount of the grant cannot exceed the amount applied for. The grant is discretionary. The grant is meant to support measures, through which the club promotes the club's basic operations and the continuity of operation. The activities to be supported must mainly be directed at Helsinki residents.
The association must comply with the principles of good governance and the ethical principles for sports communities in all its operations.
- Read the ethical principles for sports communities(Link leads to external service) (pdf, in Finnish)
- Read the principles of good governance for associations(Link leads to external service) (pdf, in Finnish)
The application process will open on 4 September 2023 and close on 24 September 2023 at 23.59. Grants must be applied for within the application period specified. If an application is not submitted by the deadline, it will be regarded as late and rejected.
The grant is primarily applied for through the new general grant application within the new e-services for grants.
In addition to the application form, the applicant must complete a separate mandatory Webropol appendix. Go to the Webropol form(Link leads to external service) (in Finnish).
In exceptional cases, the grant application may be submitted to the City Register Office at City of Helsinki Register Office, Culture and Leisure Division/Sports, PO Box 10, FI-00099 City of Helsinki, Finland (street address: City Hall, Pohjoisesplanadi 11–13). Applications submitted to the City Register Office must arrive by 16.00 on the last day of the application period.
The application must be accompanied with the mandatory attachments specified for each grant, a list of which is available below.
In addition to the application form, the applicant must complete a mandatory Webropol appendix for the application to be processed (link above).
Moreover, the following mandatory documents must be attached to the application form:
- Confirmed financial statements for 2022
- Confirmed annual report for 2022
- Confirmed audit report for 2022
If the applicant has not previously applied for any grants from the City of Helsinki or if any of the relevant information has changed, the following documents must also be attached to the application:
- Rules of the organisation
- An extract from the Register of Associations
The decision on the awarding of the grants is made by the Sports Services Director. The decision is to be made at the end of the year 2023. The grant decisions, including the instructions for appeal, will be sent for information to all applicants.
See previous decisions of the Sports Services Director here(Link leads to external service).
The grant will be paid in accordance with the grant decision in one instalment into a bank account specified by the recipient. If the recipient does not have a bank account, they must open one. The City of Helsinki will only pay a grant into a bank account in the name of the recipient.
A prerequisite for the granting and payment of the grant is that there have been no discrepancies regarding any grants awarded by the city to the recipient in previous years. The city has the right to suspend the payment of a grant until the matter has been resolved if there is reason to suspect that the prerequisites for the recovery of a grant specified in Section 10 of the general grant criteria of the City of Helsinki are met.
The city has the right to set off the grant in whole or in part against a recoverable claim from the recipient.
A grant awarded to a sports club may be used to cover expenses arising from the club’s own activities. The grant must be used by 31 December 2024.
The grant cannot be used for fundraising or for business and investment expenditures, or to increase the association’s financial assets or any other long-term investments. The grant cannot be forwarded to other associations or distributed as individual grants to members. The funds must be used for the operations of the association in general.
The recipient must notify the City of Helsinki without delay of any significant change affecting the use of the grant. The recipients of allowances are required to provide the City of Helsinki free of charge with facts that the City deems necessary for reviewing an allowance application, for determining the allowance and for overseeing its use. The body that has granted the allowance is entitled to audit the accounts and the administration of the applicants/recipients of allowances and, when necessary, carry out audits concerning other parts of the operations as well.
The use of the grant must be reported by 31 May 2025. The report is to be made via a separate report form.
Read more about the other documents governing the award, use and reporting of grants for sports on the Guidance and support page(Link leads to external service).
The contact details of personnel providing personalised guidance on sports grants are available on the Contact details page(Link leads to external service).