Project grants are awarded to Helsinki-based early adolescence and youth associations, youth activity groups and house clubs. For specific reasons, project grants may also be awarded to other associations active in youth work.
If you are applying for Sponssi funding for youth activity groups, please also visit the Sponssi pages on the website nuorten.hel.fi Sponssi pages(Link leads to external service)
Before applying for a grant, please read the general guidelines and conditions for grants as well as the eligibility criteria and application guidelines for each type of grant carefully.
A project grant is a one-off grant for a youth activity project that aims to promote the participation and wellbeing of young people. It can be used to organise or participate in a project, event or occasion.
Project grants are awarded as one-off grants to self-directed youth activity groups and to youth groups within associations. Additionally, project grants are awarded for development and cooperation projects between associations. The Sponssi project grant for youth activity groups is intended to support the voluntary civic activities of young people.
For house clubs, project grants are awarded for organising youth activities.
Grants are awarded to self-directed youth activity groups and early youth and youth organisations, two thirds of whose members and active participants are Helsinki residents under the age of 29.
Project grants are not awarded for projects that fall under the association’s action plan or its regular activities. However, it may be granted for projects by young people within the association’s activities that arise from the young people's need during the operating year and otherwise meet the grant eligibility criteria.
Grants for the same project and its continuation projects can be awarded for a maximum of three years in total. Multi-year projects are required to submit a schedule and evaluation plan when applying for the first grant.Grants for projects intended to last one year are only extended in exceptional cases.
As a rule, project grants are not awarded for administrative costs or for projects intended to generate profit.
A grant cannot be awarded if the use of a previous project grant has not been adequately reported.
You apply for Sponssi using the project grant application via the city’s e-services.
You must submit your project grant application before the project or event. You can apply for a project grant year-round. You can apply for a grant by submitting a project grant application via e-services.
The application is completed electronically through the city’s grant application e-service. The registered association must identify itself through its suomi.fi authentication.
The necessary attachments to the application should be submitted via the City’s grant application e-service.
If you wish, you may attach a more detailed project plan and budget to the project grant application. Associations applying for a project grant must submit the current rules of the association as a mandatory attachment. The rules must be approved by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office.
You must also submit
- a bank statement or a bank declaration of the account holder, which must show the name and account number of the account holder.
If necessary, additional time may be granted for the submission of attachments by separate agreement. Any missing attachments must be submitted by the deadline.
We may also ask a new applicant for the following:
- An action plan for the year that the application concerns
- The budget for the year that the application concerns
- Financial statements from the previous fiscal year
- The annual report from the previous fiscal year
- An auditor or operations inspector's statement regarding the previous fiscal year
- Minutes of the annual meeting
The Youth Sub-committee decides on applications for grants exceeding €3,000. The Partnership Manager of Youth Services decides on applications of up to €3,000.
The Youth Sub-committee’s meeting times determine when it is possible to get a decision on applications over €3,000. If an applicant would like the decision to be made at a specific meeting, they should contact the experts at the Youth Services Partnership Unit. They will tell you the deadline for submitting your application to ensure that the decision proposal can be prepared for the meeting in question.
Generally, you must submit your application at least one month before the meeting. See the dates for Youth Sub-committee meetings.(Link leads to external service)
The decision will be sent to the applicant by post. The Youth Sub-committee’s meeting minutes (which include the decision) or the Partnership Manager’s decision will also be available on the City of Helsinki’s website. The Youth Sub-committee’s meeting agendas are published approximately one week before the meeting, and the agendas, minutes and official decisions can also be found on the city’s website(Link leads to external service).
You cannot view the decisions on the city’s grant application e-service.
You should read the decision carefully. The decision always begins with the decision section, which also includes obligations and instructions for the applicant, e.g., on how to report on using the grant. The decision section also tells you the period and purpose for which the grant has been awarded. The grant must be used for the purpose and during the period for which it was awarded.
The grant provider decides the eligible expenses. This means that the project grant can only be used for the expenses specified in the decision. If the decision only states that the grant is for the costs of the project in question, it only applies to the costs stated in the application and/or its attachments as the purpose of the grant.
We can only approve project expenses for the period for which the grant has been awarded in the decision. The decision always specifies how and when you must report the use of the project grant. For example, if there is a delay in the grant project schedule, and you require a longer period to use the grant, the grant applicant must contact the partnership unit before the deadline for reporting. However, we can only grant an extension in exceptional cases for projects intended to last one year.
If you have any questions or need to make changes regarding the use of the grant in the middle of a project, you should always contact the experts in the Youth Services Partnership Unit.
Reporting on the use of project grants
You must report the project grant using the project grant reporting form ((Link leads to external service)in finnish) by the deadline specified in the decision. The form is in Webropol format. In addition to the reporting form, you must submit copies of receipts and other supporting documents showing the project’s costs unless the decision provides for another method of reporting. Depending on the project, instead of receipts, you may be asked to provide a financial statement with a separate cost centre for the funded project.
If you do not provide an adequate report on how the grant was used within the deadline, the project grant may be recovered. Please bear in mind that, per the City of Helsinki’s general grant allocation guidelines, the grant provider has the right to request all the information, documents and reports required to verify the use of the grant. If specifically requested, the grant recipient is thus obligated to provide information beyond what is specified in the decision.
In addition, some youth activity grant recipients are selected for an annual audit of their accounts. Each grant recipient is obligated to participate in the financial audit and provide the required documents and information if the applicant is selected for the audit.
For more information about Sponssi and its eligibility conditions, please visit the Sponssi pages on the website nuorten.hel.fi(Link leads to external service).
Read more general guidance on grants for youth activities.
Please contact the planners in the Youth Services Partnership Unit if you have any questions or concerns about youth activity grants.