Social Services, Healthcare and Rescue Services Division’s grant

Application period 2.5.-2.6.2025

Criteria for grants 

• The activities for which a grant is being sought must support the realisation of the objectives of the current City Strategy and the statutory welfare and health promotion plan approved by the City Council as well as the service strategy of the Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division.
• Grants may be awarded for activities that seek to reduce disparities in health and welfare among an area’s population, prevent social exclusion and promote participation.
• Grants are awarded for non-profit activities that support and supplement the statutory duties of social, health and rescue services and that strengthen and diversify these services.
• The activities for which a grant is being sought must primarily be directed at groups in need of various low-threshold support, such as children and young people, elderly persons, persons living with a long-term illness, persons with disabilities, persons in need of mental health, crisis or substance abuse services, persons with an immigrant background, and various minority or special groups.
• Grants for rescue operations are allocated to organisations whose operations are linked to accident prevention, rescue operations and/or civil protection as well as promoting the safety of homes and everyday life. Grants are used to support socially important education and training activities as well as preparedness and safety communications for the purpose of promoting the everyday safety of citizens.
• The activities must be long-term, continuous and open to Helsinki residents. Grants are not allocated for one-off activities, such as event productions.
• A grant may be used to cover administrative costs such as tools, rental costs and administration in so far as the costs directly relate to the activities for which a grant is being sought. A grant may not be used to cover an association’s general administration costs, such as annual meeting expenses, bank charges or financial statement expenses.
• Grants are not allocated for investments.
• Grants are not allocated for costs related to celebrations or group travel.
• In the distribution of grants, attention is paid to organisations’ cooperation with other organisations and the City of Helsinki.
• In the distribution of grants, attention is paid to the public benefit offered by organisations, the impact of the activities, and organisations’ self-sufficiency.
• The recipient of the grant must engage in fundraising or have other resources for their activities (e.g. voluntary work) to prevent the activities from relying entirely on financial support from a single external financier.