Central Finland Grants

Eligible Applicants

When making grant decisions, the Fund gives precedence to applicants born or currently residing in the region of Central Finland, as well as to work taking place in or focusing on the region. In 2024, the Fund will award a total of 810,000 euros in working and expenditure grants.

Applying for a Grant

You may apply for a grant on the Online Application Service and provide a reference on the Online Reference Service. All applications and references must be submitted to the online service before 4 pm local Finnish time (EET) on the deadline date. Applications and references submitted in any other way will not be considered. The applicant should familiarise themselves carefully with the application guidelines and make sure they have appended all requested attachments in their application. More information on the January round of applications can be found here.

Grant Focus Areas

The Central Finland Regional Fund supports, with working and expenditure grants, scientific and artistic work, the culture of children and the youth, and projects related to cultural heritage (local culture work).

Grants are available in all fields of science and the arts. The Fund is also interested in supporting new projects that combine science and the arts. This year's grants from the Central Finland Fund are particularly focused on children's and youth culture. For example, a grant of EUR 50 000 is available to support artistic and leisure activities for young people.

Regional Fund Special Purpose Grants

Spearhead Projects

Spearhead projects are special purpose grants of the regional funds meant for undertakings that require larger-than-usual funding. For innovative projects or projects striving for significant impact, the Fund grants a total of 70,000 euros in the form of one or more grants of no less than 20,000 euros. Such projects require fresh or exceptional points of view, content, quality, or design – or that they are otherwise deemed as special or particularly necessary projects. The activities, for example, may take place in the area of more than one Central Finnish municipality or may bring together a wide group of agents in one project. Regional impact is considered an advantage but is not necessary. The project may also be multi-annual.

Art for Everyone Grant

A minimum of 20,000 euros have been earmarked for Art for Everyone projects in the January round of applications. The aim of this form of support is to promote the equal realisation of cultural rights and to improve the quality of life of people in need of special support or care, through art. The work or project may take place in welfare and nursing institutions or other environments, the residents or users of which may otherwise have limited access to art. Possible institutions include sheltered homes, day centres, and homes of the elderly, hospitals, prisons, reception centres, care units for substance abusers, and child welfare institutions.

Local Culture Projects

A grant may be applied, for example, for projects focusing on local culture of the region and cultural heritage projects, such as documenting cultural heritage, showcasing of cultural environment, promoting urban and neighbourhood culture, and histories of local communities and societies, exhibitions, and events. Local Culture Projects grants may also be related to multi-location or independent-of-place local heritage projects, for home region may be taken to mean a natural environment, a built-up environment, social and mental environment, as well as a virtual home region, which a person themselves finds meaningful. Scientific research into a local culture is not considered a local culture project. Note that applicants for the local culture projects grants must choose the field of science or art that their work most closely relates to.

Donor Funds

The grants are awarded from a general fund and those donor funds open for application in the next round:

• Friends of the Finnish Elementary School Fund
• Gummerus Fund
• Hankasalmi Fund
• Päiviö Hetemäki Fund
• Artturi Jämsén Fund
• Karjaportti Fund IV
• Keskimaan Fund
• Keskisuomalainen Fund
• Aino, Eeva and Hilkka Korhonen Fund
• Martti Korpilahti Fund
• Elsa and Frans Marpio Fund
• Helena Peltomäki Fund
• Impi and Reino Röytti Fund
• Oy Wilh. Schauman Ab Fund: reserved for scholarships awarded without application
• Schildt Fund
• Eila and Jorma Tiainen Fund

Grant Guidance

Grant-related enquiries should be sent to keski-suomi@skr.fi. Enquiries may also be directed to Manager Antti Niskanen and Coordinator Laura Ojanperä.

The Central Finland Fund is holding a Grant info online in Finnish on Teams on Monday 29 Jan 2024 from 4 to 5 pm. You can join the info session at the beginning of the event via the link below.

Join the event

Grant Decisions

The grant decisions are made by an administrative committee consisting of regional experts from various fields. If necessary, outside experts can be called upon to evaluate applications. The grant decisions of the January round of applications in 2024 will be announced on May 23rd. Both favourable and unfavourable grant decisions were sent to grant applicants by email approximately two weeks before that. The 2024 grants can be withdrawn from 22 May 2024.

If you need the logo of the Central Finland Fund for your website, newsletter, social media or brochures, you can download it from the link below. If you share information about your grant on social media, we would be especially appreciate it if you use the tags #kulttuurirahastontuella or #skr2024 (grant year).

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