Regional Funds Grant- January Round

Regional Funds Grant- January Round

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Suomen Kulttuurirahasto / The Finnish Cultural Foundation
Last Updated: November 10, 2025

Summary

The Regional Funds Grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation offers annual support for artistic and scientific projects in Finland. The January round of applications allows for grants targeting Local Culture Projects, Art for Institutions, and Spearhead projects. Emphasizing cultural rights and quality of life, it seeks to fund initiatives that enhance local heritage and provide artistic opportunities in various community settings.

Overview

Regional Funds The Finnish Cultural Foundation’s activities cover all parts of Finland. While the Central Fund operates nationally, the Foundation’s 17 regional funds concentrate on promoting and developing the arts, the sciences, and other fields of endeavour at the regional level through annual grants and awards. In addition, regional funds also organise their own events and develop and manage their own projects. Each regional fund is managed by an administrative committee, which acts on behalf of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees in respect of regional grants. The work of these administrative committees and regional funds generally is overseen by fund officers, often assisted by a secretary. January Round of Applications (Regional Funds) The general period for applying a grant from the regional funds is annually at the turn of January–February. The regional funds mainly support scientific or artistic work and cultural activities taking place in their geographic area. The regional funds have, in addition, their own emphases with which the applicants are encouraged to familiarise themselves. The emphases can be found on the introductory webpages of the regional funds. It is possible to apply for grants with separate applications from several different regional funds, if the project is to be carried out in more than one region. In the January round of applications, it is also possibly to apply for a grant for Local Culture Projects, for Art for Institutions and Spearhead projects, and for cultural activities for children and the young: Art for Institutions 20,000 euros have been earmarked for Art for Institutions 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 The regional funds award grants for projects that aim to preserve and rejuvenate the local culture and cultural environment, such as documenting and increasing awareness of local heritage, as well as histories, exhibitions, and events of local communities and societies. Note that scientific research into local culture is not considered local culture work. Spearhead Projects Spearhead projects requiring larger-than-usual funding will receive a minimum of 40,000 euros in the form of one or two grants. Such projects require fresh or exceptional points of view, content, quality, or design. Types of Grants There are two types of grants: working grants and expenditure grants. It is possible to apply for both a working grant and an expenditure grant in the same application. Examples of these include artistic work combined with the purchase of a pottery kiln, doctoral dissertation research combined with the use of laboratory services, or artistic work included in a dance production combined with the cost of costumes and other production costs. It is possible that the grant will be awarded solely for working or for expenditure. Working grants Working grants are awarded for the purpose of full-time work to cover ordinary personal living costs within a certain period. The applicant must submit a work or research plan along with their application, but a detailed budget of the use of the grant is not required. It is not possible to have another corresponding form of funding simultaneously with a working grant. Use of a working grant requires not being engaged in gainful employment. Neither is it allowed to draw a working grant during paid leave. Within the duration of the grant, it is possible to engage in part-time employment or other compensable work for a maximum of 25% of regular full-time working time. Grant-funded work may, at its earliest, begin after the grant decision has been made or at its latest within one year from it.If a working grant is applied for members of a working group, the designated person must also be engaged in the grant-funded work.It is not possible to transfer a working grant to a third party or for it to be paid as a salary or a fee.Basic degree (bachelor's and master's) students are not eligible to apply for a working grant.Organisations are not eligible to apply for a working grant. Expenditure grants Expenditure grants are awarded to cover activity-related expenses, such as the costs of archaeological excavations or theatre productions, music master classes, or individual acquisitions of tools. It is important to include a detailed and comprehensive budget in the expenditure grant application. An expenditure grant may be used only for those expenses occurring after the grant decision has been made. You may apply for an expenditure grant for exceptional travel costs related to your grant project. Ordinary conference and lecture trips are not funded. If you are considering applying for an expenditure grant for the labour expenditure of another person, please read the section Grant or Salary carefully.University and polytechnic (University of Applied Sciences) students at the end of their basic degree studies are eligible to apply for expenditure grants to cover the costs of their dissertation work, such as field work or material expenses.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Eligible applicants include all Finnish nationals, people and organisations residing or working in Finland. Others are eligible as well, provided their application demonstrates clear, strong ties to Finland or Finnish culture. Those under 15 years of age must fill in the application together with their legal guardian.In the January rounds of applications a grant may be applied bya private individual for their personal work and/or for expenditure. a working group comprised of several people for the work of the group members and/or for project expenditure. Only those people engaged in scientific or artistic work are considered eligible group members. The working group must name one designated person, who is then liable to the Cultural Foundation and, if need be, to the Farmers' Social Insurance Institution MELA and to the Finnish Tax Administration, for the possible grant to be awarded.A leader of a scientific research group or an artistic working group is not eligible to apply for a working grant on behalf of another person, unless they themselves are to personally work on the working grant they are applying. Instead of applying on another person's behalf, they may submit a reference, for example, for a doctoral dissertation student to support their personal application.An artistic working group is eligible to apply for a working grant for the producer of the project, provided the producer is a part of the artistic working group in question.The members of a working group are not eligible to apply for personal grants for the same project with separate applications. Only one application may be submitted for the same purpose.a registered organisation (such as an association or cooperative) for project expenditure, including labour expenses.Organisations that are essentially publicly financed are eligible to apply for grants for short-term special projects. Organisations, the operations of which are funded by discretionary financial aid from the state or local authorities, are generally eligible to apply.If the organisation has not been registered, the application must be submitted as a working group.

Ineligibility

Grants are not awardedas a bonus or an incentive in addition to wages or other grantsmerely to cover printing costs or the production of copies of sound recordings or videosto cover the costs of undergraduate studies (e.g., tuition fees) or student exchange programmes included in studiesfor vocational trainingfor postdoctoral research abroad except for visits lasting less than one academic year (Longer visits are jointly funded by the Finnish foundations through the Post doc pool.)to institutions and associations that receive regular public funding ** Grants are not awarded for regular expenses of organizations that are essentially of a public nature such as universities and municipal theatres. However, organizations that depend on discretionary subsidies do qualify.for profit-making business operationson social grounds or as a supplement to social securityBecause there is plenty of competition over the grants, the Foundation, as a rule, does not award grants to applicants who have already secured funding for the project in question for the next full 12 months.However, profit-making business operations are not funded.