Project Grants for Culture

Applicants can be associations or non-profit organizations registered in Finland as well as working groups, freelance producers or artists.

When the applicant is an unregistered working group, the group’s applicant is entered as its contact person, including his/her bank account number. The other group members are mentioned in the application by name, and they are jointly responsible for the grant.

As a rule, the same applicant / applicant community can receive a project grant only once a year.

Grants are awarded to support the implementation of events and projects in Tampere. Supported events and projects must diversify the local cultural offering. Publication of histories of over 70 years old associations can also be supported by project grants.

The issuing of grants is considered on the basis of the following criteria:

• diversification of local cultural offering
• the transparency, accessibility, equality and ecological sustainability of operations 
• For histories: the quality of the content, its scope, and the local significance of the theme
• the applicant’s own fundraising is balanced in relation to the costs of the event or project

The grant can be awarded for:

• the expenses associated with an event or project; e.g. material, marketing and premises-related costs and compensation.
• the publication of histories of organizations and associations older than 70 years. The length of the history should total at least 100 pages.

When project grant is applied for salary or other fees paid for individuals:

• only associations and other non-profit organizations that are registered in Finland can apply for this kind of support
• The applicant must be able to prove by salary payment receipts that they have taken care of the employer's expenses in addition to the payment of fees. Salary payment receipts must be submitted in connection with the settlement. These receipts must show that, in addition to the salary payment, the applicant has taken care of occupational pension payments, unemployment insurance payments, and other mandatory additional costs of salary payment. Employer always takes care of employees’ pension security by paying TyEL contributions to the employment pension company.
• In these cases the applicant must be an association or a non-profit organization, not the person for whose benefit the grant is applied.

Grants are not issued for:

• operations that are included in the applicant's basic activities and which are mainly supported by General grants
• activities that make a profit or whose primary purpose is fundraising, including events with the purpose of raising funds for charity
• catering, recordings, publications (excluding histories), audiovisual productions and awards
• investments and acquisition or basic improvement of fixed or movable property
• the purpose of a personal working grant
• the costs associated with the writing of a history or other preparatory work
• exclusive funding specific to the operations concerned

The application period for a project grant is continuous. The application must be submitted no later than two (2) weeks before the implementation of the event or project or publication of the history.  Grants should be applied for via the electronic application form.

Please note that in applying for a Project grant for the publication of a history, the following documents must be provided as annexes to your application:

• manuscript of the history concerned (a grant can be applied for when the manuscript is in readable format)
• budget for the history concerned and financing plan
• presentation of project (can be written into the application form or in a separate document)

As a rule, applications are processed once a month. The applications which have arrived during the previous month are handled in the processing meeting (for example, the applications that arrived in January are handled during the February meeting).

The next processing meetings are 14/11/2023 and 15/12/2023.

Please note! Please note the exceptional summer schedule in the handling of applications. Applications arriving between 29 May and 31 July will be processed in August. Applications are not being processed from June through July 2023 due to the holiday period in July and changes taking place on the boards.

Decisions on project grants are taken by the Head of Public Cultural Services. The applicant is informed of the decision by email. The grant can be used only for the purpose described in the decision. If the purpose of use is not specified in more detail in the grant decision, the grant must be used for the purpose stated in the application.

The grant is paid against the Project assessment form issued afterwards. By this form the grant recipient details the project’s expenditure and assesses the success of the project. The Project assessment form must be submitted no later than one month after the event, implemented project or publishing of the history. In the case of histories, the association / non-profit organization must supply the number of histories specified in the decision to the city before the grant is paid. 

The receipts must be attached to the Project assessment form if the sum to be paid is EUR 500 or more. If the grant to be paid is less than this amount, the grant recipient must keep the receipts for one year for possible verification. Certified copies of the receipts will serve as supporting documents. The grant recipient is obliged to retain the receipts and if needed, to present them to the Public Cultural Services or to the City of Tampere or an auditor representing the city on request.

When project grant is applied for salary or other fees paid for individuals:

• only associations and other non-profit organizations that are registered in Finland can apply for this kind of support
• the applicant must be able to prove by salary payment receipts that they have taken care of the employer's expenses in addition to the payment of fees. Salary payment receipts must be submitted in connection with the settlement. These receipts must show that, in addition to the salary payment, the applicant has taken care of occupational pension payments, unemployment insurance payments, and other mandatory additional costs of salary payment. Employer always takes care of employees’ pension security by paying TyEL contributions to the employment pension company.
• in these cases the applicant must be an association or a non-profit organization, not the person for whose benefit the grant is applied.

Under pandemic circumstances, events supported by the City of Tampere must observe the national guidelines.