Project grants for culture

The following are eligible to apply for a grant:

Associations and non-profit organisations registered in Finland

Independent producers and artists who are Finnish citizens (If the applicant is an individual, they are responsible for all financial transactions related to the grant through their own personal bank account.)

Working groups whose contact person is a Finnish citizen. If the applicant is an unregistered working group, the group’s contact person and their bank account must be listed as the applicant. The other members of the group must be named in the application, and they are jointly responsible for the grant. (All financial transactions related to the grant must go through the working group’s contact person’s personal bank account.)

As a general rule, the same applicant or applicant organization may receive a Project Grant for Culture only once a year.

In exceptional cases, a project grant may also be awarded to organizations that receive general grants, provided that the event or project clearly differs from the organization’s core activities.

Grants may be awarded for the organization of events and projects in Tampere that complement the local cultural offerings, as well as for the publication of historical works.

Grants may be awarded

• for the costs of an event or project, such as material, marketing, and venue costs, as well as fees (An event may be, for example, a theater, dance, or circus performance, a concert, a series of events, or a festival. A project may be, for example, a workshop, a camp, or a local history.)
• primarily for the publication of histories of organizations and associations that are over 70 years old. The history must be at least 100 pages long.

Grant applications will be considered based on the following criteria

• diversification of the local cultural offering
• the project’s uniqueness, innovation, and artistic quality
• the project’s sound planning and feasibility
• estimated audience size
• transparency, accessibility, equity, and environmental sustainability of the activity
• the quality and scope of the historical content, as well as the local significance of the topic
• self-funding is in balance with the costs of the event or project

Grants represent partial financing. The recipient of the grant must also have their own fundraising to organize the activity concerned. In addition to money, voluntary work (calculated value €10/hour) can be accepted as self-financing. Personal Grants can be awarded without requiring the grant recipient to contribute a portion of their own financing.

If the project grant is intended to cover expenses related to salaries or wages, the applicant must submit proof of payment of wages and salaries with the application form. The receipts must show that, in addition to the payment of wages, the applicant has also paid for occupational pension contributions, unemployment insurance contributions and other compulsory incidental expenses relating to the payment of wages. The applicant always takes care of employees’ pension security by paying TyEL contributions to the employment pension company.

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, i.e. for an individual's own fees.
• organising exhibitions
• the costs associated with writing or typesetting of a history
• the costs associated with rehearsals or other preparatory work
• exclusive funding specific to the operations concerned

Events and projects organized in 2027 and beyond:

Starting in 2027, Project grants for culture will no longer be awarded to individuals or unregistered working groups for salaries, fees, compensation for work, or mileage allowances.

However, individuals may still purchase billable services as service purchases from entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals who are registered in the withholding tax register (in Finnish "ennakkoperintärekisteri"). In such cases, the entrepreneurs issuing the invoices (such as performers and security guards) are personally responsible for their own employment pension contributions and tax returns. Such service purchases are therefore also acceptable expenses for private individuals and work groups.

The application period for a project grant is continuous. Applications must be submitted no later than fourteen (14) days before the event or project takes place or the history is published, taking into account the schedule of the grant review meetings. It is advisable to apply for a grant well in advance of the event, preferably six months earlier. Grants are decided at a monthly meeting, where applications received during the previous month are processed. For example, if your event is held in September, it is advisable to submit your application by the end of July at the latest so that it can be processed in August.

Before you begin filling out the application form, please read the form and the terms and conditions of the grant carefully. Consider how you will impliment the event, prepare a budget for income and expenditure estimate, identify the event’s target audience, and estimate how many participants or  audience members the event is likely to have.

Apply for a realistic amount. Since project grants are intended for small events or other small-scale cultural projects, the average grant amount is 700 euros.

Grants should be applied for via the electronic application form. The link to the application form can be found at the top of this webpage. If it is not possible to fill in the electronic application form, the applicant should contact the City of Tampere Registry Office (Tampereen kaupungin kirjaamo).

If the applicant is a private individual, he or she is responsible for the financial transactions related to the grant through his or her personal bank account. If the money is transferred through an organization, that organization should be listed as the applicant. If the applicant is an unregistered working group, the group's contact person and their personal bank account should be listed as the applicant. Other members of the group should be named in the application and are jointly responsible for the grant.

Histories

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)

Processing of applications

Normally, applications are processed once a month, with the session always covering applications received during the previous month. During the summer vacation period, one-time cultural grants are processed less frequently than usual. The review meeting held in June processes applications received in May, but there is no review meeting in July due to the vacation season. This means that the August meeting will process applications received during both June and July. It usually takes about 3–5 business days after the review meeting for applicants to be notified of the decision.

Fall 2026 review meetings:

• August 20 (applications received in June and July)
• September 17 (applications received in August)
• October 22 (applications received in September)
• November 19 (applications received in October)
• December 15 (applications received in November)

Spring 2027 review meetings:

• January 21 (applications received in December)
• February 18 (applications received in January)
• March 18 (applications received in February)
• April 22 (applications received in March)
• May 20 (applications received in April)
• June 10 (applications received in May)

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.

If the implementation schedule, venue, or content of an event or project changes significantly after the grant decision has been made, the applicant must request permission in writing to change the intended use and/or schedule of the grant. The request for a change may be a free-form email informing the grant decision-maker of the changed circumstances and explaining the reasons for the change. The message should also indicate when the original decision regarding the activity was made. The message can be sent to Marianna Lehtinen, Head of Public Cultural Services ([email protected]), and to Venla Moisala ([email protected]), the staff member responsible for the grant program.

Payment of the grant

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 two (2) month after the event, implemented project or publishing of the history. If the project assessment form is not submitted within this timeframe, the grant cannot be paid.

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. However, receipts and supporting documents related to the payment of salaries, fees, compensation for work and mileage reimbursements must be submitted as attachments to the project assessment form even for Project Grants for Culture of less than €500. Proof of salary payments refers to payment documents demonstrating that, in addition to paying the salaries, the applicant has fulfilled its obligations regarding earnings-related pension contributions, unemployment insurance contributions and other mandatory employment-related charges. Certified copies of receipts and supporting documents are accepted as proof of expenditure.

If there is an unexpected but justifiable delay in submitting the usage report, you must request an extension in writing. The request for an extension may be a free-form email informing the grant decision-maker of the situation and explaining the reasons for the delay in submitting the activity report. The message must also indicate when the decision regarding the activity was originally made. The message can be sent to Marianna Lehtinen, Head of Public Cultural Services ([email protected]), and to Venla Moisala ([email protected]), the staff member responsible for the grant program.

Please note!

• Sometimes the grant recipient's own funding (e.g., income from a café or ticket sales) has been higher than expected, meaning that it has covered the expenses incurred from the activity better than expected. In such cases, the amount of the grant paid may be less than the amount awarded.
• If the activity has generated a profit (i.e., income excluding the grant exceeds expenses), the grant is not considered necessary and no grant will be paid.

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