Associations, communities and individual persons can apply for Mansen Massit Community Grant from September 1 to September 30. Later this year, Tampere residents will be able to vote on which projects will receive funding.
The City of Tampere looks for ideas that promote sustainable lifestyles in one way or another. There are four themes: biodiversity, environmentally friendly food and urban farming, sustainable transportation and mobility, and circular and sharing economy.
In addition, the purpose of the grant is to support community spirit and resident activity. The best ideas are born, developed, and realized through collaboration.
– Mansen Massit is intended for activities that are open to everyone and free of charge. Of course, the activities may have some target group, for example children and young people or residents of a particular neighbourhood, explains Lotta Harsunen, Planning officer from the City of Tampere.
The Community Grant were carried out in a similar way in 2024, and it really got both the people who came up with the ideas and the voters involved. There were over a hundred applications, with applicants including active individuals from Tampere as well as associations and communities.
Last year the theme was broadly to promote community spirit. This time, the theme is more limited – for good reason.
The goal of the City of Tampere is to be carbon neutral by 2030 and to preserve biodiversity. Ideas for Community Grant should work towards these goals. Both small and large activities and events are welcome to apply for Community Grant.
– Sustainability is a shared issue. People of Tampere do many valuable things in their everyday lives, and many communities in Tampere are pioneers in this field: our neighborhoods already offer wonderful examples of promoting the sharing economy and encouraging active everyday mobility. We hope that we will also gain new insights into how sustainable everyday life can be promoted, says Mimmi Virtanen, Planning officer from the Carbon neutral actions development programme.
Activities funded by Mansen Massit can be carried out throughout 2026, so events and activities can be planned for any time of year. Applications can be for example spring birdhouse building, urban farming during the summer season, or an event to get bicycles ready for winter cycling.
– We have developed some examples for different themes, but we are also happy to be surprised by completely new ideas, say Harsunen and Virtanen.
Before applying for Mansen Massit Community Grant, the criteria for the grant is worth reading carefully. The criteria can be found on the city's website. These criteria explain in more detail what kind of activities and expenses Community Grant is intended for. They also explain what cannot be applied for funding. The website also has info on voting, schedules, and reporting on activities.
After the application period in September, city experts will review all applications and ensure that they meet the criteria for funding. Tampere residents will be able to vote for their favorites starting on Monday, 27 October.
