FAQ | Yearly grants 2023

Eligibility to apply

Who can apply?

Private individuals can apply for a personal working grant and collectives (public education) can apply for a project grant. An individual grant can be applied for by Finns or by people who work in Finland for the advancement of Finnish science, culture, and civil society.

Can I apply for a grant if I am a Finnish citizen but live and work abroad?

Yes, if the other application criteria are met.

Can I apply for a grant if I am simultaneously receiving an artist pension/pension or if I work full-time?

No, you can’t. The purpose of a grant awarded for fulltime work is to enable project work without employment. As you receive a fulltime working grant, you cannot simultaneously receive a corresponding compensation, such as salary, another working grant, adult education allowance that equals a working grant, or unemployment benefits. Freedom from employment is a prerequisite for using a fulltime grant.

Applying for a grant

When is the application?

The application period is from 1 to 15 August 2023. The application period ends on 15 August 2023 at 4 pm Finnish time. Grant applications can be created and sent in the grant online service only during the application period.

How long are the Foundation’s application criteria valid?

Field-specific guidelines are in force for the time being. Check the foundation’s website for up-to-date information before applying for a grant.

Can the working groups apply for a grant in August 2023?

No, they cannot. Only private individuals can apply for the Foundation’s grant in art and science for their own personal work. Individuals and registered collectives, such as associations and cooperatives, can apply for a grant in the fields of public education.

As an individual, can I apply for a grant only for expenses?

No, you cannot. The Foundation awards grants to private individuals only for full-time working. The duration of work can be a minimum of 4 months and a maximum of 12 months. Working can include costs such as materials and purchasing services. Please note that working + expenses in total cannot exceed 26,000 euros.

Can the grant be applied for retroactively, for example to cover the costs of the event?

No. The grant is not awarded retroactively or for expenses/work that occurred before the grant decision.

Your website states the following: The grant is intended for full-time work, which will be carried out in the calendar year following the award. It is possible to start grant work in December of the award year at the earliest. Can I apply for a grant for work starting in 2025 or 2026 now?

If your work does not start during the year following the award year (2024), apply for a grant in the next application round. The grant can be used within two calendar years (for example, the work starts in June 2024 and ends in May 2025).

What kind of grant can the collective apply for?

Project grants are for collectives. A project grant can be used to cover costs, such as material purchases or assistants’ salaries, which are created by the project or by project-type activities.

Can our community pay their project grant to three people as a grant?

No, they cannot. The compensation paid by a registered association for work done is considered as salary (“Assistants”), for which an employer’s non-wage labour costs must be paid.

Fields and appendices

Visual arts

When must the exhibition abroad take place, e.g., during the grant period, within three years, etc.?

The grant is for work performed during the calendar year that follows the year the grant was awarded. Grants must be used within two years of the date when they were awarded.

Example: I am applying for a grant in August 2023 to produce works and hold an exhibition in a foreign gallery. The exhibition opens in September 2025. In this case, the work should start in 2024 and it should be completed by October 2025 at the latest (= the grant must be used within two years of its award.)

If the exhibition is already in February, is it possible to apply for a grant only for working and costs for December, January, February, and March, when the exhibition is dismantled?

Yes, it is if the minimum length for working (4 months) is fulfilled. You can apply for a grant for working and expenses. You cannot apply for a grant for expenses alone.

Can I apply for a grant to participate in a group exhibition abroad?

Yes, you can. Please check that the other application criteria are also met.

Can I apply for a grant of visual arts only for artistic work in my home country?

No, you cannot. Visual art grants are for creating works of art and organizing an exhibition abroad. Grant applications can be submitted only by professional visual artists (private individuals) as they exhibit their art abroad, in e.g., private exhibitions, group exhibitions, biennales, or festivals. The Foundation requires the applicant to have an invitation to exhibit abroad already in the application phase.

I do not have an exhibition invitation attached to the application during the application period. Can the invitation be submitted later as an attachment to the application? Can I apply for a grant even if there is no invitation?

The Foundation requires the applicant to have an invitation to exhibit abroad already in the application phase. This can be verified e.g., with an email message/letter from the museum/gallery.

What kind of commitment/invitation/other document do I need to show the place of performance of piece or production partner of the work?

As an attachment, a free-form document from the presentation/collaboration/publishing partner on the subject is sufficient.

Performing arts, circus, dance

What means” preparing the piece for production”?

For example: planning and rehearsing the performance, costuming and staging, marketing and communication.

Can the working group apply for a grant to produce a stage play or musical performance?

No, they cannot. Alfred Kordelin Foundation’s art grants can only be applied for by individuals. Different members of the working group cannot apply for a personal grant for the same project with several applications. Only one application is made for the same object.

Can I apply for a grant if I only apply to write a manuscript for a play?

Yes, you can.

Can I apply for a grant if I act in many different roles, i.e. I dramatize and also direct the play?

Yes, you can.

Collectives

What should be included to the project budget appendix?

The budget appendix describes the total budget of the project implemented with the grant. A good budget clearly shows the share to be applied for from the foundation, the funding received/to be applied for from other financiers, the self-financed part, as well as box office receipts, purchases, salaries, and other possible expenses as precisely as possible.

The association is not obliged to make a report on operations. What do I attach to the application?

If up-to-date documents are not available at the time of application, attach the most recent documents. Another reliable report (if the above-mentioned ones are not available) about your community’s operations and financial situation is also sufficient.

Science

What kind of grant I can apply for?

The Foundation awards grants for finalizing Ph.D. theses, and for research visits related to Ph.D. thesis work in various fields of science.

What exactly means “finalizing a PhD.”?

A grant awarded for finalizing a Ph.D. thesis should lead to the thesis being submitted for pre-examination by the end of the grant period.

Can I apply for a grant to finish my dissertation and start post-doc research together?

No, you cannot. Grants are only awarded for finishing the dissertation and related research visits. Post doc grants: See the foundations’ post doc pool.

How do I submit a supervisor’s statement?

Ask your supervisor personally to submit a statement about the progress of your work to the foundation’s statement service by 22 August 2023 at 16:00 Finnish time.