Cultural grants and awards

Operating grants are awarded upon application to professional art and cultural operators, basic education in the arts, and art education and cultural hobby associations.   

The instructions for applying for operating grants are included in the general principles for awarding grants.

The application periods for operating grants, as well as the deadlines for submitting applications, are announced in an official notice on the city website. Late applications will be rejected. Grants are applied for through the online service. In exceptional cases, you can use PDF forms, which are only available upon request.  

Acceptable expenses for using the operating grants include items arising from art and cultural activities (personnel costs, property and lease costs, information and marketing costs, other costs related to the provision of art and cultural activities). The awarding of operating grants does not accept as expenses the income and expenses of fundraising, interest or repayments on debts, depreciations, meeting fees related to basic activities, celebrations and service costs or membership fees to a regional, district or other organisation.

The Urban Culture Committee processes grant applications from professional art and cultural operators, as well as the theatre and orchestra support, in its January meeting, and other operating grant applications in its May meeting.

As a rule, the operating grant is paid when the grant decision made by the Board has become final and when the previous year’s account on the use of the operating grant has been submitted by the deadline. An advance payment may also be paid for the operating grant. The maximum amount of the advance payment is 50% of the grant awarded the previous year. The advance payment may be paid against a pledge after the Committee has decided to award the operating grant. The advance payment must be applied for separately.

The relevant contact information can be found at the bottom of the page.
 

Theatre and orchestra support is allocated without an application procedure to the activities of professional theatres and orchestras that operate in Vantaa and receive a state subsidy. The Urban Culture and Wellbeing Committee processes theatre and orchestra support annually in its January meeting. An agreement concerning the matter is concluded with those receiving the support.

The recipient of the theatre and orchestra support must submit an account on the use of the support by the deadline set by the support provider. The account on use must be submitted through the electronic service. The financial statements and the annual report must be submitted as an annex to the account on use.

The relevant contact information can be found at the bottom of the page.
 

The Urban Culture and Wellbeing Committee awards grants to communities and groups for the organisation one-off art and cultural events in Vantaa. Grants are awarded for events that are open to everyone and held in Vantaa. For a special reason, a grant may also be awarded for the implementation of an event outside the city region. Only in exceptional cases will this grant be awarded to an entity that has also been awarded an operating grant.

The acceptable expenses for the use of the grant are personnel costs, property and lease costs, information and marketing costs and other organisational and administrative costs related to the project. Service costs are not taken into account in the awarding of the grant, with the exception of the backstage costs mentioned in the performance agreements. Grants are not awarded for associations’ internal annual celebrations, events or training courses.

Applications for grants for specific activities must be submitted no later than 21 days before the start of the activity and 21 days before the Urban Culture and Wellbeing Committee’s meeting in which you want your application processed. Grants are applied for through the online service.

The Urban Culture and Wellbeing Committee processes grants for specific activities in its meetings in January, April and September. Late applications will be rejected.

The grant for a specific project is paid against an account of its use, which is provided after the event. The account on use must indicate the relevant income and expenses and it must be submitted through the electronic service, using the form intended for this purpose. The account of use must be submitted within two months of the end of the project or event.

If the decision to award the grant has been made after the event, the deadline for the account is calculated from the receipt of the decision. If the account of use is not submitted by the deadline, the grant will not be paid. Upon request, a receipt-specific account on the grant must be provided. Verified receipt copies are accepted as receipts. Up to 75% of the grant awarded can be paid in advance against a written pledge. The pledge form is available upon request.

The relevant contact information can be found at the bottom of the page.
 

The grant is intended for continuous (operating grants) and one-off (grants for specific projects) art and cultural activities that are aimed at the elderly and held in Vantaa. Grants are applied for through the online service. In exceptional cases, you can use PDF forms, which are only available upon request. Grant applications are submitted through the electronic services or to the return points indicated in the call for applications during their opening hours. Late applications will be rejected.

The relevant contact information can be found at the bottom of the page.
 

City marketing support for major cultural events and festivals is intended for city marketing and enhancing the image of the City of Vantaa in connection with a major cultural event or festival.
  
Those awarded the support must in their operations promote Vantaa and enhance its exposure, either nationally or internationally. Support is awarded to events with high visibility and attractiveness. A condition for the support is that the city’s status as an attractive place for events is enhanced. Where applicable, the marketing for the event should in appearance be in line with the official Vantaa brand.

The application for city marketing support must be submitted no later than 4 months before the event. When applying for the support, the application to be delivered to the authority processing the applications must include as an appendix the event’s action plan and budget as well as a description of the attractiveness of the event. In addition, the application must indicate the applicant’s name, business ID or association number, the address and account number of the company or association in IBAN format, the name, email address and telephone number of the contact person, and the date(s) of the event. City marketing support applications are processed by the Urban Culture and Wellbeing Committee.

Applications must, as a rule, be submitted through the electronic grant system. In special cases, the application can also be submitted to the Registry either by email at kirjaamo@vantaa.fi or by post to the address Registry, P.O. Box 1100, 01030 City of Vantaa (Kirjaamo, PL 1100, 01030 Vantaan kaupunki). 
 
City marketing support for major cultural events and festivals cannot be paid until the decision to grant the support has become final. An agreement is concluded with the recipient of the support to define the parties’ responsibilities, obligations and possible sanctions for non-compliance with the agreement. 

A free-form account on the use of the support in accordance with the agreement must be submitted within four months of the event. The account must indicate where and what kind of exposure the City of Vantaa has gained through the event and how it has possibly increased Vantaa’s attractiveness.
 
The relevant contact information can be found at the bottom of the page.
 

The awarding of artist grants follows the City of Vantaa’s general principles for awarding grants. The grant for artistic work is awarded upon application to a professional artist living permanently in Vantaa and, in exceptional cases, to a talented student of various fields of art. The artist grant is applied for through the electronic service. In exceptional cases, you can use PDF forms, which are only available upon request.

The same person cannot be awarded the grant in consecutive years and the grant is not awarded for the purchase of musical instruments or devices.

The application period ends annually by the end of February. A free-form account of the use of the grant must be submitted by the end of February of the following year.

The relevant contact information can be found at the bottom of the page.
 

Vantaa’s cultural prizes are awarded annually without any application to two recipients; as an encouragement to a distinguished artist and as a recognition of a significant cultural work. The value of the prizes is EUR 10,000.

The distinguished artist prize is awarded to an artist who lives in Vantaa on a permanent basis and has demonstrated their artistic talent.
The cultural prize for a significant cultural work to revitalise the city’s art scene is awarded to a community or person operating in the city.
The prize is awarded for truly impressive merits and the city reserves the right not to award the prize. The prize for a significant cultural work is not awarded to previous recipients of the Vantaa cultural prize or employees of the City of Vantaa.

The decision on the awarding of the Vantaa cultural prizes is made by the City Board at the proposal of the Urban Culture and Wellbeing Committee.