Project Grants

Project grants can be awarded to projects that advance the foundation's mission.

Criteria

Project grants are aimed at new projects that advance the Finnish startup ecosystem. The projects can be e.g. one-offs or the start of a longer program.

The impact of the projects will be evaluated with a formula of impact per person times number of people impacted. So e.g. a program with only few attendees that can provide a lot of value for the individual attendees can be seen as impactful as a large scale event with no personalized content.

A good example of a high impact per attendee with only few attendees would be SILTA. And a good example of low impact per attendee with many attendees would be FallUp. The projects can also be about sharing information asynchronously of which Starting Up course is a good example.

The projects must be not-for-profit. This means that no individual entity or person can profit from the project.

Evaluation and Decision

Decisions on the grants will be communicated directly to the applicant. Received grants will also be added to the foundation website.

The applications for project grants are open continuously. There are two different application deadlines, depending on the amount of the grant application.

For projects applying for a maximum amount of 5000 euros the deadline for new project application is always on the 1st of each month (with the exception of holiday’s ie. 1.7. and 1.1.).

Every quarter we’ll have one deadline where we’ll evaluate larger projects of over 5000 euros, the deadlines for those are 1.3., 1.6., 1.9. and 1.12.

Our goal is to process new applications within two weeks from the application deadline.

How to apply

The application must include:

  • Open explanation on the project

    • Tell us more about the project

  • Impact of the project

    • Keep in mind the impact per person x number of people impacted formula

    • You can also talk about your own qualitative or quantitative targets

    • Is this something that is needed in the Finnish startup ecosystem

  • Project plan

    • What are you planning to do, when, how, etc.

  • Team

    • Who is creating the project

  • Budget for the project

    • Project costs

    • Other sources of funding

    • If the project is continuous then include thoughts about where future funding will come from

Please review the FAQ below for most common questions. If something remains unclear, please send an email to grants@startup-saatio.fi.

For the Grantees

The grants will be paid beforehand or as negotiated, to the bank account assigned by the person / entity receiving the grant. The person / entity receiving the grant is not employed by the foundation. The payment of the grant can be stopped, withdrawn or charged back if the circumstances by which the grant was granted have changed.

The decisions on the grant applications will be communicated directly to the applicants. In addition the people and projects who received the grants will be published on the Startup Foundation website. The grantees will be required to deliver a report on the usage of the grant and what they have achieved with the help of the grant.

FAQ

  • A work group can contain many organizations and/ or people applying together for a project, but the main applicant must be an organization. An organization will apply by itself for a project that they will own and excute.

  • If the materials answer the things we want to know then yes. Most of the questions can be either answered via text or by adding an attachment. Remember to include your thoughts on how the project relates to our impact metrics as well.

  • No. Study trips don’t contribute to the key criteria of something new supporting the Finnish startup ecosystem.

  • For us to support travel costs, they need to be very well argumented as to why they are necessary. Typically we do not fund travel costs.

  • Generally no. If there’s a clear reason the project needs an extra hand, that might go through, but be sure to include a thorough explanation. Projects that only include salaries are not funded

  • We only fund projects and individuals supporting the Finnish startup ecosystem.