At its meeting on Thursday, 11 April, the Sports Sub-committee of the Culture and Leisure Committee decided on grants for promoting physical activity and mobility among Helsinki residents. Decisions were made on operating grants and grants for the use of facilities for sports clubs, grants to other associations promoting physical activity, and grants for the promotion of mobility for older adults, which are distributed from state escheat funds administered by the city. The application period for grants ended in February.
The City of Helsinki supports sports clubs and other associations organising sports activities by distributing around EUR 9 million annually. The 2024 budget designated EUR 8.821 million of the operating budget for sports grants, of which EUR 7.630 million was distributed as grants on Thursday, 11 April. In addition, the budget allocated EUR 700,000 of state escheat funds for promoting mobility and cultural activities for older people, which were granted to projects that promote mobility for older people, as in the previous year. The remaining funds will be distributed in 2024 under other forms of sports grants.
The operating grant is a general grant for Helsinki-based sports club activities, and a total of EUR 2.021 million was granted to 281 sports clubs. The facility usage grant is the largest individual monetary grant awarded by the City of Helsinki for civic sports activities. It is granted to Helsinki-based sports clubs to help cover the costs of sports activities in facilities other than those subsidised by Sports Services. A total of EUR 5.480 million in facility usage grants was awarded to 230 sports clubs.
The sports grant fund also supports regular sports activities in clubs that are not exclusively focused on sports through the grant for other associations that promote sports and physical activity. A total of EUR 129,000 of this type of grant was awarded to 28 associations.
For the fourth consecutive year, the City of Helsinki has awarded special grants from state escheat funds to promote physical and cultural activities for older adults. This sports grant is a discretionary grant targeting physical activities that support the wellbeing and functional capacity of Helsinki’s older adults. The Sports Sub-committee awarded EUR 700,000 in grants for the promotion of physical activity to 24 applicants. The Culture and Libraries Sub-committee will decide on the grants promoting cultural activities for older adults during its meeting on Tuesday, 16 April.