The Youth Sub-committee of the Culture and Leisure Committee awards operating and hiring grants annually to support the activities of Helsinki-based youth organisations. In 2025, the Youth Sub-committee distributed EUR 1,266,640 in total in operating grants to 141 Helsinki-based youth organisations or youth branches of organisations.
The grants are distributed to a variety of youth sector operators of vastly different sizes to support their activities for young people each year. The grants awarded by the Youth Sub-committee in 2025 were allocated for purposes such as the maintenance of a youth art space and Scouting activities, and the grants will also facilitate low-threshold dance activities for young people.
The operating grant is the largest annual grant awarded by the Youth Unit. Its impact is reflected in the fact that roughly 58,000 young Helsinki residents participated in activities supported with the grant in 2024.
The hiring grant is awarded as financial support for the salary costs of an association’s permanent staff, and it is intended for Helsinki-based youth associations whose activities require a high level of organisation. Typical recipients of the hiring grant include operators that have Helsinki-based youth associations, branches, or activity groups operating under them. In total, the Youth Sub-committee awarded EUR 824,360 in hiring grants to 22 associations.
The call for applications for the operating and hiring grants for 2026 will run until 15 December 2025.
New special grant for preventing segregation
At its meeting, the Youth Sub-committee decided to distribute a total of EUR 149,000 in special youth activity grants for preventing segregation. Additionally, the partnership director will award a grant in the amount of EUR 1,000 to one association. This grant meets the City-wide goal of preventing and reducing the segregation trend between residential areas and population groups.
The Culture and Leisure Division will also implement grant activities related to the prevention of segregation more broadly. The Youth, Sports and Culture Units have each allocated at least EUR 200,000 in grants for the prevention of segregation. The Youth Unit’s focuses in the provision of grants include increasing positive interaction between different population groups in order to improve the accessibility of recreational activities in cooperation with communities and other operators. In particular, the aim is to focus on reaching girls with an immigrant background and promote the work ability of young adults.
As a priority, grants are awarded for activities organised in the suburban regeneration areas, meaning Mellunkylä, Kannelmäki, Malminkartano, Malmi and Meri-Rastila.
A second call for grant applications for preventing segregation will be held in autumn 2025, from 25 August to 14 September 2025.
Grant guidelines to be updated
At its meeting, the Youth Sub-committee also decided to approve the new grant guidelines for youth activities. The grant guidelines will come into force in full on 1 January 2026. With regard to operating and hiring grants for 2026, however, the grant guidelines will already come into force before the turn of the year. These grants, along with their advance payments, will be open for application until 15 December 2025 in accordance with the new grant guidelines. Similarly, the holiday camp grants for the 2025–2026 period will be open for application until 31 October 2025 in accordance with the new grant guidelines.
Special grants have been added to the grant guidelines as a new grant category. This grant category will be used in means-tested grants, for instance. The grant for preventing segregation, as mentioned above, is an example of such special grants.
The new grant guidelines will not change the nature or purpose of the grants; instead, the aim is to create clearer grant categories that better serve the target group. Operators that have received and applied for the grants were consulted during the preparation of the grant guidelines, and the revision was carried out based on feedback received from them. The first version of the grant guidelines for youth activities was approved at a meeting of the Youth Committee in 1993. Since then, the grant guidelines have been updated 14 times in total prior to the upcoming update.
