Grants for branches

Grants from the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Foundation are used, in accordance with the Foundation's purpose, to fund activities organised by the Finnish Red Cross in which young people under the age of 29 can explore the ideological, social, and cultural conditions and working methods of other countries. The activities must enable young people to have international encounters as well as meaningful and purposeful leisure activities in Finland or abroad.

Grants may be awarded to projects that promote at least one of the following objectives:

• The activity promotes young people's societal inclusion.
• The activity increases young people's understanding of different cultures.
• The activity strengthens young people's positive attitudes towards diversity and different ways of operating.
• The activity promotes young people's ability to identify discrimination and unequal treatment that is based on nationality or cultural background.
• The activity provides young people with tools to work towards a more equal society in their own immediate surroundings.

In 2026, grants will be awarded primarily to activities that promote the achievement of young people's dream Red Cross and strengthen the opportunities of young adult immigrants to participate in Finnish Red Cross volunteer activities.

Grant Application

Grants for projects to be implemented in 2026 can be applied for from 1 December 2025 to 19 January 2026 using the electronic application form below. Decisions on applications will be made and communicated to applicants by email as soon as possible after the application period has closed.

If any portion of the grant awarded to the Finnish Red Cross remains to be distributed after the application period has ended, the application process will be reopened from the beginning of February 2026. In that case, incoming applications will be processed on a monthly basis at the beginning of each calendar month (excluding school summer holidays). The application process will remain open for as long as grants are available for distribution. However, the application process will close no later than 31 October 2026.

Update 16 April 2026: The application process is currently closed, as the grant awarded to the Finnish Red Cross has been fully distributed.

Grants can be applied for using this form.

Additional Information on Grant Conditions

The grant must be applied for in advance, before the project begins. Grant amounts vary depending on the nature of the activity to be supported. When completing the application, particular attention should be paid to demonstrating the need-based rationale for the activity.

Where necessary, grants may also be awarded to cover the costs of some participants over the age of 29, provided that the number of grant recipients over the age of 29 is reasonable and their participation can be considered essential to the implementation of the project.

The grant may only be used to cover necessary costs arising from the project. It cannot, for example, be used to purchase souvenirs or gifts during trips abroad. The grant may not be used for salary costs or daily allowances.

The Folke Bernadotte Memorial Foundation grant awarded to the Finnish Red Cross is coordinated by the headquarters, which distributes the grant to other Finnish Red Cross entities, such as local branches and districts. Grants are not distributed to private individuals.

Impact Assessment

At the Finnish Red Cross, we continuously develop our impact assessment practices so that we can verify that our activities benefit their target groups. In addition to quantitative data, we therefore need increasing amounts of information on whether our activities have advanced the objectives set for them.

To ensure that impact assessment within our organisation is consistent and as straightforward as possible, the grant application form includes a list of the objectives supported by the Memorial Foundation grant. From this list, grant applicants can select the objectives they intend to advance within their target group through their project. We have also developed ready-made monitoring indicators for each objective, which Finnish Red Cross entities receiving a Folke Bernadotte Memorial Foundation grant can use to evaluate the extent to which their project's objectives have been achieved.

We encourage our grant recipients to make use of these ready-made indicators when assessing the achievement of their project's objectives! Information on the impact of activities is collected primarily directly from the target group, but if this proves challenging due to the nature of the activity, the assessment may also be carried out by the volunteers or staff members responsible for the activity. The impact of activities on the target group is reported in connection with the grant usage report submitted upon completion of the project.

Further information on the ready-made indicators can be found in the attachments to this page. Assistance with impact assessment can be requested from the national headquarters' contact person for Folke Bernadotte Memorial Foundation grants, whose contact details are available at the bottom of this page.

Changing the Intended Use of a Grant

If a project for which a grant has been awarded is cancelled, or if the intended use of an awarded grant is to be changed, this must be communicated by informal email to the national headquarters' contact person no later than one week before the project start date stated in the application.

Grant Usage Reporting

A condition of receiving the grant is that a report must be submitted to the national headquarters no later than two months after the project has concluded, using the electronic reporting form below. The project's income statement must be attached to the report. Receipts and invoices generated by the project do not need to be submitted to the national headquarters. However, in cases where reporting or payment matters are unclear, the national headquarters reserves the right to request and obtain access to the project's receipts and invoices.

Reports are processed by the national headquarters within one month of their submission. Reports submitted during school summer holidays will be processed as soon as possible after the holiday period has ended.

The final submission deadline for reports on grants awarded for activities in 2026 is 30 November 2026. If a project concludes after 23 November 2026, an extension for reporting may be granted.

Project grant usage can be reported using this form.

Grant Payment

As a general rule, the grant is paid retrospectively upon invoice, following the completion of the project, in accordance with actual costs incurred. Advance payment or other special arrangements may be agreed upon on a case-by-case basis for well-justified reasons.

The persons responsible for the project will receive an email notification once the grant usage report has been processed, after which the grant can be invoiced from the Finnish Red Cross national headquarters.

The invoice for the 2026 grant must be submitted to the national headquarters no later than 12 December 2026.

The invoice reference must state the first and last name of the national headquarters' contact person for Folke Bernadotte Memorial Foundation grants. The national headquarters' invoicing details can be found in the attachments to this page. The project's income statement must be attached to the invoice.

If the entity responsible for the project is unable to submit an invoice for the grant, this must be noted in the report. In such cases, payment will be made by bank transfer.

National Headquarters Contact Person for Folke Bernadotte Memorial Foundation Grants:

Kirsi Lehtola
Youth Activities Coordinator
kirsi.lehtola@redcross.fi

• Folke Bernadotte_Activity impact assessment.pdf
• Finnish Red Cross_Headquarters_Invoicing address.pdf

Is your branch missing a computer, tablet, or phone to manage the digital friend mediation? Branches can apply for an equipment grant of max 300 euros for purchasing a computer or tablet, and max 130 euros for purchasing a phone, using this form. The form is available in Finnish and Swedish.

Branches can apply for grants for nature-based friendship activities, recreational friendship activities for the elderly, and joint activities for young people in different activity groups.

In 2026, branches can apply for the following financial grants for activities:

1. Developing youth inclusion (max €300/branch, ongoing application)
More information and grant conditions_fin/sve/eng.pdf

2. Nature-based activities for all ages (Partioaitta max €500/branch, application period has ended, grant was distributed on 7 May 2026)
More information and grant conditions_fin/sve/eng.pdf

3. Support for the elder and caregiver families (Odd Fellow max €300/branch, application period has ended, grant was distributed on 1 April 2026)

4. Support for children and young people with CP disability and their families (max €300/branch, application open until further notice, updated 1 April 2026)
More information and grant conditions_fin/sve/eng.pdf

Branches can apply for the grant for community-based food aid activities.

Read more on it here.

The branch can receive a grant of up to 150 euros to cover the costs of the Christmas Café. The grant is paid by the Finnish Red Cross Headquarters after reporting against actual expenses.

Further information and application instructions can be found here. (currently only in Finnnish and Swedish)