Collaboration and Partnerships
We work in close collaboration with other foundations, universities, and various partners.
We participate in joint grant pools with other foundations, form partnerships, and actively engage as a member in inter-foundation networks.
Joint funding pools
Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation participates in the Foundations’ Post Doc Pool, which promotes the internationalisation of Finnish science, and in the Post Docs in Companies (PoDoCo) Pool, which supports the employment of doctors in companies.
The Foundations’ Post Doc Pool is a grant program established by The Association of Finnish Foundations, offering flexible funding for young researchers to conduct research abroad for periods of 6 to 24 months. Within the PoDoCo program, a doctoral researcher and a company partner jointly design a research project for which they can seek funding from participating foundations.
We also participate in the Wilson Center Fellowship Program, funded by four foundations, which sends seasoned professionals and researchers in politics, business, and media to the Wilson Center research institute in the United States.
Timeout Foundation and
New Classics
In 2019, the Wihuri Foundation took part in founding the Timeout Foundation to support a constructive culture of dialogue in Finland, reduce societal division, and strengthen civic participation. Other founding partners of the Timeout Foundation include Sitra, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and Svenska kulturfonden.
The founding organisations of the Erätauko Foundation continue to fund its operations for the years 2025–2027. A new funder, the Brita Maria Renlund Memorial Foundation, has also joined. The Timeout Foundation will continue its collaboration with the media sector, the education sector, and other stakeholders, including its five-year initiative Hyvin sanottu in partnership with the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle.
We are also involved in the New Classics fund, which provides support for performing arts communities and visual arts actors. The fund was established in 2022 by the Ministry of Education and Culture and four foundations: the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Svenska kulturfonden, the Alfred Kordelin Foundation, and the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation. The fund supports the work and growth of established professionals in the arts sector.
Wihuri Foundation is one of the founding partners of the Timeout Foundation, which promotes a better and more constructive culture of public discussion.
Other forms of collaboration
Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, the City of Rovaniemi, and the University of Lapland have built a diverse and long-term collaboration based on the Wihuri Foundation Art Collection. One form of this cooperation is the visiting artist residency programme at the University of Lapland’s Faculty of Art and Design, which was launched in 1995.
The foundation has also maintained a long-standing partnership with the Finnish Institute in Rome, Villa Lante. The connection between the Wihuri Foundation and Villa Lante dates back to the 1950s, when the foundation donated five million Finnish marks for the renovation of the Renaissance villa acquired through a donation by Amos Anderson. Later, Rakel Wihuri made a donation for the renovation of an artist’s studio, and the foundation has supported various research projects and acquisitions of the institute. In addition, the foundation annually funds the ”Wihuri Scholarship”, awarded to a doctoral researcher in the institute’s core fields of study, as well as a working grant for the visual artist residency at Villa Lante.
In collaboration with the Finnish National Gallery, we organise the annual Wihuri Day, which aims to lower the threshold for visiting art museums.
Wihuri Foundation also collaborates with several Finnish foundations in its investment activities. This cooperation includes, among other things, joint ownership of real estate investments.
Memberships
Association of Finnish Foundations
Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation is a member of the Association of Finnish Foundations (Säätiöt ja rahastot ry). The Association monitors and defends the interests of its members, and serves as a trainer and expert, information provider and discussion forum, supporter and publisher of research. It has 228 foundations as members.
Philea – Philanthropy Europe Association
The Foundation is a member of the Philea – Philanthropy Europe Association.
The Hague Club
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Arto Mäenmaa, belongs to the collaborative network of Directors of European Foundations, The Hague Club.