Funding Programmes
We provide funding for a wide range of projects in science, the arts, and social initiatives. On this page, you can explore our grant calls and other funding programs we take part in.
- The Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation awards grants for projects in science, the arts, and societal activities through a general grant call open each spring.
- In addition, we participate in several joint grant pools with other foundations.
- In the field of visual arts, we organise residency calls and funding opportunities targeted at art museums through our Partner Museum Programme.
- We also engage in other forms of funding collaboration.
General Grant Call
The 2025 grant application period was held from May 9 to May 31, 2025. The next general application round will take place in spring 2026.
During the spring general call, funding can be applied for work, new initiatives, and the development of activities in the fields of science, the arts, and civil society activities.
Applications are open to individuals, working groups made up of individuals, and registered organizations. We primarily award working grants to individuals and expense grants to organizations.
As a general principle, the funded project must be carried out by a Finnish applicant, take place mainly in Finland, or have a strong connection to Finnish society.
Funding can be sought for a wide range of projects, both in scope and scale — from grants for purchasing a single instrument to funding for multi-year research projects.
Grant recipients Ilona Korhonen (left), Mari Pääkkönen, Maari Kallberg, and Anna-Kaisa Liedes have performed and compiled Kalevala poems into an audiobook.
Photo: Miikka Pirinen
Visual Arts Funding
As part of the ”Kummimuseo” programme, art museums can apply for funding either for an entirely new project or to deepen an existing one in development.
The Partner Museum Programme is a form of visual arts support launched by the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation in 2017. Within the programme, art museums can apply for funding for a variety of contemporary art projects.
The aim is to support small and mid-sized museums, and joint projects between multiple museums are also eligible. Applications are submitted via the Wihuri Foundation’s online grant service, and the foundation announces the application period in advance through its own channels.
Visual artists can apply for a 6–12 month residency at the Temppelikatu Artist Studio in Central Helsinki.
The Temppelikatu Artist Studio is an artist apartment owned by the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, located in the Töölö district of Helsinki. It is intended for visual artists living outside the Helsinki metropolitan area, offering both working and living space for a period of 6 to 12 months. Applications are submitted via the Wihuri Foundation’s online grant service, and the foundation announces the application period in advance through its own channels.
Read more about the residency
Julkiseen taiteeseen ja kaupunkitilaan erikoistunut taiteilija Denise Ziegler vietti työskentelyjakson Rovaniemellä vuonna 2023. Kuvat: Miikka Pirinen
Joint Funding Pools
Wihuri Foundation participates in a joint grant program run by Finnish foundations that offers flexible funding for young researchers heading abroad from Finland.
The Foundations’ Post Doc Pool is a grant initiative established by member foundations of the Association of Finnish Foundations. Its aim is to promote the internationalization of Finnish science by providing centralized funding for postdoctoral work abroad.
Researchers can apply for funding for international research periods lasting from 6 to 24 months. The Pool accepts applications twice a year: the spring call runs from January 1 to 31, and the autumn call from August 15 to September 15.
The Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation was among the founding members of the Pool and is participating in its sixth three-year cycle (2025–2027), together with 12 other foundations.
Wihuri Foundation also takes part in the Post Docs in Companies (PoDoCo) collaboration program, which supports the employment of PhDs in the private sector and strengthens the long-term renewal capacity of Finnish business and industry.
Within the PoDoCo programme, a PhD and a company partner can jointly design a research project and apply for funding from the participating foundations.
A PoDoCo project lasts from one to two years and consists of two phases, each lasting 6 to 12 months. The first is a foundation-funded research phase, followed by a company-funded applied research phase of the same length. Any company, regardless of industry, can take part in PoDoCo, and any recent or soon-to-be PhD graduate is eligible to apply.
The PoDoCo programme organises two application rounds each year and involves a total of seven funding foundations.
We participate in the New Classics Fund, which provides support to performing arts organisations and visual arts actors.
Established jointly by the State and four foundations: the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Svenska kulturfonden, the Alfred Kordelin Foundation and the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, New Classics Fund supports the working conditions and growth of established actors in the arts sector.
Funding is available in alternating years to performing arts organizations and visual arts actors—such as galleries and art lending services—that organise exhibitions and sell artworks. The fund’s application round is held once a year in the autumn.
Since 2013, the Wihuri Foundation has participated in a fellowship programme sending influential figures from the fields of policy, economy, and media—as well as researchers in these areas—to the Wilson Center in the United States. The program is currently suspended due to the closure of the Wilson Center.
Since its launch in 2013, the Finnish Fellowship Program has sent experts and researchers to the Wilson Center, a non-partisan think tank and public policy forum based in Washington, D.C. However, the program has been suspended as of spring 2025 for an indefinite period, due to the Center being forced to cease its operations in the U.S.
Eligible applicants for the fellowship included Finnish professionals in key roles in society, business, and the media, as well as researchers in these fields—particularly historians.
The fellowship program has been funded by four Finnish foundations: the Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation, the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation, the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, and the Saara and Björn Wahlroos Foundation. In Finland, the program is administered by the Association of Finnish Foundations, and in Washington, by the Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Program.