Guidelines for Grant Applicants

1. Applicant
2. Grant
3. Plan
4. Other funding
5. Attachments
6. Commitment
7. Send

• It is not necessary to complete the application at one go. It will remain as a draft and can therefore be edited until you submit it.
• Remember to submit your application within the application period.
• Only fill in the appropriate sections: you do not need to write something in every field. Some of the required information is mandatory though and the system will not let you submit the application without filling in these parts.
• There is a question mark next to some of the answer fields. By clicking on it, you are given a tip for filling in the field.
• Some of the information requested on the application form is collected for statistical purposes. The data collected for statistical purposes is anonymized and is not used as part of the application evaluation. The information is collected so that we can obtain as consistent data as possible about the work enabled by Finnish foundations and its impact.

• Log in by using your online banking personal user ID of a Finnish bank or mobile credentials.
• Alternatively you can log in to the online grant service by giving your username and password by choosing “I want to log in using a username and password”. If it is your first time using the service, create a user account by choosing “Register”.
• Grant applications are user-specific, so if you want to edit an existing grant application, you must log in with the same credentials or username and password that were used to create the application.
• If you have used the username and password earlier, your previous applications, payment requests or reports are not visible to you when logging in to the service with your bank ID or mobile credentials. Log in to the service with the username and password that you have used when creating the documents if you wish to view them. It is possible to transfer the documents to the new login system with your bank ID and mobile credentials.
• Please also note that if a grant is awarded, a request for payment of a grant on the Online grant service may only be made with the same credentials as the grant application was made.
• In particular, when an organization is the applicant, one needs to make sure who is managing the user codes, so that the grant application process and possible grant can be processed smoothly on the online grant service, regardless of possible changes in personel of the organization.
• Hang on to your username and password – they will be of use if you are awarded a grant. If you lose your password, a new one will be sent to the email address you have created the user credentials with.

• It is possible to create and send applications only during the application period. On the first day of the application period, the option of creating a “Grant application” will appear on the “Create new” drop-down menu.
• In the online service “Save and move forward” or “Move backwards/landing page” saves the information/page. If you exit the application form without moving from one page to another, the text you wrote on the page will not be saved.
• Please note that you need to save your information from time to time, i.e. move around the pages of the application form. If you are an inactive user in the system for a longer period of time, your session will automatically close.
• You don’t have to finish your application at one go after creating it. After you have created a grant application, you can return later to edit the information during the application period in May.
• When your application is ready, submit it in the online grant service.
• Once submitted, the application can be reverted to the draft status and edited by choosing “Revert back to draft mode for editing”. This must be done before the application round ends. Remember to send the application again if you wish it to be processed by the Foundation.
• You can’t edit the information on your application after the application period has ended. For more information, see “Can I edit my application after the application period has ended?”
  E.g. after the application period has ended you must inform the Foundation about other funding you have received or if you receive an important certificate only after the application period has ended.
• When in preview mode, make sure that the application has been entered the relevant and that your text is readable size.
• There are some mandatory fields that need to be filled in the application. If you haven’t filled them in, it is not possible for you to submit the application.
• When you have filled in the information on all the pages of the grant application and you have attached the requested attachments to your application , submit the application online during application period in May. The status of an application that hasn’t been sent will show as “Draft”. A successfully sent application will show as “Sent”. After a couple of days when the application period has ended, the status will show as “Received”.

• Private person = Individual
  OR
• Working group (has at least two members/individuals). The members of the group must elect a leader to submit the application in his/her/their own name. If the grant is intended for use by only one member of a working group, that person should apply as an individual applicant
  OR
• Organization

• Choose from the provided options (universities in Finland, research institutes etc.) 
  
  OR
• Choose “Freelance artist/researcher”, if the purpose for the grant is not connected to any specific organization
  
  OR
• Choose “Other, what?” and write the full name of the institution where the project will be executed on the line below (for example, the full name of a university outside Finland)

• doctoral studies
• post-doctoral studies: up to 5 years after dissertation, otherwise research
• research
• homing: research following post doc, for researchers returning to Finland; must be applied within one year of returning to Finland
• writing work
• artistic work
• purchasing a musical instrument or other equipment
• basic studies: of art, not science
• organizing an event
• other purpose

• Economic Sciences/Business
• Economics
• Engineering Sciences
• Mathematics and statistics
• Architecture
• Natural Sciences
• Agriculture and Forestry
• Food Science
• Biology
• Health Sciences
• Education
• Psychology
• Law
• Political science
• Social sciences
• Media and Communication science
• Art history, visual arts and applied art (research)
• History and Archaeology
• Theology and study of religions
• Philosophy
• Linguistics and literary studies
• Fiction Literature
• Non-fiction Literature
• Music – Folk music
• Music – Pop/rock
• Music – Jazz
• Music – Classical singing, opera
• Music – Choral singing, choral conducting, orchestral conducting
• Music – Classical instrumental music
• Music – Composing classical music
• Music, other (only if other music categories are not suitable)
• Musicology and research in music, e.g. doctoral education
• Dance (also includes research)
• Theatre (also includes research)
• National Defence
• Youth Work
• Cultural projects
• Other causes

• post-doctoral research “The name of the research”
• doctoral studies “The name of the research”
• attending cello studies led by Professor X in the city of Y
• writing a novel about dancers in the 19th century
• covering expenses of performance “Name of performance”

• Personal working grant is the working share of the applied grant. A working grant is meant to allow the grant receiver to work on the project full-time or part-time free from salaried work. It is meant to be used to cover living expenses. The amount you enter includes possible statutory insurance premiums (www.mela.fi). See “Conditions of a working grant”.
  
  Working groups fill in the total amount that the group members apply from Wihuri Foundation to cover their working.
  
  Please note that an organization cannot apply for a personal working grant, but a grant for hiring personnel under the title “Assisting work”.
• Assisting work can be hired or purchased labor essential for the project. If the grant is used to hire labor, the grant receiver is obliged to take care of the payroll taxes and other legal obligations of an employer.
• Material and equipment expenses can be big purchases e.g. instruments and grand equipment purchases for working groups.
• Travel grants can be applied for travel expenses relating to the project. Separate travel grants are not usually awarded (e.g. conference travels).
• Other can be e.g. space rents.

• Full-time means that you would work with the working grant from Wihuri Foundation full-time 100 % (or at least 75 %). The grant is intended to cover normal living expenses.
• Part-time means that you would have other funding at the same time during the grant period of Wihuri Foundation, e.g. 50 % salary from the university, in which case you can apply for a maximum 50 % of the annual grant amount for one year. Explain your financial situation on the application form (Plan: Financial plan)
• Incentive grant means you are applying for funding from the Wihuri Foundation to support the completion of a project and is intended to supplement full-time funding received from other sources, such as a salary from a full-time job or a full-time grant from another organization. Please explain your financial situation in the application form.
• Expenditure grant means that the grant from Wihuri Foundation is intended to cover only project costs (e.g. rent, travel, instrument purchases, salary costs). Organizations can only apply for an expenditure grant.

• “Paid” – If you are in graduate school/doctoral program and get a salary.
• “Self-financed” – If you have to get funding for the doctoral program yourself
• If the question doesn’t concern your project, choose “No”.

• If you haven’t received a one-year (12 months) fulltime working grant for doctoral studies specifically from Wihuri Foundation before and you’re applying for one now, select “First year”. Choose this even if you’ve worked on your doctoral studies several years with funding from other foundations or you have previously received a grant of less than one year from Wihuri Foundation.
• If you’ve previously received a one-year (12 months) fulltime working grant for doctoral studies from Wihuri Foundation and you are applying for a fulltime continuation grant for doctoral studies, choose “Continuation application”.
• If the question doesn’t concern your project choose “No”.
  E.g. answer “No” if you are applying for a six‑month grant for doctoral work and have previously received a six‑month grant, or if you are applying for a one‑year grant for part‑time work, or if you are not a doctoral researcher.

• “Yes”, if you are applying for a full-time one year (12 months) grant as already a doctor/PhD for post doc research
• If the question doesn’t concern your project choose “No”. E.g. you have a PhD and applying for less than one year of funding or you are doctoral student.

• Preview the application in the online service before submitting it and check that the application contains the essential information (e.g. the amount of grant applied for) and that the text in all fields is readable.
• The online grant service will ask you if you want to submit the application. To submit it choose “Yes”.
• After submitting the application, the following text should appear on the screen: “Your application has now been successfully submitted!”
• You will not receive a separate email about the submission. On the landing page, the status of a successfully submitted application will show as “Sent”. After a couple of days after the application period has ended, the status will show as “Received”.
• Once submitted, the application can be reverted back to draft status and edited by choosing “Revert back to draft mode for editing”. However, this must be done before the application round ends. Don’t forget to send the application again during application period if you wish it to be processed by the Foundation.

• private individuals
• working groups (at least two private individuals as applicants)
• registered legal entities/organizations (such as association or cooperative) for expenditures of a project

• Grants are mainly intended for expenses, activities or working that occur after the grants have been awarded (from 9th October onwards). It is advisable to begin using the grant before the autumn (October) of the following year.
• Grants are awarded for a maximum of one year at a time (1-12 months).
• Personal working grants should, as a rule, be used for continuous work.

Grants for science

• for less than a year OR
• for one year at a time, and if needed, submit a continuation application in the next application period in May

Grants for art

Grants for societal activities

• Proof reading costs or printing costs of doctoral theses or research work
• Overhead costs of equipment
• Undergraduate studies in the field of science
•  Separate travel grants (e.g. conference travels)
• Post-doctoral research abroad that lasts for 6-24 months (See The Foundations’ Post Doc Pool).

• The Foundations’ Post Doc Pool, which the Wihuri Foundation is a member of, funds post-doctoral research abroad that lasts for 6-24 months. You can find more information here.

• Post Docs in Companies -program (PoDoCo) is aimed for young doctors who have recently completed or will soon complete their doctoral degree. The aim of the PoDoCo program is to promote academic research supporting long term competitiveness and strategic renewal of Finnish companies, and the employment of young doctors in industry. For more information click here.

• Individuals may apply for both working and expenditure grants.
• Organizations may apply only for grants to cover expenses (the application must include a detailed income and expenditure estimate).
• Grants are awarded for a maximum of one year at a time.

Working grants

• Working grants are intended mainly for continuous work (1-12 months).
• When assessing how much you are going to apply for, you must take into consideration how long you intend to work with the grant and whether you intend to work full-time or part-time (e.g. 50%).
• A full-time working grant cannot be used simultaneously with other equivalent funding, such as a salary, a paid doctoral researcher position, or another full-time working grant.
• An organization can’t apply for a working grant. If some sort of salaried work is involved in the organization’s project, it is seen as applying a grant for the expenditures of the project (“Assisting work”)

• 32 000 € / doctoral thesis and artistic/writing work
• 36 000 € / post doctoral research, doctors (Phd)

• 16 000 € / doctoral thesis and artistic/writing work
• 18 000 € / post doctoral research, doctors

Homing grant

Expenditure grants

• Economic Sciences/Business
• Economics
• Engineering Sciences
• Mathematics and statistics
• Architecture
• Natural Sciences
• Agriculture and Forestry
• Food Science
• Biology
• Health Sciences
• Education
• Psychology
• Law
• Political science
• Social sciences
• Media and Communication science
• Art history, visual arts and applied art (research)
• History and Archaeology
• Theology and study of religions
• Philosophy
• Linguistics and literary studies
• Fiction Literature
• Non-fiction Literature
• Music – Folk music
• Music – Pop/rock
• Music – Jazz
• Music – Classical singing, opera
• Music – Choral singing, choral conducting, orchestral conducting
• Music – Classical instrumental music
• Music – Composing classical music
• Music, other (only if other music categories are not suitable)
• Musicology and research in music (e.g. doctoral education)
• Dance (also includes research)
• Theatre (also includes research)
• National Defence
• Youth Work
• Cultural projects
• Other causes

• The application and all attachments must generally be prepared in Finnish.
• If the working language is English, attachments may be in English, but the pages of the application form must be completed in Finnish. In particular, the section “Work plan and schedule” on the Planning page of the online service must be written in Finnish.

• May prepare the entire application in English.

• Grants are awarded for a maximum of one year at a time (1–12 months).
• A work grant can be applied for full-time or part-time work.
• Grants are intended for expenses or work carried out after the funding decision (9 October); retroactive applications are not recommended.
• For a grant awarded in 2026 it is advisable to start before October 2027, but the grant remains valid for three years from the date of award. Any unused portion will be cancelled after three years unless otherwise agreed.
• Personal working grants should be used for continuous work.

• Put effort into the section “Work plan and timetable” in your application. Its purpose is to spark the interest of the evaluator. In other words: say what you want to say already in the first sentence. What is it that you need a grant for? Why is your project important?
• Present a realistic and credible work plan.
• If you are applying for an expenditure grant, pay special attention that your budget is thorough, well-structured and easy to read. All income and expenses of the entire project are to be itemized in the budget so that the income and expenses are equal. (cost and income evaluations must add up)
• Tell us what you are really going to use the grant for. Don’t talk vaguely about production expenditures if what you really mean is a producer’s salary. The expert assessing your application should be able to easily understand what the grant will be used for.
• References count. They are important especially if you are working on a doctoral thesis. When applying for a grant in the field of art or science, you may want to have a reference, especially if you are in the beginning of your career. Ask your referee to submit the reference via the Online reference service or attach the reference you have received (pdf) to your application.
• Make sure that important attachments (pdf) are submitted to the Foundation.
• Ensure the application is free of language errors. Among applications of similar quality, those with polished language tend to stand out.
• Please preview your application before submitting it online. For example, check at least that the applicant’s name, contact email, total amount applied for, and the purpose of the grant are included on the application form, and ensure that all information fits within the given space and that the text is readable.

• Inform the Foundation about other funding you have received.
• Inform a change of postal address.
• Delete your application (remove the application completely from the Foundation’s application process).
• Upload important documents (attachments, pdf) that you have received after the application deadline, such as a financial statement and certificates. Please note, that documents such as a work plan should be attached already during the application period.

• Consider if you need references to support your application. If you are working on a doctoral thesis or at the beginning or your research career, the reference of someone (e.g.supervisor) familiar with your project is very important. When applying for a grant in the field of art you may want to have a reference, especially if you are in the beginning of your career.
• You can request more than one reference to your application.
• Inform your referee in time. Ask your referee to submit their reference through the online reference system (In Finnish or English). For further information please read ‘’For the Referee’’. The referee can use personal banking id or mobile certificate to log in to the online service or use a username and password.
• The reference can be submitted through the system even if you haven’t submitted your grant application yet. The reference and the application will be reconciled after May based on the name of the applicant.
• The reference made by the referee in the online reference service is application-specific – a reference can be attached to only one grant application. Please take this into consideration if you have more than one grant application and you need references from the same referee.
• The referee will not see your grant application unless you send it separately to your referee. You also do not see the reference made by the referee on the Online reference service. Neither will it be disclosed whether or not the referee has submitted a reference.
• In case you have received the reference in paper form you may add it to your application as an attachment (pdf).
• The Foundation will only take into consideration references submitted in the Online Reference Service or attached letters (pdf) to the application in the Online Grant Service.
  
  You can send the link to the person providing your reference.

• An applicant’s ability to successfully carry out the proposed project is assessed based on their CV and other supporting documents.
• Attachments must be in PDF format, with a maximum file size of 3 MB. Save attachments directly as PDF files (e.g., from a word processor) or use one of the free PDF creation programs available.
• Upload the requested attachments (PDF) on the Attachments-page of the online grant application.
• The applicant should carefully consider which attachments, in addition to those requested, are essential for the evaluation of the application. Include all relevant materials, but avoid unnecessarily inflating your application.
• Applications are primarily reviewed online, so we cannot guarantee that attachments sent by post will be evaluated.
• Copies of certificates are sufficient; they do not need to be officially certified.
• Attachments must be uploaded during the application period, not afterward. Only certificates, financial statements, or other documents essential to the application that are received after the deadline can be added in the online service after the application period. See the section “Can I edit my application after the deadline?” for details.

• Work or research plan (usually 3–10 pages)
• A resumé or a CV. It is recommended to use the researcher CV template provided by the National Advisory Board on Research Ethics (TENK) as applicable.
• If applying for a grant in science, also include a list of publications, if there are any. 
• If you are a postgraduate student, attach a transcript of record or a valid proof of right to study.
• If applying for postdoctoral research, include your degree diploma/certificate or permission for the defense of dissertation and you have not yet received your doctoral degree.
• References/letters of recommendation (see “References”). A reference is required when applying for a grant for doctoral dissertation work. Only reference letters provided directly to the applicant by the referee may be attached to the application. A reference submitted through the online reference service does not need to be attached by the applicant.
• A budget is required when applying for an expenditure grant, unless it is clearly presented in the work plan.
• Any other attachments deemed essential for the application.
• Note that Working group applicants must attach documents for all team members applying for funding, e.g. their CVs or summaries.

• Work- or project plan
• Complete project budget / income and expenditure estimate, where income and expenses are balanced. If there are multiple funders, clearly indicate in a table which portions of the project the Wihuri Foundation grant is intended to cover. For multi-year research or project plans, break down expenses annually in the table.
• A copy of the previous year’s annual report, financial statement, and auditors’ report. Public institutions (e.g., universities) do not need to attach financial statements.
• If the organization is newly established, attach a certificate of registration or equivalent proof of establishment.
• Any other attachments deemed essential for the application.

• References are particularly important if you are applying for personal working grant for doctoral thesis or for artistic/scientific work at the start of your career.
• The applicant decides the number of references to request; typically 1–3 references are sufficient.
• The applicant asks the referee to log in to the online reference service on the foundation’s website, where a template is available (Finnish/English). If you have received a letter in another format, you may attach it as a PDF to your application.
• Request references well in advance!

• Title/topic of your project, background, objectives, and significance of the project
• Location of the work
• Current stage of the project
• Implementation plan
• Timeline
• Provide an income and expenditure estimate describing the total project funding, unless you have also provided a separate PDF attachment as your budget. The reviewer should get a complete picture of the project’s funding.
  Has the project received funding previously? If so, specify the period and amount. If the project has been carried out with salary funding, simply mention this. Ensure that income equals expenses (costs = funding). A personal work grant is intended for ordinary living expenses and can be presented as a single annual item in the expenditure estimate (including any statutory Mela insurance, which does not need to be broken down).

• Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation requires that you confirm the accuracy of the information provided in your application and commit to reporting any funding received from other sources to the Foundation.
• You also commit to carrying out your project according to the plan you have presented.
• Information about the awarded grant may be made public, even if the awarded amount is smaller than the amount applied for.
• Grantees are required to provide a report of how the grant was used every calendar year starting from the year after awarding the grant.
• You find more guidelines for grantees on our website.

• Personal data is collected and processed to enable the foundation’s operations (legitimate interest).
• This includes the processing, analysis, and archiving of applications. The purpose of processing personal data is also to produce information and other communications related to stakeholders. Information and documents are provided for the use of experts evaluating the applications.
• The foundation also requires that you accept that the information in the application may be stored and disclosed to authorities and organizations distributing grants for the monitoring of the distribution and use of grants.
• Based on the processing for the public interest, the foundation publishes the names, the degree or occupation, place of residence, purpose of the grant and the amount awarded of grant recipients on its website and provides information to the research data repository maintained by the Ministry of Education and Culture (tiedejatutkimus.fi) as well as for statistics and research related to foundations.