Grants

Twice a year, KOURA awards expense grants, working grants, and grants for organising seminars and group instruction. The grants can be applied for in October and March. The application forms are posted on the KOURA website on the first day of these months: on 1 March and 1 October. No grants are awarded outside of the official application period, and no decisions are made retroactively.

Who are the KOURA grants for?

Permanent and temporary employees and work groups of Yle and MTV and their subsidiaries who have participated in creating copyrighted Finnish original works.
Companies, collectives, and independent entrepreneurs, i.e. anyone who organizes seminars and group education. Expense grants and working grants can also be awarded to working groups, in which case the leader of the working group must meet the aforementioned eligibility requirements.

The occupational title of the grant applicant/work group leader is not a decisive criterion for the awarding of grants; the focus is on the content of the copyrighted material created by the applicant/work group leader. For this reason, an account on the copyrighted content created by the applicant/work group leader from the last three years must be included in the application. E.g. production coordinators and persons in similar positions who have participated in creating media content may apply for and receive KOURA grants if the contents of the work have been significant from the point of view of copyright law. Persons only writing online articles, doing content marketing, or making social media content, on e.g. YouTube are not eligible to apply for grants.

The application periods are in March and October. If it has been less than three application periods since an applicant has received a KOURA grant, he cannot receive another one. This waiting period does not concern an applicant who has had a grant less than 2000 euros. This waiting period does not concern either an applicant who has been leading or been a member of a work group, or has organized self a seminar or group education and had a Koura grant.

You are eligible to apply even if you

are a trade union member
have received KOURA awards

The grant for organizing a seminar or a group education can also be awarded to companies, collectives, independent entrepreneurs and persons employed somewhere other than Yle or MTV (or its affiliates).

How can the KOURA grant be used?

Koura can only award grants for uses that are in accordance with the KOURA agreement and tax-free from the point of view of the Income Tax Act.

Grants are awarded for the following uses:

Journalistic and artistic supplementary media studies in Finland and abroad:
- to update professional skills o to improve diverse knowhow
- to complete studies/modules necessary for graduation if the skills acquired can be expected to improve the applicant’s current professional skills in the future
- media field festival and seminar trips (Please note that only individual scholarships (not group scholarships) can be applied for seminar/festival trips).
- improving on the language skills or other special skill necessary for the profession o organising seminars and group instruction
Professional experiments
- creating and developing personal experimental projects, such as working on a script that is not directly related to program and piloting work o developing such educational contents and expression in the media field that are not directly related to program and piloting work
Making study materials to improve journalistic and artistic work in the media field
Investigative and research work aimed at improving the media field

Please note also that grants are not awarded for:

doing vocational basic studies in their entirety
equipment purchases
meal costs etc., with the exception of the working grant, which is intended for covering the recipient’s living costs
projects with commercial purposes
recreational purposes
retroactively for courses or study trips that have already started or ended
uses that tax authorities consider to fall under the Income Tax Act

The working grant awarded to a study group can also be no larger than the highest yearly tax-free grant determined by the tax authorities. Working grants can be applied for a maximum of one year

How do I apply for a grant?

It is essential for all applications to include a well-reasoned plan for the spending of the grant, an account of the work history of the applicant/work group leader, as well as an account of copyrighted content created during the last three years. Work group grant applications must also include the group’s shared project goal and the product that will be created during the project.

If you are applying for a grant to organise a seminar/group instruction, please provide as much relevant information on the event as possible. Grants can only be awarded for the organising of seminars if the event benefits employees who belong to the scope of the KOURA grant. It is, therefore, essential to explain how the persons who belong to the scope of the grant are able to participate in the seminar.

Please note also before applying:

The recipient of the grant must sign an agreement pertaining to the use of and reporting on the grant, as well as possible refunds and the handling of the applicant’s personal information.
KOURA is subject to Kopiosto, so an agreement must be reached with the employer of the applicant on the possible use of the grant during working hours beforehand.
KOURA is not responsible for the insurance of the recipients of the grants under any circumstances. Check your insurance coverage with your employer and possible trade union.
The recipient of the grant must put aside approximately 15 % of the work grant for insurance payments and take care of their own insurance and payments. The Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution Mela takes care of the pension, accident, and group life insurance of the recipients of the grants. All statutory insurance payments must be made if a grant has been awarded for work lasting at least four months. Insurance payments are included in the maximum amount of the work grant. Before applying look into: https://www.mela.fi/en/grant-and-scholarship-recipients/
With travel, the cheapest possible means of transportation must be used.
Kopiosto reports all grants paid to the tax authorities every year.
The recipient of the grant is also responsible for providing receipts on the use of the grant to the tax authorities upon request. Please save all original receipts for this reason.
You may leave your application by signing in our system in this address: https://koura.apurahat.net

More information on grants

Grants are divided into expense and work grants. They differ from each other e.g. in reporting practices. Both grants are applied for using the same application form.

Expense grants

An expense grant is meant for covering the costs listed in the application, and these expenses must be verified with receipts when reporting on the use of the grant. Expense grants are awarded individually or to a work group. The leader of the project is responsible for reporting on behalf of the work group.

Please note that only individual scholarships (not group scholarships) can be applied for seminar/festival trips.

Please note also:

In the case of festival events, apply for a personal grant
Radio days and Input grants can only be applied for in October

Working grants

A working grant is meant for covering living costs. To show that the working grant has been used for the correct purpose, you must be able to present the product described in the application. Working grants are awarded to individuals and work groups. The leader of the project is responsible for reporting on behalf of the work group.

Please note also:

you can only receive one working grant for each project
a working grant cannot be used while on a paid holiday or leave
grants received from elsewhere do not make an applicant ineligible to receive a grant, but in that case, the applicant must provide an account of other grants received or applied for in the application
a working group can also include freelancers and persons who are not part of a trade union, but the group leader must meet the aforementioned eligibility requirements
the project of a working group must have a clearly non-commercial goal that also benefits people other than the working group members themselves
The largest possible yearly grant is the same as the largest yearly tax-free grant determined by tax authorities. In 2021 the maximum amount was 23.668 euros (2330 euros per month). The aforementioned maximum amount can be raised if there are any so-called natural deductions approved by the tax authorities that can be applied. Natural deductions are costs related to study materials, assistants, travel, proofreading, and other costs directly related to research activities.

The working grant awarded to a study group can also be no larger than the highest yearly tax-free grant determined by the tax authorities. Working grants can be applied for a maximum of one year

Grants for organizing seminars/group education

Grants for organizing seminars/group education are awarded to businesses, collectives, independent entrepreneurs, and persons employed somewhere other than Yle or MTV or its affiliates.

A grant for organizing seminars/group instruction is intended for paying the lecturer, tickets, covering the ticket costs for tickets given for free, and other costs listed in the application. The recipient of the grant must be able show the working grant has been used for seminars/group instruction in their reporting, as agreed in the application.

Please note also:

grants for organizing seminars/group education can be awarded to businesses, collectives, independent entrepreneurs, and natural persons
the eligibility requirements do not need to be followed in relation to waiting period rules or the applicant’s copyrighted content
grants received from elsewhere for organizing seminars/group instruction do not make an applicant ineligible to receive a grant, but in that case, the applicant must provide an account of other grants received or applied for in the application
if a grant is awarded for organizing seminars/group education, tickets must be distributed also to persons eligible for KOURA grants in a predetermined way
if a grant is awarded for organizing seminars/group education, the organizing party must aim at distributing tickets to persons whose work relates to the law of copyright in a significant way. The procedure for distributing tickets must be described in the application

Time of use of the grant and changes in plans

the grant must be used within one year of receiving it
KOURA has the right to request a refund if the original use of the money has changed. These changes include e.g. changes in the the application, other financiers, schedule, goal, product, and work group
the recipient of the grant must inform the KOURA educational board beforehand and in writing of any of the aforementioned changes

The grant must be returned in case

the recipient fails to report on the project ending within three months
the grant has not been used within one year of receiving it
the grant has not been used for the intended purpose or the grant is not spent entirely and the left over is more than 50 euros
refunds to the account of Kopiosto: FI83 5046 0110 0098 05 / referens: ”Koura palautus” and the number of the application

Reporting

A written report must be provided to the KOURA educational board within three months after the project has ended
in the case of a work group, the leader named in the application is responsible for the reporting on behalf of the whole work group
The report must include pdf copies of receipts, or a different kind of verification that has been agreed upon beforehand must be delivered
the report is delivered in electronic form via the application system: https://koura.apurahat.net/

You will be informed personally if you have been awarded a grant approximately within three weeks after the application period ends.

The names and uses of the recipients of the grants will be posted on the KOURA website approximately one month after the application period ends.