HOW TO APPLY FOR A GRANT

The Patricia Seppälä Foundation awards grants for projects in photojournalism, newspaper and periodical photography, reporting and documentary photography, as well as for developing, researching, studying and teaching photojournalism. Grants are also awarded for exhibitions and book projects. We also award photographers working grants of 2000 € to develop and enhance their own projects. In addition, we offer a courses. More detailed description of the course below under the heading Foundation Courses.

In 2025–2027 we do not give out grants for digitizing projects. Instead, we will be supporting Press Photo Archive JOKA’s digitizing projects. For more information, please contact the foundation’s executive officer.

In the text below, you will find instructions for applying for a grant with the help of the foundation’s electronic application service. Questions regarding the application process can be addressed to the foundation’s Executive officer, Ms Paula Arvas, tel. +358 44 586 6144, paula.arvas@patriciaseppalansaatio.fi. In case of technical problems, please contact the application service’s helpdesk. You will find the contact information on the application form. Please read the instructions before you move on to filling in the application.

Application Time

The application time for the Patricia Seppälä Foundation grants is January. In 2025, the electronic application service is available from January 2^nd to January 31^st. The application is to be submitted via the electronic application service so that the application is saved by 11.59 pm Finnish time (UTC + 2:00) on the last day of application, i.e. January 31^st. Note that applications submitted after the deadline will not be processed. Please apply in good time – the electronic service may be congested close to the deadline.

Applying Electronically

Applications are submitted through the electronic application service. The link to the service will be open throughout the application time. You can find the link at the end of these instructions.

The electronic application service will have instructions for logging in. After logging in you will receive a username that will allow you to fill in the application form. The completed form will then be submitted to the foundation through the electronic application service. This means that you do not send your application by regular mail. The foundation will process the applications that have arrived through the electronic application service during the given application time (see above).  Applications that have been submitted too late or by other means than the electronic application service will not be processed.

Only one grant can be applied for with one application form. In case you are applying for more than one grant, you need to fill in an application individually for each grant.

When your application has been successfully submitted in the foundations electronic system, you will receive an email confirmation.

What can you apply for?

Documentary projects
You can use a documentary grant for your work, material costs and travel expenses. You can apply for a grant at any stage of your project: initiating, shooting and finalizing.

Book projects
You can use a book project grant for doing or finalizing a book project (working with a book project), layout and printing expenses or fees for writing texts to accompany the photos.

Exhibitions
You can apply for a grant to cover labour costs generating from preparatory work for an exhibition prepare for an exhibition, as well as material costs (such as printing and hanging or supplementary materials), or for example, venue costs.

Studies
We also offer grants for photojournalism studies, special courses and workshops. You can also use this grant for a thesis.

Other projects
You can also apply for a grant for preliminary arrangements of a collection of documentary photographs or history projects of thereof. We don’t award grants for actual digitalising projects. We channel all digitalising support to the Press Photo Archive (under Historical Picture Collection, in turn under Finnish Heritage Agency).

Investigative Journalism Grant for a Photojournalist-Reporter Team (10,000 €)
This grant is awarded to a photojournalist-reporter team for an investigative journalism project or initiative. Its purpose is to support a project that is either in its early stages or already underway, with an objective to produce new information or perspectives, with text and images being of equal importance. While a publication platform does not need to be secured at the time of application, the project should aim to produce a cohesive piece for publication in the media.

Working grant (2000 €)
You can submit an application for brainstorming and planning of a new project or, for example, to support and enhance several incomplete projects. The grant is for covering working costs.

Who Can Apply?

Private individuals, work groups and communities involved in the field of photo journalism and documenting photography are eligible for a grant. Work groups and communities are to name a contact person in their application, and to give his/her contact information.

Grants cannot be applied for by proxy. If you are applying for a grant, but cannot for one reason or another submit an electronic application, please contact the foundation’s Executive Officer (see contact information above).

Grants are not awarded retroactively to projects that have already been realized, nor in cases where the applicant has not given the foundation a specification of previous grants.

Enclosures

The grant application must be completed with a project plan and a resumé as attachments in PDF form. The work plan needs to include a schedule, an estimate of expenditures and details of the project’s overall funding. Design the work plan meticulously and make sure that you have included all the necessary information in an understandable way.

The application must also include electronic evidence of work experience, i.e. photographs, 5-10 photograph per application. The form of the photos is to be JPG and their size in maximum 4 megabytes. When applying for a grant for a book project, do not attach the book’s print layout to your application. Instead, attach the requested picture samples only.

All work samples are to be attached to the application and submitted to the foundation in electronic form.

Testimonials

Your application can include the contact information of people, who are willing and able to give a testimonial or a reference for you. This information should include: name, organization, phone number and email address. Testimonials / references will then be requested upon need.

Foundation Courses

In case you are interested in the course arranged by the foundation, fill out a separate application form for the course and save the form in the system online. Also, attach your photo samples and resumé to your course application. In addition, fill out the field “The purpose of the grant in brief”.  Write about your experience and also write why it would be important for you to be able to attend the course. Decisions on course applications will be made immediately after the deadline. Accepted applicants will be informed by email. In 2025, we will organize a workshop led by Heidi Piiroinen.

Heidi Piiroinen’s Workshop on the Theme “Youth”

 We live in uncertain times. There are wars in Europe and its neighboring regions. Climate change is affecting all of us. The pandemic disrupted our lives and daily routines.

All this has maybe affected young people in particular, and for example increased their screen time. Digitalization and the demands set by social media are intense; everyone is expected to be the best and most interesting version of themselves. Young people may also be wondering where they will secure a place to study or work and what jobs the future will hold. On the other hand, young people today have better skills than previous generations in articulating even difficult topics, discussing mental health and fears openly. They also have the courage to express themselves.

What counterforces can combat fears and uncertainty? How are Finland’s young people doing, and how do they see themselves and the world around them?

Photojournalist: If you’ve been reflecting on these themes in your work or personal thoughts, apply to join a workshop led by Heidi Piiroinen. The workshop consists of five sessions (21.3.2025, 25.4.2025, 23.5.2025, 5.9.2025 and 7.11.2025). The sessions will take place in central Helsinki (Fridays from 10 AM to 4 PM). The workshop is limited to eight (8) participants and will be conducted in Finnish.

Heidi Piiroinen has been working in various areas of photojournalism, conceptualizing and producing reportage both in Finland and abroad for twenty years. Piiroinen worked as a photojournalist for Helsingin Sanomat from 2006 to February 2022. The book Ohikuljetut – erään kerjäläisperheen tarina (The Overlooked – The Story of a Beggar Family), which Piiroinen created in collaboration with author Kimmo Oksanen, received the State Award for Public Information in 2019. In 2020, she was awarded the Patricia Seppälä Foundation Photojournalism Prize. Since 2022, Piiroinen has worked as a freelance photographer and artist.

Processing Applications and grant decisions

The grant applications are handled and assessed in February and March. The names of the grant recipients will be published on the foundation’s website by the end of April 2023 at the latest. The application process is confidential. Decisions are reached through good foundation practice. No justifications shall be available for individual grant decisions, which is a standard practice in all foundations.

Every year the foundation receives more good applications than it has grants to award. This means that no well-composed application can automatically result in a grant.

Reporting Obligation of Grant Recipients

Each grant recipient is obliged to submit a report on how the grant has been used by the end of January next year. The report has to be in such a form that it can freely be used in the foundation’s communication. The foundation also expresses the wish that images produced with its funding could also be used in the foundation’s communication. The foundation will be publishing posts regarding the projects of the grant recipients on the foundation’s website as well as on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Why a final report, and what kind?

Without a final report on how a grant has been used the foundation cannot award a new grant. The report has further significance in that it provides information to the person assessing new grant applications. The person in question does not necessarily have knowledge of past applications nor projects. For these reasons it is paramount that the final report be clear and concise.

In your report, please include the name of the grant you received in the past, as well as information on how you used the money, and the end results. In case your project is still ongoing, lay out your plans on how to proceed. Also, include 3–5 photo samples to the report.

Link to electronic grant application system

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