Foundations have to register with the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH), who also control their legality, focused primarily on the examination of financial statements. Foundations are normally set up to manage donations made for a specific purpose. Foundations operate under the supervision of a board of trustees. Registered foundations are legal persons. To set up a foundation you need capital of at least 50 000 euros. In Finland there are approximately 2700 registered foundations, out of which approximately 800 are grant making foundations (Säätiöt ja rahastot ry 2024). There are new foundations established yearly, for example RELEX foundation in 2022 (Lappalainen 2023).
Brief history of foundation funding
The registration of foundations began after foundation legislation in 1931. The history of foundations in Finland goes however way longer back. Citizens supported to begin with church activities, nursing and philantrophy, as well as university education. The connection between private funding and sciences is actually longer than the history of the university establishment. Wealthy royals supported the studies of Finnish youngsters in top European universities in particular in Wittenberg and Rostock. This was the first step of the foundation of the Turku academy in 1960. (Tiitta 2018).
In 1945 there were 37 foundations supporting scientific research. A shift occurred after the second world war, when the foundations were actively involved in supporting the continuation of the finnish society. The years from 1946 to 1959 saw a major increase in the foundation formation. Twentyeight foundations were established during this period all supproting the finnish science, technology and education development. (Tiitta 2018).
Foundations now
Foundations supported science with 295 million euros, art with 85 million euros and other societal development with 158 million euros in 2023. The support of art increased by nine million as compared to the previous year. The major support was given to medicine and health science, a total of 90 million euros. Finnish foundations are the main supporter of medical research in Finland. Business and social sciences received 57 million euros, and humanities 44 million euros. For social sciences the support of the foundations is crucial, a quarter of all research expenditure is covered by foundations. (Raivio et al. 2024)
For universities and science, the role of foundations is significant. Philantrophy plays an increasingly important role within the research and university sector providing much needed funds whilst government funding is simultaneously decreasing. For example, LUT Universities has received funding from foundations to start professorships and degree programmes in addition to research funding (EKSP 2024; LUT 2023). Foundations play an increasing and important role in enhancing the development of university level education.
Author
Kristiina Brusila-Meltovaara works as a principal lecturer in the technology department of LAB and as the director of foundation relations at LUT.
References
EKSP. 2024. Etelä-Karjalan säästöpankkisäätiö. Myönnetyt avustukset 2024. Cited 13 Oct 2024. Available at https://www.ekspsaatio.fi/myonnetyt-avustukset/
Lappalainen, E. 2023. Säätiölle osan miljoonista lahjoittanut yrittäjä: ”En kaipaa juuri mitään, kunhan on hyvä polkupyörä, kirjoja ja aikaa”. Helsingin Sanomat. Cited 4 Oct 2024. Available at https://www.hs.fi/talous/art-2000009975788.html
LUT. 2023. LUT-yliopisto perustaa lahjoitusvaroilla uuden sähkötekniikan professuurin Lappeenrantaan. Uutiset. Varainhankinta. Cited 12 Oct 2024. Available at https://www.lut.fi/fi/uutiset/lut-yliopisto-perustaa-lahjoitusvaroilla-uuden-sahkotekniikan-professuurin-lappeenrantaan
Raivio, T., Saarinen, I. & Auvinen, J. 2023. Säätiöt ja rahastot ry: Jäsensäätiöiden tuen 2023kohdentuminen. Gaia Consulting Oy. Cited 4 Oct 2024. Available at https://saatiotrahastot.fi/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Selvitys-saatiotuesta-2023.pdf
Säätiöt ja rahastot ry. 2024. Tuore selvitys: Säätiöt tukivat tiedettä, taidetta ja kansalaistoimintaa 538 miljoonalla eurolla. Cited 4 Oct 2024. Available at https://saatiotrahastot.fi/juttuarkisto/saatiotuki-2023/
Tiitta, A. 2018. Tieteen tukijoukot. Suomalaiset säätiöt tieteen ja korkeimman opetuksen kehittäjinä. Cited 4 Oct 2024. Available at https://saatiotrahastot.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Allan-Tiitta-Tieteen-tukijoukot.pdf
