€373m granted to healthcare, social welfare orgs

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on Thursday announce the award of a total of EUR 373.6 million in grants from the Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations (STEA) to healthcare and social welfare organisations for their non-profit activities promoting health and social wellbeing in 2023, said an official government press release.

Topical themes include support for mental health, prevention of violence and help for people fleeing Ukraine

A significant portion of the grants, altogether EUR 286 million, was allocated to the continuous activities of organisations. A total of about EUR 88 million was granted to one-off projects and investments. In the grant decisions, topical themes include supporting mental health, preventing violence and supporting victims, as well as helping people who have fled Ukraine. It was possible to apply for a discretionary increase in the grants for general or targeted activities for 2023 on the basis of rising costs.

A total of 984 organisations and foundations applied for STEA funding, the number of submitted applications being 2,299. The total amount of funding applied for was EUR 545 million. Of all the applications, 1,782 were granted funding. A total of 433 new projects will be launched in 2023. This year, there are 797 grant recipients, of which 49 are new.

The Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations (STEA) is an independent government grant authority operating in conjunction with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. It prepared the proposal for grants. The assessment and grant division of the advisory board for healthcare and social welfare organisations’ grant-related matters submitted an opinion on the proposal. The Ministerial Finance Committee supported the proposal, and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health made a decision on the grants on 26 January 2023.

In 2023, STEA grants are awarded from Veikkaus Oy’s proceeds from gambling services. It has been proposed that funding for healthcare and social welfare organisations and foundations and funding for the support of war veterans be covered from the Budget starting on 1 January 2024.