Discretionary government grants awarded to civil society organisations for work to combat racism – EUR 240,000 awarded to ten different projects

The Prime Minister’s Office has awarded a total of EUR 240,000 in discretionary government grants for work to combat racism in 2025–2026. The grants were available to civil society organisations representing ethnic minorities and were intended to strengthen the organisations’ core activities and develop new ways to combat racism.

The call for applications was open from 12 May to 30 June 2025. A total of 62 applications requesting more than EUR 2.6 million in funding were received by the deadline. The high volume of applications meant that grants could only be awarded to selected applicants. 

The decision on which organisations would receive funding focused especially on the following factors:

• the link between the applicant’s work and anti-racism objectives,
• the applicant’s understanding of racism in its various forms,
• the project’s ability to strengthen the work of key actors operating with limited resources, and
• the project’s connection to the priorities stated in the call for applications and the government action plan to combat racism.

The call for applications focused on three main priorities: supporting communities affected by racism, strengthening advocacy work to combat racism and developing new operating models for combating racism.

Recipients of discretionary government grants

• African Anti-Racism Society Finland – Roots and Rights (EUR 42,000)

The project supports communities of African descent experiencing racism through training, community dialogues and meetings with decision-makers. 

• Anti-Racist Forum – DECODE project (EUR 42,000)

The goal of the project is to improve the technical capabilities of the hate crime reporting and monitoring system and lower the threshold for reporting hate crimes, while also raising awareness of hate crimes.

• Mixed Finns – Peer group events for mixed Finns (EUR 14,000)

The project organises peer group activities for mixed Finns in different parts of Finland.

• Monaliiku Well-Being and Sports for Multicultural Women – Move to combat racism (EUR 30,000)

The project organises events that combine physical activity, community building and anti-racist interaction. The aim is to create a practical operating model that can be used by municipalities, schools and sports clubs.

• Moniheli – Antiracism2 (EUR 30,000)

The project aims to strengthen the anti-racism advocacy work of immigrant and multicultural organisations through training, study groups, workshop models and tools.

• Youth Muslim Forum – ÄÄNESSÄ project (EUR 42,000)

The project will use training, workshops and media content production to strengthen young Muslims’ media literacy, societal advocacy and critical understanding of discriminatory structures. The result will be an operating model for advocacy and mentoring that can be disseminated throughout the country.

•  POC Book Club – Handbook on diverse literature for schools (EUR 10,000)

The project will produce a handbook for teachers of grades 3–6 on how to include literary content that supports anti-racism and diversity in their teaching. 

• The Filipino Nurses Association in the Nordic Region – RAISE the BAR (EUR 10,000)

The aim of the project is to develop bilingual (Finnish and English) training material on respectful communication and anti-racist practices for healthcare personnel, as well as pamphlets for patients. 

• Muslim Forum of Finland – Policy recommendations for public administration (EUR 10,000)

The project will produce a guide for public administration bodies, especially municipalities, with information and recommendations on promoting equality for the Muslim population.

• The Finnish Roma Association – Hun ta au mensa! (EUR 10,000)

Through monthly meetings, the project aims to increase Roma youth’s awareness of racism and ability to identify and address it through peer learning.

The discretionary government grants were awarded in accordance with the Act on Discretionary Government Grants. Decisions on discretionary government grants are based on assessments carried out by officials subject to liability for acts in office. The call for applications for discretionary government grants was organised as part of the action plan to combat racism put forth by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government. The action plan aims to promote equality, gender equality and non-discrimination in Finnish society.

Inquiries: Katriina Nousiainen, Chief Specialist, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 295 160 735

The email addresses of the Prime Minister’s Office are in the format [email protected]