Every donation becomes part of the University’s donated capital and is a vital support for researchers and students. The University invests its donated funds responsibly to ensure that these assets can support science and studies for decades to come. The oldest foundations that continue to award scholarships and grants were established in the 18th century.
For more information, please contact us: lahjoittajasuhteet (a) helsinki.fi
There are many different ways of giving to the University of Helsinki. All donations support the University’s strong international multidisciplinary research and teaching. Here are some examples of the ways you can donate to the University of Helsinki:
We invite all donors of €1,000 or more to join the donor community, Club Giraffe, the inner circle of science! Donors whose monthly gift to science reaches the qualifying total will also be invited to join Club Giraffe.
University of Helsinki has a money collection permit (RA/2020/737), permitted by the National Police Board on 18 June 2020. The permit covers all of Finland, with the exception of Åland. The funds will support the tasks given in §2 in the Universities Act (558/2009). University of Helsinki is responsible for the fundraising.
A donation of €3.4 million to establish an endowed professorship can open up a new field of research. Endowing a professorship is an investment to ensure the University’s pioneering position in an important field or to establish a new research area. A donation of €3.4 million is required to establish a permanent professorship which will bear the name selected by the donor and the University. The professor’s salary and other expenses will be covered by the returns the University will pay into the professorship fund every year. A donation of €600,000 can establish a five-year professorship.
The donor and the University will together determine the field of the professorship. The University will appoint the professor. Examples of endowed professorships include the professorship in non-fiction literature and the professorship in Russian energy policy.
Donors can support an important issue permanently by establishing a named fund. The fund will be named according to the wishes of the donor, and it will receive a fixed annual return of, for example, 5%. The purpose of the fund will be laid out in the rules that will be drafted in cooperation with the donor. An administrative committee will manage the returns of the fund.
Private individuals and organisations can establish named funds, which can be either independent funds or established as part of a discipline-specific or other joint fund. The minimum capital of an independent named fund must be €200,000, and that of a fund established as part of a discipline-specific fund, €2,000.
Between 2015 and 2018, more than 30 named funds have been newly established as part of the University of Helsinki’s endowment. In total, these funds number more than 300, and their history extends to nearly 300 years in the past. The oldest known fund established on a private donation which continues to award scholarships is based on the bequest from Lieutenant Erik Ekestubbe from 1745. Other donated funds tracing back to the era of the Royal Academy of Turku in the 18th century include the Haartman and Bilmark funds.
Funds reflect the society and the period of time that gave rise to them. The heyday for establishing named funds at the University was during the early years of Finland’s independence, until the 1930s. Relatively few funds were established between the late 1950s and the 1990s, but in the new millennium, the establishment of named funds has again become more popular. The visionary donors have had the will, drive and understanding of how a targeted fund could best promote the development of science and boost welfare in Finland. War, language disputes, the political climate and the creation of new disciplines have all spurred donors to establish funds. Some have wanted to promote language skills, or research in mathematics and physics, while others have focused on teaching in education or the study of tuberculosis.
The most important goals for founding a fund have been securing or promoting a discipline, financially supporting talented low-income students, enhancing international activities and the collection of information, promoting the cause of Finland and humanity through research, improving the situation of a particular locality or language, commemorating an important person or event in Finland or the University, honouring the life’s work of a loved one, and appreciation for the donor's own education and alma mater. Donor stories are being published online as well as in the Helsingin yliopiston rahastot ja lahjoittajat (in Finnish) yearbook.
You can commemorate a birthday, a graduation or a retirement a by accepting gifts in the form of donations to a University of Helsinki fund. Such donations will be used to promote research and to support students in a field of science that the celebrated person holds dear, either to a fund established by the donor or to an existing fund.
Several commemorative donation drives are organised for University of Helsinki Funds every year. The donations can be either allocated directly to support a particular target or used to establish a fund bearing the name of the person to be honoured to support a discipline he or she values.
Bequests are an opportunity to make a significant difference with the assets we leave behind. The University commits to allocating the bequest according to the wishes of the donor as defined in his or her testament. The bequests will be used to establish a fund bearing the name requested by the donor, and rules will be drafted for the fund on the basis of the testament. The University’s experts can help determine the best target for the bequest.
The University of Helsinki has received several significant bequests in recent years totalling several million euros.
Join us and support studies and research for the best of the world by making a regular donation to the University of Helsinki. The donations will be used to support science, research, higher education and community relations. You can target your monthly donation to a specific fund or to the operations of the University of Helsinki in general. Donors of €1,000 or more, whether in a single instalment or over several months, are invited to join Club Giraffe.
To start donating, set a monthly payment for a specific date in your online bank. Enter the University of Helsinki as the recipient and add the account details FI15 1660 3001 0767 70, Nordea NDEAFIHH. In the message field, you can include a note of the name of the donor and indicate the intended target of the donation.
We can also provide further information via phone or email at lahjoittajasuhteet (a) helsinki .fi or 02941 21650.
The University of Helsinki’s donated funds feature nine discipline-specific funds as well as dozens of other funds that support research, teaching and studies in all of the University’s fields. Donations can be directed to a discipline-specific fund, with an indication that the donor wishes to support a particular research field or project. The donation can be added to a fund or allocated in its entirety to a specific project.
Donors may request that their donation be used at one time or over a set period, and towards a specific target (e.g., a specific project or a new piece of equipment).
You can support the Helsinki University Library’s e-book, journal and textbook purchases by participating in the textbook donation campaign or the Finnish Museum of Natural History’s work for biodiversity. Read more about donating a textbook or the Finnish Museum of Natural History.
Donations of objects and collections play an important role in accruing resources for libraries and museums. Such gifts from individuals, companies and organisations are a wonderful addition to the University’s collections, as they support research and teaching and bolster the University’s exhibitions. The National Library and museums are happy to receive donations of books, objects and collections relevant to their work. Even small donations can be of immeasurable historical value for the University or an important addition to its collections.
For example, the mammoth family displayed in the Change in the Air exhibition at the Natural History Museum is a gift from the Jääkausi association, which has also created life-size reconstructions of the woolly rhinoceros and the Irish elk.
The animal models were created under the supervision of University of Helsinki experts.