About Finnish Foundations
Simple terminology
- “Foundation” is the general term in Finland
- It is equivalent to the british term “Charitable Trust” and the american terms ”Non-profit foundations” and “Private foundation”
- Foundations have to be for public benefit only and need to be registered to be able to have the non-profit status and to get the tax benefits
- Foundations are categorised inofficially according to their operational purpose
- Operative foundations, for example nursing homes and housing foundations
- Grant-making foundations
- Mixture of operations and grant-making
Interesting figures
- The amout of registered foundations in Finland is c. 2,700.
- C. 800 of above mentioned are grant-making foundations.
- Oldest of the Finnish foundations was established in the 19th century.
- Balance sheet total for all Finnish foundations is over 20 billion EUR in market value.
- Median size of balance sheet total is 1,3 million EUR in market value.
- 100 largest foundations represent more than 80% of the balance sheet total mentioned above.
- 62% of foundations’ investment are in stock market, 17% in the interests.
Basic Facts
- Most common areas of action are culture, recreation, research and education.
- New Foundation Act (since 1 December 2015), previous Act from 1930’s.
- Official supervision by Finnish Patents and Registration Office.
- Newest facts about Finnish foundations supporting research and innovation, see EUFORI-study (2015)
- Simple taxation summary:
– Public benefit foundations get tax exemption.
– Private donations are not tax deductible.