The Board of TREY decided on the allocation of grants in its meeting on 11 June 2026. In accordance with the Association Standing Order, the decision was made within two months of the application deadline. TREY’s operational grants will be paid out in June.
This year, 131 associations applied for the grant, of which 129 were awarded. The application form was completed via TREY’s association portal, JIPPO. Grants could be awarded to associations that have TREY’s association status, have done the annual association notification for 2026, have completed the application on time, and have submitted the requested attachments. Due to technical challenges related to the use of the portal, some applications and attachments were submitted to the Association Sector via email. As per the Association Standing Order, the Association Sector contacted associations about missing attachments or responses.
A total of €86,000 in TREY operational grants was distributed this year. Of this, €50,000 was allocated based on the quality of the association’s operations, assessed through a scoring system based on the responses given in the application (motivational part). €36,000 was distributed based on financial need (means-tested part).
In the motivational part, the associations’ activities were assessed in terms of event activities, feedback systems, equality, board activities and good governance, internationality, communications, sustainable development, educational and social policy advocacy, tutoring, and freshmen activities.
The maximum score for subject associations with student intake, other subject associations, and faculty and umbrella associations is 100 points. For hobby associations, the maximum score is 70, as these associations could not respond at all to the questions concerning educational policy, tutoring, or freshmen activities. For social policy advocacy, hobby associations had their own advocacy question, separate from other associations, for which a maximum of five points could be awarded.
The calculated grant amount per point for the motivational part was €7.86 this year. The calculated maximum grant from the part is therefore €786 for subject associations with student intake, other subject associations, and faculty and umbrella associations. The calculated maximum grant for hobby associations, in turn, is €550.20. The points were distributed among all associations between 14 and 94.5 points. The average score is 49.33 and the median is 44 points.
A total of €102,256.30 in means-tested support was applied for. The support was distributed in proportion to the association’s balance sheet and income statement according to its most recent financial statement. The grant amount took into account means-tested allocations from previous years, so that the support received by associations would not fluctuate too much between years. In addition, the budget, action plan, and annual report submitted by the association, as well as the open answers for the need for support given in the application, were taken into account. Particular attention was paid to newly established associations since the previous grant cycle and to subject associations in weaker financial standing. The associations’ needs were roughly divided into four categories, which in descending order of importance were maintenance, events, acquisitions, and other justifications.
In general, projects were not funded. A lot of the project applications involved moving and furnishing association spaces or organising specific events. TREY supports such projects and acquisitions through a separate project grant, of which a substantial amount is still available for 2026. TREY also distributes additional project grant for corporate cooperation and/or similar projects that advance the employment of the members of the association.
Means-tested support was awarded to 101 associations. The means-tested support amount varies between €100 and €1,000 per association. The average is €356.44, with the median being €300.
The combined operational grant support amount varies between €220.02 and €1,652.21.
Please note that the files may have minor accessibility issues related to the reading order of the table when using screen readers.
For any questions related to operational grants, TREY’s Association Sector can be contacted at jarjesto@trey.fi.
Please note that the Association Sector is on summer break from 29 June to 2 August!