TTE Fund - Apply for a grant
Apply for a grant
This page contains instructions for applying for a grant. Read the entire page carefully before you start filling out the application form!
The Fund for the Promotion of Teekkari Operations awards grants in two ways: through the continuous application process and during application rounds. Applications are submitted by completing an online form, which is available at any time. However, it is essential to ensure that the deadlines for applications rounds and the scheduling of decisions align with your project’s timeline.
If necessary, the fund may request the association’s budget and the most recent financial statements.
The goal of TTE Fund is to support and encourage teekkari and other student activities in all their forms through its grants. The more Aalto community members can participate in the project or enjoy its results, the better. The Fund particularly values projects that encourage individuals to collaborate and work together to create something new. We also urge applicants to engage in active communication both within and outside the Aalto community, since the appreciation of the university and its students also depends on public visibility. Effective communication also enables many Aalto community members to enjoy your project in various ways.
The Fund does not adhere to a strictly defined policy in its grant allocation process; instead, the Directorate exercises its discretion in accordance with the Fund’s regulations and the spirit of the deed of donation. However, the Fund does not provide grants for the following purposes:
- Projects making a profit
- Schoolwork, Master’s theses or other theses
- Funding for recurring basic operations
- Grants intended for the payment of salaries or fees for volunteer work
- Projects that have already been completed; funding cannot be retroactively applied for
- Alcohol
- Useless stuff
In addition, the Directorate is highly critical of funding excursions and study trips, as such funding be available from either the corporate world or the university. When fundraising for such projects, you should look into opportunities for collective work efforts, sponsor deals and funding from the City of Espoo or Helsinki, for example. If your project includes students from the Aalto School of Business, you may also apply grants from KY foundation.
You can access the application form here
The Directorate regularly reviews applications submitted through the continuous application process. This means that applicants do not have to wait until a specific date for a decision. Through the continuous application process, grants up to €2,000 can be applied for throughout the year, with the exception of the holiday month of July. These grants are intended for small projects that can be completed on a short timeline, which is why the grant amount is awarded based on an 'all or nothing' principle. Generally, grant decisions are announced within two weeks of submitting the application. For continuous applications, only the online form needs to be filled out, without the requirement of attaching a separate application. Applicants are notified of decisions personally, and the awarded grants are published on the “Awarded grants” site.
Important to note:
- The amount of the grant is a maximum of €2,000.
- A project is either granted the applied-for amount or nothing at all. In other words, if the Directorate considers the applied-for amount to be too much for the project, a grant will not be awarded. Therefore, you should think carefully about how much funding to apply for.
Awarded grants must be collected within one year of being granted. Any grants not collected by the deadline are considered expired.
Application rounds are organised three times per year. During the application rounds, you can apply for grants for both larger and smaller projects. There is no maximum amount for grants in the application rounds, which means that the awarded grant amount may differ from what was applied for. The review of applications starts only once the application round has closed, and decisions are made within 3–4 weeks. The Fund Directorate’s knowledge and understanding of the project are based on the submitted application alone. The application is submitted via an online form in PDF format and must include a project plan, communications plan and budget. A summarised description of the project must be written on the online form, but the application itself must be highly detailed. In case of a very large project, the Directorate may also invite the applicant(s) to its meeting to present the project in more detail and to answer any questions. The Directorate’s secretary or chair will always arrange these situations with the applicant(s) separately.
How to prepare a project plan?
Include the following in your project plan:
- For what purpose is the grant being applied for and why?
- Why should the grant be awarded specifically to you?
- What kind of phases or parts does the project consist of?
- What is the goal of the project?
- What is the size of the group that the project concerns? Specify the number of students and graduates.
- What is the project schedule?
- What makes this project something that aims for the stars, excites others to join, and gets noticed and heard?
- Is the project responsible from the perspective of sustainable development? How has sustainability been taken into account?
- Drafts, images, and usage examples may be helpful in clarifying the project plan.
- A long-term project that requires time and funding
Aim to ensure that the project plan conveys the project team’s best ideas, as well as the motivation and enthusiasm for executing the project.
How to prepare a communications plan?
The purpose of the communications plan is to clarify how the project will be communicated. It does not have to be as comprehensive as the project plan, but it should indicate how the project will be visible to others besides just the grant applicants.
Consider the following in the communications plan:
- How, where, and when will you communicate about the project?
- How will the project be visible to, for example, members of your own association, associations operating within AYY, all AYY members, or even in national media?
- Is the project targeted at specific groups, and how will they be reached?
- How can you engage a large audience to get excited about your project?
- How will the project be documented?
- TTE Fund appreciates visibility in the projects it supports. How could the Fund’s involvement be made visible in the final product, event or the project’s marketing? Don’t be afraid to bring even unusual ideas to the table – how about an acted-out ad, a drinking song full of praise or a kind-hearted caricature of TTE Fund?
You can get TTE Fund’s logo or ready-made advertising templates by contacting TTE Fund’s secretary at tter(at)ayy.fi.
How to prepare a budget?
A budget lists all expenses and income related to the project in as much detail and comprehensively as possible.
The goal is for the budget to inform the Fund at a glance about the financial scale of the project and how the applied-for grant amount is intended to be used. A carefully prepared budget demonstrates that the grant applicant has a good overall picture and plan for the project and the resources it requires. Therefore, it is important to put effort into its preparation.
Include the following in the budget:
- ALL project-related expenses, not just those you hope to cover with the grant.
- How costly are the materials and the production?
- Will there be marketing expenses?
- What kinds of unexpected situations may arise, and how are they prepared for?
- Which costs would TTE Fund’s grant be used to cover?
- ALL project-related income; both realised and expected.
- Provide your closest estimate of ticket sales, other sales income, or rental income for the next few years, broken down by students and graduates.
- Have you applied for or are you planning to apply for other funding? If so, for how much?
- What types of sponsorship deals are being planned?
- How much effort will the association, project team, or grant applicant themselves put into the project?
- If the project's outcome is something that can be rented, what will be the rental fee? Will the rental fee differ for association members, AYY members, and others? What is the estimated annual rental income?
- Generally, TTE Fund does not support projects that generate profit or have all expenses covered by the grant amount.
- Feel free to create alternative budgets as well.
- What are the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the project?
- How crucial is funding from TTE Fund in either scenario?
- If the applicant has ongoing activities (e.g. an association), please include the annual budget (income and expenses) and membership fee in the budget.
When preparing the budget and planning the project’s execution, keep in mind that purchasing a ready-made product or service may not always the best or cheapest option. Often, doing things yourself can provide good quality inexpensively and meet your specific needs. TTE Fund also values projects with a DIY spirit!