The results of the Small Funding 2026 have now been published. The Nessling Foundation has decided to fund seven projects, with a total grant amount of €60,500.
With the Small Funding call the Nessling Foundation supports civil society projects that aim to accelerate sustainability transformation. In 2026, the funded projects tackle the subject from multiple perspectives, focusing on:
- highlighting youth climate activism in Sub-Saharan Africa through documentary storytelling
- promoting clay as a sustainable building material in Savo-Karjala
- increasing the popularity of plant-based diets by “Plant-based October” campaign
- incorporating non-human perspectives in environmental decision-making in Häme Lake Uplands
- challenging Helsinki’s official urban plan with an alternative proposal in Mellunkylä
- learning from non-human systems through an artist-researcher mentorship model in Lahti
- elevating biodiversity loss as a key issue in parliamentary elections
Explore the projects in detail below. For previously funded Small Funding projects, visit the full list of our grantees.
Highlighting youth climate activism in Sub-Saharan Africa through documentary storytelling
- Grantee: CRUX Productions ry
- Project: Not Done Yet
- Granted amount: 10,000€
Youth are losing their hope. And yet, there are countless young people at the front lines of the ecological crisis, insisting that they are not done yet. These are their stories. Not Done Yet is a youth-led empowerment initiative that consists of a documentary film and a complementary impact campaign centered on climate activism. The documentary will combat victimising climate narratives with personal stories of agency from across Sub-Saharan Africa, while the campaign will focus on connecting the film’s audiences with concrete “first steps” to making a change. By collaborating with local youth organisations, the project will organise community events, school visits, and a social media campaign across Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative challenges who is perceived at the core of climate action and what solutions are considered possible. By arming young people with chances to lead the ecological transition, the project aims to empower a new wave of climate activism.
Promoting clay as a sustainable building material in Savo-Karjala
- Grantee: Innovatiiviset tuotekehittelijät ry
- Project: Funding of clay center of Savo Karjala with local clay- and other material
- Granted amount: 10,000€
The project seeks alternatives to plastic and other artificial materials. In construction, it is possible to use local and ecological raw materials while simultaneously improving self-sufficiency. The purpose of the project is to share information about ecological and breathable materials in such a way that participants can make and learn themselves through workshops guided by a professional. Domestic clay is of high quality, and when combined with reed, it provides durability to the surface. A lot of clay raw material is imported from abroad, even though domestic clay is excellent in its properties. The project investigates the potential for sourcing clay locally and tests the use of a clay-reed mixture.
Increasing the popularity of plant-based diets by “Plant-based October” campaign
- Grantee: The Vegan Challenge / Oikeutta eläimille ry
- Project: Plant-based October campaign
- Granted amount: 10,000€
The Vegan Challenge’s “Plant-based October” campaign encourages Finns to reduce or give up meat and animal-based food products for a month. Visible in public spaces and the media, the campaign encourages people in a positive way to take small but impactful actions and communicates in a clear manner the positive environmental and sustainability benefits of a plant-based diet. The goal is to get 10,000 people to join the campaign by signing up on the Vegan Challenge website in September and October, to support them in making plant-based choices throughout October, and to lay the groundwork for a more sustainable and long-term dietary change.
Challenging Helsinki’s official urban plan with an alternative proposal in Mellunkylä
- Grantee: Vokal Oy
- Project: Urban Resilience Plan – implementation of a research-based and locally-driven alternative urban plan for Mellunmäki
- Granted amount: 5,000€
The Urban Resilience Plan is a project in which the architectural practice Vokal, together with a local residents’ movement and environmental organisations, will implement an alternative plan for Mellunmäki in East Helsinki. Mellunmäki has been designated an urban renewal area, which will lead to an expected increase of 2,000-5,500 residents. However, construction is planned in the nearby forests and on the site of the current Mellunkylänpuro stream bed. Relocating the stream would devastate the ecosystem and the work done by local communities to restore it. During the six-month project, Vokal Oy will explore alternative ways to develop the area in co-design workshops with locals. The aim is to equip local communities with the architectural skills to protect local nature. The project’s final outcome will be an official planning document challenging the city’s current plan, as well as a method guide that different communities can use to prepare their own alternative plans.
Incorporating non-human perspectives in environmental decision-making in Häme Lake Uplands through an interspecies council
- Grantee: South Tavastia Nature Conservation Association / Project Luontoylänkö 2030
- Project: An interspecies council – a pilot in the Häme lake uplands to support civic activities and decision-making throughout the country
- Granted amount: 10,000€
The project outlines, adapts, implements and documents the working of an interspecies council in the Häme Lake Uplands. The experience gained can be utilised in civic activities and decision-making in the whole country. The underlying purpose is to strengthen interspecies justice in the sustainability transition. Interspecies councils have been used abroad to bring the perspective of other species into decision-making. The council can help avoid harm to other species and their habitats. The work gives a voice to representatives of other species while also encouraging the participation and commitment of local people to civic activities, decision-making and land use planning. The project is implemented by the Luontoylänkö working group. The project will publish materials on the work of the multi-species council, produce openly available instructions on the method, and produce a localised version of the More than Human Intelligence Cards with the permission of the original creators.
Learning from non-human systems through an artist-researcher mentorship model in Lahti
- Grantee: Kauno ry
- Project: In a Supporting Role
- Granted amount: 10,000€
In a Supporting Role is an artistic development project exploring non-human systems, the ways other species organise life, communicate and build communities, as alternative models to human systems. The project is built around a mutual artist-researcher mentorship model: artists selected through an open call are connected with a researcher who participates in the artistic process, while the artist in turn supports the researcher in finding new perspectives. Researchers are identified after the artist selection, based on each artist’s needs. The mentorship collaboration produces public events open to all audiences. Students from LAB University of Applied Sciences are also involved in the project. The public outcome of the project is a multidisciplinary exhibition at Galleria Uusi Kipinä in Lahti in spring 2027, following the project period.
From Apathy to Activism – Elevating biodiversity loss as a key issue in parliamentary elections
- Grantee: Keskiluokkakapina / Ympäristötoiminnan mahdollistajat ry
- Project: From Apathy to Activism – The Middle Class as a Catalyst for Sustainability Transformation
- Granted amount: 5,500€
The project promotes sustainability transformation and the fight against biodiversity loss by organizing two high-impact public events in autumn 2026 and before 2027 parliamentary elections. The “From Apathy to Activism” concept brings together research-based knowledge, experts, and citizens to dismantle the sense of powerlessness caused by the ecological crisis and turn it into action—both on a structural level and as consumers. The autumn event provides a forum for discussion on a sustainable relationship with our forests, our most important national treasure. The spring event challenges political decision-makers to envision a society that operates within the planetary boundaries of nature’s carrying capacity. The goal is to elevate biodiversity loss into a top election theme and support the middle class in their transition from awareness to impactful advocacy.
- You can browse all projects funded by the Nessling Foundation here.
- Our next funding call will be held in August 2026. It will be an general call for doctoral and post-doc research projects, as well as for science-based action projects.