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West Nordic Capital Fund
The application period for the West Nordic Capital Fund for 2024 has now opened.
Allocation
Applications must be submitted no later than Monday, April 1, 2024; applications received after this date will not be processed.
Applications for grants from the fund
Grants from the fund can be applied for early in the year and are awarded annually. Information is posted on the Reykjavík City website and social media. To apply, individuals must use the appropriate forms found on the websites of the capital cities and provide information about their projects, estimated financial expenditure, and amounts requested. Grant recipients must use their funding within the calendar year of the grant and return any unused funds. At the end of the project, grant beneficiaries must submit a report to the Fund together with a financial statement.
About the West Nordic Capital Fund
City Council acceded to the cooperation fund of Nuuk, Reykjavík, and Tórshavn on July 20, 1999. The Fund was originally managed according to rules from June 18, 1999, which were revised in 2012 when the name of the fund was changed to West Nordic Capital Fund (I. Vestnorræni höfuðborgarsjóðurinn). Members of the fund are Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq (Nuuk) in Greenland, Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands, and Reykjavík City.
Purpose and objectives
The mission of the fund is to promote cooperation and understanding between politicians and residents in Reykjavík, Tórshavn, and Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq (Nuuk) through:
- grants for cultural, educational, and sporting projects
- as well as thematic debate on topical political issues in the West Nordic region
Composition of the Board and meetings
The Board of the Fund is composed of the mayors of the three capitals, along with two elected representatives from each city. The Board meets once a year, rotating between the three capitals, to allocate the year's grants. Board meetings are typically held in the spring or early summer, in May or June.
Besides the Mayor, City Councilors Dóra Björt Guðjónsdóttir and Kjartan Magnússon serve on the Fund Board on behalf of Reykjavík City until the end of the 2026 term.
Financial contributions, grant amounts and allocations
The capital cities contribute 200,000 Danish kroner each to the Fund annually. At least 600,000 DKK is allocated each year, but it will be 300,000 DKK for 2024. Allocation is carried out by each city informing their board meetings of the applications they have received and making allocation proposals from their local fund for the projects. There have been instances where the board allocates more than the total annual contribution, using funds from previous years due to unspent grants, as is the case for 2024.
According to this procedure, Reykjavík representatives make an annual allocation proposal for projects submitted to Reykjavík City. The representatives rely on the assessment from the Culture Office at the Department of Culture & Sports within Reykjavík City for grant applications. In the assessment of applications, particular attention is given to whether the project meets the Fund's eligibility criteria, specifically if it promotes increased cooperation among residents. Most of the time, the amount allocated by the City of Reykjavík is divided into smaller grants for various projects, but in some years it has been decided to give the entire grant amount to a single project.
Management of the Fund
The Office of the Mayor and Chief Executive Officer at Reykjavík City Hall manages the Fund's Reykjavík branch, including communication with applicants and grant recipients in Reykjavík. The City Council in Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands is responsible for overseeing the payment of grants, as well as the preparation and review of annual accounts and reports.