Siemenpuu Foundation’s funding for 2016 from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland was cut by 40 % compared to 2015. This was part of the massive cuts of the development cooperation funds announced by the new government.
Also other bigger Finnish development organisations have faced similar levels of cuts, and the call for proposals for smaller organisations were cancelled in 2015 altogether.
The cuts will hit hard the Siemenpuu Foundation and its partners in developing countries. There are cuts in the Siemenpuu personnel. Planned new initiatives and calls for applications are postponed or cancelled. We will try to minimize the adverse impacts of the cuts on the current partners’ activities and on the beneficiaries.
This is a hard blow to the efforts aimed strengthening the civil society in developing countries working on environment, democracy and human rights. In many areas and regions where Siemenpuu works the space of civil society to advocate and work for a more sustainable and equitable future is already shrinking. The drastic decision of the Finnish government will further escalate the worrying tendency.
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The Foundation receives its funding from the public development cooperation funds administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The Foundation’s budget for 2016 is 1.25 million Euros. In 2015, the budget was 2.1 million Euros.
Ministry’s news (30.6.2015) on the decision “Changes in CSOs’ development cooperation support from the start of next year”
EurActiv /The Guardian article on Siemenpuu’s website “Finland slashes development aid by 43%”