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Get Involved

Join Us!

Individual Membership

When you join Finlandia Foundation National, you become a part of the largest Finnish-American network in the country. All members of FFN receive:

  • The bi-annual newsletter The Finnish Line
  • A copy of the organization’s history book, Black Ties and Miners’ Boots by Jon L. Saari
  • A place in the ranks of Join the 7,000 members who support Finnish heritage and Finnish-American culture in their communities and across the country

Finlandia Foundation National requires all individual members to pay an annual dues of $20 to FFN.

Your membership dues help us expand our grants program, increase scholarship awards, support the Performer of the Year, Lecturer of the Year and Artist of the Year programs, and offer free, online concerts, webinars, National Sauna Week, Soiva Music Camp and more. Click below for the membership application form:

Join us!

Signing up online is not the only way. If you join one of the 60 FFN-affiliated chapters in the United States, you gain membership in the national organization.

View chapters

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Mail a Check

You may also mail a check payable to: Finlandia Foundation National 254 N. Lake Ave. #852 Pasadena, CA 91109

Chapter Affiliation

Finlandia Foundation National has much to offer affiliated chapters. FFN is the leading, independent source of support for Finland in America, and is now celebrating its 70th anniversary. Our 60 chapters in 25 states and Washington, D.C., form a network with the common goal of appreciating and enjoying a connection to Finland and Finnish America.

Chapter leaders meet quarterly in Zoom meetings to get up-to-date on FFN activities, spread their organization’s news, raise questions and help each other by sharing ideas and suggestions.

Please click the two sections below to read both the guidelines and benefits of affiliating with FFN.

If you have questions about membership. please contact FFN Operations Manager Jessica Ann at office @ finlandiafoundation.org.

Apply for Chapter Affiliation

  1. Each Chapter of Finlandia Foundation National is an independent, self-governing entity, solely responsible to its membership and the local community for its affairs. Each organization determines its own mission, plans its own activities, and remains in control of any funds and property, with no interference or involvement by the Finlandia Foundation National organization. All organizations have one common goal:  the preservation of Finnish-American heritage and culture.
  2. FFN Chapters in good standing* are permitted to use the Finlandia Foundation name and logo.
  3. The FFN office in Pasadena, California, is an important resource, especially for new chapters, and will provide guidance and direction and share resources and materials with new chapters. The office will provide all new members with a complimentary copy of “Black Ties and Miners’ Boots,” an institutional history of the national organization.
  4. The FFN website offers opportunities for linkage to all FFN chapters and affords the new chapters visibility. Chapters are encouraged to create their own web pages that can be linked to the site.
  5. All the members of FFN chapters receive the twice-yearly FFN print newsletter, “The Finnish Line,” and the monthly e-news. These communications inform, inspire, and link the chapters, and at the same time publicize the achievements of the chapters and FFN.
  6. FFN Chapters in good standing* may request FFN grants for local cultural programs, support grant requests of other organizations and /or individuals, and support FFN scholarship applications submitted by qualified applicants.
  7. FFN chapters help to shape the national organization by presenting candidates for FFN trustees and Performer of the Year (POY) and Lecturer of the Year (LOY), and by contributing materials to the FFN newsletters and social media.
  8. FFN Chapters in good standing* may take advantage of FFN’s travel funding for both Performer of the Year and Lecturer of the Year by inviting an entertainer or scholar to perform/lecture at a local chapter event.
  9. Chapters are kept informed of planned programs and events. Should a given program or event sponsored by another chapter be of interest, funding may be available to support the transfer and replication of the program locally.
  10. Other tangible and intangible benefits can be derived from the strength and common purpose of a mature, well-endowed, nationwide organization, in the areas of communications, mutual support and cooperation with other organizations. A Finlandia Foundation chapter can expect to be better informed about Finnish and Finnish-American cultural trends and programs than a local organization without national and international ties. The substantial funds that Finlandia Foundation National awards each year in the form of scholarships, grants and chapter support reflect favorably on all Finlandia Foundation chapters.

*A chapter must be fully current in submitting annually the list of its members, with current postal and e-mail addresses, to Finlandia Foundation National, and meet the other requirements of FFN affiliation, to be considered a chapter in good standing.

  1. New Finlandia Foundation National (FFN) chapters are encouraged to include the words “Finlandia Foundation” in the official name of the chapter; for example, “Finlandia Foundation of Boston.” It is understood, however, that some existing Finnish-American cultural organizations that affiliate themselves with FFN may opt to use the original name of incorporation, like the Hibbing, MN FFN chapter, which is called “Finnish-Americans and Friends.” The chapter then publicizes its affiliation with FFN by way of our logo, newsletters, letterhead and other printed materials.
  2. FFN Chapters are cultural rather than ethnic organizations, and membership is open to all friends of Finland regardless of ethnic background. The official language of the organization is English.
  3. The bylaws of the local chapter should allow the organization to qualify as a “not-for-profit” cultural and/or educational 501(c)(3) organization approved by of the IRS. The bylaws shall clearly state that the purpose of the organization is to provide both the membership and the general public with cultural/educational programs and events featuring Finnish and Finnish-American culture. Chapters are encouraged to incorporate and to seek tax-exempt status. Information about how to become a 501(c)(3) organization is available on the IRS web site.
  4. FFN has suspended its previous dues structure; there is no fee to become affiliated with FFN, however, contributions from chapters are welcome. The requirement for a chapter’s good standing is submission of a list of the individual organization’s members. This will include an address for mailing the twice-yearly FFN publication “The Finnish Line,” as well as an e-mail address for each member so that they may receive the monthly FFN e-newsletter and other e-correspondence. The membership list must be updated on an annual basis.
  5. Finlandia Foundation is a federally registered Service Mark. The name Finlandia Foundation and the Finlandia Foundation logo are to be used only by organizations associated with Finlandia Foundation National.