A fundraising campaign organised through the Finnish Forest Foundation amassed the record sum of 330,000 euros for the new machinery hall of the Forest Museum Lusto, situated in Punkaharju, Eastern Finland. Some 30,000 forest owners and all forest operators in the area took part in the campaign.
”This is invaluable for us. We started the building with loan money. This Forest Foundation fundraising enables us to pay back the loans and complete both the hall and the exhibition. We can also add features we had already eliminated due to strict budgeting,” says Ms. Helkamari Nolte, Director of the Museum.
The Iso-Samperi machinery hall, named after a famous forestry personality, tells the story of how forestry work was mechanised in Finland in the 1900’s. Built entirely of wood, the hall nearly doubles the exhibition spaces of the museum. Though the hall and the exhibition were opened in spring 2008, the funds collected will be officially presented to the museum by the Finnish Forest Foundation today.
The exhibition on the mechanization of forestry work has garnered a lot of positive feedback. Many visitors remember working with the museum pieces and machines.
In the Iso-Samperi machinery hall visitors get to see the machines, but also how they were used. The fundraising makes it possible to design and build a special space for the use of schools and students for learning by doing. Nolte says that before the campaign, plans for this space had been discarded due to tight budgeting
Concrete manifestation of team spirit
”People know the Lusto museum and appreciate the work it does. It was easy to get people to donate funds for Lusto. The fact that the target was a concrete one also helped,” says Mr. Timo Leskinen, Director of the Järvi-Suomi Regional Forest Owners’ Union.

Leskinen considers it important from a cultural viewpoint that the machinery was not left simply to rust. “A real team spirit grew around this project among all forest operators. These days, there have not been too many projects such as this,” he sums up.

“This fundraising campaign organised through the Finnish Forest Foundation was what we call a targeted one. This means that the funds collected for the foundation in a certain area are ear-marked for a certain project,” explains Ms. Liisa Mäkijärvi, Executive Director of the Finnish Forest Foundation.

1.3-million revenue from targeted campaigns
The donation is 0.2 percent of the value of the timber deal in a standing sale; that is, if the trees are felled by the buyer. In an average sale this equals the value of one log destined for a sawmill. If the timber is sold at delivered price, in which case the seller takes care of the felling, the donation is 0.1 percent of the value of the sale.

So far, some 1.3 million euros have been collected for seven regional projects in targeted campaigns by the Finnish Forest Foundation. The figure includes the estimated revenue from an on-going targeted campaign.

Mäkijärvi says that the percentage of donations is highest when times are bad or when timber sales are going especially well.

Regional initiatives for campaign targets
Ideas for projects for targeted fundraising come from the regions. “We have no guidelines about suitable projects. What we at the foundation look for is that the initiative is supported by both the forest owners and timber buyers, and that the project supports foundation's goals,” Mäkijärvi says.

Fundraising for the Finnish Forest Foundation is continuous, but only one targeted campaign is on-going at any given time. The funds for the Iso-Samperi machinery hall were raised in 2008 in the Järvi-Suomi and Northern Karelia regions.
When selling timber, a forest owner can decide whether to donate a percentage of the sales revenue to the foundation. The donation is voluntary, but if the forest owner decides to donate, the timber buyers have committed themselves to donating an equal amount to the foundation. The state-owned forestry enterprise Metsähallitus pays a donation for all its timber sales.
Currently, funds are being collected in Northern Finland for a permanent exhibition on forestry work and forest use, to be situated in Rovaniemi.
The majority of the targeted campaigns have concerned projects on constructing with wood. On the other hand, funds have also been collected for a study on how well capercaillies manages in commercial forests.

Donations made in 37 percent of timber sales
The Finnish Forest Foundation was established in 1995 to promote Finnish family forestry, forest industry innovations and the use of wood. During 1996–2008, the foundation received 20.7 million euros from forest owners and timber buyers to be used for these purposes.
Mäkijärvi says that the fund-raising arrangement, by voluntary donations and cooperatively by forest owners and timber buyers, is unique. The fact that funds steadily continue to flow in tells that the team sprit is still alive and forest owners and the industry share the same goals.

Some 120,000 timber deals are concluded annually in Finland. In 37 percent of them, the forest owner decides to donate a part of the revenue to the Finnish Forest Foundation.

Krista Kimmo

The majority of the Finnish Forest Foundation’s targeted fundraising campaigns have involved constructing with wood. In some cases, such as the Sibelius Hall in Lahti, the foundation’s share has been relatively small though it affected the choice for building material. Some, such as St Henry’s Chapel in Turku, could not have been built otherwise