Premises grants and activity grants: what Danish law gives your club

For many clubs, municipal grants are an important income alongside dues. The rules are in the Act on Popular Education (folkeoplysningsloven), but the act only sets the frame. The municipality decides rates, deadlines and forms,¹ so it looks different from one municipality to the next. Here's the frame, so you know what to look for.

Who can get grants?

The club must be a popular education association (folkeoplysende forening). Among other things, the act requires:¹

• Statutes with a purpose, and the club must offer popular education activity, such as sport or work with children and young people.
• A board and a democratic structure.
• At least five paying members, and the club must be built on active membership.
• Open to everyone who supports the purpose.
• Based in the municipality you apply to.
• Non-profit and ongoing. The club must not be run for financial gain.

The statutes must also cover the purpose, board elections, accounts and the election of an auditor, the registered seat, conditions for membership, who can sign for the club, how the statutes are changed, and where any surplus goes if the club is dissolved.² The municipality decides whether the club meets the conditions.¹

Free premises

The municipality must allocate suitable, vacant rooms, halls and outdoor facilities in the municipality to popular education clubs, first and foremost its own. Allocated premises are free, including electricity, heating and cleaning. If there isn't enough, activities for children and young people come first. You must apply for premises digitally, usually through the municipality's booking system.¹

Premises grants

If you have your own or rented rooms, halls or campsites for activities for children and young people under 25, the municipality must give a grant towards running costs:¹

• At least 65% of running costs for club activity with children and young people under 25.
• At least 75% for ordinary rooms used in adult education, such as evening schools.
• Running costs include rent, interest, taxes, insurance, maintenance, heating, lighting and cleaning.²
• The municipality's duty only applies up to a maximum rate per hour, which is adjusted over time.²
• The municipality can turn down a new application if it can allocate a suitable municipal room.
• If you have participants over 25, the grant can be reduced proportionally. Leaders and instructors over 25 don't count.

Some municipalities give more than the legal minimum. Tønder, for example, gives 80% in 2026,³ and Skanderborg 75%.⁴

Activity grants

The act says the municipality must give grants to activities for children and young people under 25, but not how. The municipality picks its own grant model,¹ and the names vary: activity grant, member grant or activity member grant (aktivitetstilskud, medlemstilskud, aktivitetsmedlemstilskud). Often it's an amount per member under 25. Two examples from 2026:

• Tønder: 203 kr. per active member under 25, counted at 31 December, with a deadline of 1 November.³
• Skanderborg: 200 kr. per member under 25 (the 2025 rate), for members who have paid dues and been members for at least three months. The grant can't be larger than the member's fee, and the deadline is 15 January.⁴

The municipality can also give grants for adult activities, but that's voluntary.¹

How to apply

1. Find your municipality's popular education policy and grant rules. Search for "tilskud folkeoplysende foreninger" and the municipality's name. The municipality must publish the policy.¹
2. Get approved as a popular education association if you aren't already. The municipality usually asks for the statutes and details of the board.
3. Note the deadlines. They differ for member grants, premises grants and grant accounts.
4. Keep the member count up to date with age and paid dues, so you can count members under 25 on the cut-off date.
5. Submit grant accounts. From 1 January 2026, they must at least be signed by the board members who can sign for the club.⁵ The municipality sets the period, deadline and audit rules.¹

If a grant is misused, the municipality can demand it back. The board is only personally liable if the claim stems from an unlawful act or omission that was intentional or negligent.¹

With Clubroom

In Clubroom, birth date, membership type and paid dues sit on every member, so you can see how many under-25s you had on the cut-off date, and who has paid. See Report your member numbers to CFR.

This is a general overview, not legal advice. Your municipality's rules decide what you can get.