Environmental Fund

The fund is called “UMFÍ Environmental Fund – Pálmi Gíslason Memorial Fund”; Pálmi was Chair of UMFÍ 1979–1993.

The purpose of the fund is to support environmental projects by clubs within the youth association movement. Priority shall be given to projects involving younger people and projects that promote closer connections with Iceland’s nature.

Account shall be taken of clubs’ unequal access to funding for projects and of local clubs’ matching contributions to projects, as well as innovation in environmental protection and use.

The founders of the fund are the family of Pálmi Gíslason, the youth association movement and other well-wishers.

The fund’s capital shall not be less than ISK 5,000,000 and shall be linked to the consumer price index of October 2015. The fund shall be guaranteed at least ISK 1,200,000 annually, paid by UMFÍ. UMFÍ’s contribution is decided in the budget each year. The fund’s board may seek additional funding from other parties.

The fund’s board shall consist of one representative of the family of Pálmi Gíslason, the Chair of UMFÍ and at least three representatives appointed by the UMFÍ Board.

The fund board’s term coincides with that of the UMFÍ Board, i.e. two years. The fund board’s task is to allocate money from the fund and monitor the use of grants.

The fund’s board decides the grant amount each time and sets more detailed guidelines for allocation.

Allocations from the fund shall take place once a year. Applications shall be sent to the UMFÍ office on a special form.

The application deadline is up to and including 15 April each year. The fund’s board shall allocate from the fund no later than one month after the application deadline. The condition for a grant from the fund is that the recipient is a club in UMFÍ and the project is an environmental project.

Before each allocation, applications to the fund shall be advertised by sending a notice to member federations and placing an advertisement on the UMFÍ website and in other public channels. Advertisements for applications shall include a link to the UMFÍ website, which shall provide more information about the fund and an overview of the grant recipients, grant amounts and projects that have received grants from the fund.

The fund’s board reserves the right to obtain more information than is provided on the application form and to seek the opinions of others. The fund’s board assesses each application for approval or rejection. If an application is approved, the fund’s board shall decide the amount of the grant. Applicants can ask the fund’s board for the reasons for its decision on their application.

UMFÍ’s member federations, active member clubs and departments within them are entitled to apply for grants from the fund. The UMFÍ Board and committees are also entitled to apply.

The fund’s board may, on its own initiative, award grants from the fund to projects that are not part of the movement’s annual projects.

Everyone who receives a grant from the fund must submit a report to UMFÍ after the project is completed, on the use of the grant, the arrangements, the main content and the results. The report shall be accompanied by copies of invoices for expenses incurred. Grants are only paid to clubs within UMFÍ, not to individuals. If a grant has not been claimed 24 months after allocation, it lapses.

The fund’s board shall submit a report to the UMFÍ Board setting out, among other things, the grants awarded and the fund’s finances. The fund’s income statement and balance sheet shall be published annually in the UMFÍ annual report, which is presented at the Federation Congress and the Federation Council Meeting.

The auditing firm that audits UMFÍ’s accounts at any given time shall also be the fund’s auditing firm.

This regulation enters into force immediately. Amendments to the regulation require the approval of a simple majority at the UMFÍ Federation Congress.

Approved at the 54th UMFÍ Federation Congress in Stykkishólmur in 2025.