The Paulo Foundation
Board members 2011, from left to righ: Doctor of Economics Erkki Hämäläinen; Professor Anne Pitkäranta, Chairman Yrjö Palotie; MD,Docent Ilkka Rauramo; Rector for Finnish Academy of Fine Arts Markus Konttinen.
The Paulo Foundation, established in 1966, is a non-profit foundation.
The Paulo Foundation is based upon the last will and testament of Reko Paulo's wife, Hulda, and their daughter Marja. Reko and Hulda Paulo were restaurateurs. They founded the Russian-style restaurant Bellevue that still exists in Katajanokka, Helsinki. Grigori Pawlow, who later changed his name to Reko Paulo, was born in 1891 in the village of Tedre in Estonia. The substantial estate left behind by the Paulo family, which included an entire building and several apartments in Helsinki, was a testimony to their hard work. Reko and Hulda Paulo had two children. Their son Teppo fell in the last days of the Finnish-Russian war on the eastern front in July 1944 and their daughter Marja never married.
In terms of the regulations governing the Paulo Foundation it awards grants to artists and researchers who are either Finnish citizens or permanent residents in Finland. The grants are awarded in the fields of medical and economic research as well as in fine arts and music.
After 1966 the Paulo Foundation has received the following donations to supplement its initial capital.
The Daisy and Yrjö Eskola trust fund was established in 1978 and it has awarded grants for post-graduate medical studies and research. Daisy and Yrjö Eskola were childless professionals who left their estate to the Paulo Foundation.
Sigurd and Liisa Wikström were also a childless couple. Sigurd Wikström made his fortune as the proprietor of a coach company and in other related businesses. The couple set up a trust fund in their name in 1989. After their deaths in the 1990s their estate was left to the trust.
The Kalle and Märtha Ebb trust fund that was established in 1994 awards grants to the promotion of Finnish alpine skiing and to alpine skiers competing at junior level in Finland and abroad. Kalle, born Karl A. Ebb in 1896 and the proprietor of a textile factory, was a keen sportsman. He was 5th in the hurdles event at the Paris Olympics in 1924. In addition to being an enthusiastic racing car driver, Kalle Ebb was also a pioneer of Finnish alpine skiing in the 1930s. Kalle's only child Heimo, a son born during his first marriage, was killed in the war in July 1944 just ten days after Teppo Paulo.
The Paulo Foundation also governs the following trusts: The Eino Hirvonen trust supports post-graduate studies in the field of export, the Veikko Palotie trust supports post-graduate studies and research in the field of business law, the Jorma Pätiälä trust supports research into lung diseases as well as into war and other similar injuries, the Tapani Tammisto trust supports research in the field of anaesthesia, the Ahti Tarkkanen trust supports research in opthalmology, and the Trust for Maxillofacial Surgery supports research work in this field. In 2010 The Leena Peltonen-Palotie Memorial Fund was established.
Symposium Honoring Academician of Science, Professor Leena Peltonen-Palotie will be arranged 18-19 May 2011 in Helsinki.
Thus, grants are awarded for medical and economic research as well as for the development of fine arts and music. Annually, the Paulo Foundation distributes from its total grant allocation 50% to medical science, 25% to economical science and the remaining 25% is equally divided between fine arts and music. The Paulo Foundation also supports young artists by purchasing their works for its own art collection. Additionally, the individual trust funds award grants.
Since 1977 Paulo Foundation and Sapporo Medical University have had an extremely fruitful Researcher Exchange Programme. Every year a medical researcher from Sapporo visits a Finnish medical university, and vice versa. These visits last between one to two months.
Paulo Foundation is the main sponsor for The International Paulo Cello Competition, which was launched and held for the first time in Helsinki 4-14 November 1991.
The second Competition was held 3-15 November 1996. The aim is to arrange these events every fifth year. The next competition has been planned for spring 2013.
The artistic director of the International Paulo Cello Competition is Professor Arto Noras.
For more information about the International Paulo Cello Competition, click here.