keräystä

Keräystä is a Finnish noun that denotes the act or process of gathering or collecting. It derives from the verb kerätä and appears as the partitive form keräystä in many phrases. The word is used across several contexts to describe a coordinated effort to bring together people, items, funds, or information.

In the charitable and nonprofit sector, keräys commonly refers to fundraising campaigns, or rahankeräys, aimed at supporting a cause. Such campaigns may be organized by associations, churches, or other public-benefit organizations and can proceed through events, collections at public locations, or online appeals.

Keräys can also mean the physical collection of objects, such as a museum's or a library's item collection, or the ongoing process of gathering materials for a project. In research and data work, tied to the verb kerätä, it is used in phrases like tiedonkeräys to describe the collection of data or responses.

Regulatory and governance aspects surround public or large-scale collections in many jurisdictions to safeguard donors and ensure proper use of collected resources. Organizations conducting fundraising campaigns are typically expected to be transparent about fundraising practices and accounting, and may need permits or registrations depending on the local rules.

The term reflects a long-standing aspect of Finnish civic life, with charitable, cultural, and community collections playing a role in society.