London-based charity Youth Music’s Fund B is open until the end of September 2021 for Expressions of Interest from organisations seeking grants for music-making and related activities and for promoting a ‘relevant and diverse music offer for all children and young people.
Grants of between £30,001 and £150,000 are available to successful applicants, and up to £200,000 in exceptional circumstances, such as cross-regional or national strategic programmes.
In the two-stage process, up to 70% of those who submit a short expression of interest form by 1 October will be invited to complete the full application fund to explain the detail of their proposal.
Proposals should be for a music-related programme for young people or children facing barriers in England, especially meeting one or more of Youth Music’s priorities. It should have been co-designed by young people with a young person on the team. It should also be a sharing programme, involving partner organisations and open to other Youth Music participants to share ideas, skills and resources.
Applicants must be committed to improving equality, diversity and inclusion, including youth voice and participation, and be able to show an ongoing assessment of these aims. They must be UK-based and have a signed governing document, be legally constituted and providing activity for over a year with a documented set of accounts. They must have relevant insurance, including employer’s and public liability, and must comply with all statutory legislation.
The fund is not open to individuals or profit-making programmes or activities that promote party political or religious beliefs. It is to provide funds for projects that would not be eligible for funding from statutory bodies or for GCSE Music or A Level.
The amounts granted are limited by the length of the proposed programmes and their reach. Notification to those who pass the first stage will be made on Friday 5 November and full applications must be submitted by 6 December for adjudication by 18 February 2022.
Youth Music has a number of different funding programmes to promote music for young people across England, including early years, all the way up to encouraging young people into viable careers in music. This has included smaller grants for individuals up to a few national projects.
Applying is not simple, but the potential assistance it provides makes it worth the effort. Although the Youth Music Network began as a London project, it now reaches across England and is keen that people in other regions take advantage of its offering.
It recently tweeted, ‘We are looking to increase our investment in projects that are working in the Early Years, in Youth Justice Settings or with Disabled Young People. And we are particularly keen to see applications from the East of England, East & West Midlands and Yorkshire.’
Further details of this round of funding can be found on the Youth Music Network website.
