Deadline: 25-Nov-22
The Youth Music Trailblazer fund offers grants of £2,000 to £30,000 to organisations in England to run projects for children and young people (25 or under) to make, learn and earn in music.
The Youth Music Trailblazer fund is financed with National Lottery funding, which they receive through Arts Council England.
Funding Themes
Your work must meet one of their themes:
- Early years
- For children aged 0–5 who face barriers to accessing music-making because of their circumstances or where they live. They encourage programmes that promote:
- Access to quality, creative musical experiences that support children’s developmental needs.
- Shared learning between early years specialists, music specialists and parents, so that all become skilled, confident, and engaged in encouraging young children’s musicality.
- Workforce diversification.
- For children aged 0–5 who face barriers to accessing music-making because of their circumstances or where they live. They encourage programmes that promote:
- Disabled, d/Deaf and neurodivergent young people
- They encourage programmes for young people (aged 0–25) that:
- Ensure that they have equitable access to progress in music in a way that meets their needs and aspirations.
- Provide routes for Disabled young people into the workforce.
- They encourage programmes for young people (aged 0–25) that:
- Youth justice system
- For children and young people (aged 0-25) who are, have been, or are at risk of being involved with the youth justice system. They encourage programmes that:
- Are youth-led and offer culturally relevant and engaging music programmes that promote personal and social outcomes alongside musical development.
- Work in partnership with other organisations and agencies to support safeguarding and progression and ensure that young people’s needs are met.
- For children and young people (aged 0-25) who are, have been, or are at risk of being involved with the youth justice system. They encourage programmes that:
- Young people facing barriers
- For children and young people (aged 0–25) who face barriers to music-making due to their characteristics or life circumstances, or because of where they live. They encourage programmes that:
- Are youth-led and offer culturally relevant and engaging music programmes that promote personal and social outcomes alongside musical development.
- Work in partnership with other organisations and agencies to reach young people facing barriers and ensure that their needs are met.
- For children and young people (aged 0–25) who face barriers to music-making due to their characteristics or life circumstances, or because of where they live. They encourage programmes that:
- Young adults
- For young adults aged 16-25 who want to take their music further, or for whom music can support wider personal and social outcomes. They encourage programmes that:
- Improve young people’s confidence, skills, social networks, and emotional wellbeing as well as providing specific mentoring, networking, and industry opportunities.
- Increase and enhance engagement with employment, education, and training.
- For young adults aged 16-25 who want to take their music further, or for whom music can support wider personal and social outcomes. They encourage programmes that:
- Organisations and the workforce
- Work that benefits the people and organisations who provide inclusive musicmaking opportunities for children and young people (aged 0-25). They encourage programmes that support and encourage:
- Organisations to be innovative, resilient, and inclusive.
- A diverse workforce that is networked, and skilled in inclusive practice with children and young people.
- Work that benefits the people and organisations who provide inclusive musicmaking opportunities for children and young people (aged 0-25). They encourage programmes that support and encourage:
Funding Information
- Amount: Grant sizes are between £2,000 and £30,000.
- Duration: Length Projects last between 6 and 24 months
Ineligible Activities
There are some types of music activity they won’t fund. These are:
- Whole class tuition on the same instrument or group of instruments (e.g., strings) in schools.
- Individual tuition fees for young people to learn an instrument in school
- GCSE or A Level Music.
- School-based music curriculum activity.
Eligibility Criteria
Target organisations:
- Small organisations who support children and young people to make, learn or earn in music.
- Those who work with children and young people facing barriers who want to trial a new music offer.
- Established organisations that want to test a new way of working or disrupt the status quo.
For more information, visit https://youthmusic.org.uk/trailblazer-fund