Grant Directories

The Universal Music UK Sound Foundation provides bursaries to music students at select UK music colleges and conservatoires, offering financial aid specifically for tuition fees. The award aims to support music students who are financially in need, providing aid for their tuition fees at eleven designated music colleges and conservatoires in the UK. The Foundation distributes £5000 per college annually as bursaries, and the allocation of these funds is managed at the discretion of each institution according to the Foundation's criteria.

The grant offers up to £1000 for individuals in full-time education to purchase musical instruments or equipment. Applicants must be EU/EEA nationals, British, or ordinarily/habitually resident in the UK. The grant does not cover music lessons, tuition fees, or maintenance costs. Applications require a reference from the applicant's current music teacher and are accepted twice a year.

Youth Music is a UK charity that supports young people's involvement in music.  The Youth Music Catalyser Fund offers grants between £30,001 and £ 300,000 to organisations in England who want to sustain work, scale-up delivery, or create change in sector practice. The Catalyser programmes must support children and young people who face barriers to make, learn or earn in music, and aim to make music activity more inclusive so everyone can access it. 

UK charities and non-profit organisations can apply for grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 per year, for up to three years from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation's Creators and Curators funding scheme.  The aim of the scheme is to support organisations that work with artists to create new or reimagined work; and to strengthen those institutions that focus on making use of curatorial skills to attract a wider public.

Youth Music is a UK charity that supports young people's involvement in music. They offer grants of up to £2,500 to support emerging musicians and behind-the-scenes creatives aged 18-25 through their NextGen Fund. The funding helps artists including singers, songwriters, producers, and more launch creative projects, businesses, and platforms that support underrepresented voices. The funding can cover costs for career development, equipment, software, marketing, and more.

The Performing Rights Society (PRS) for Music Foundation supports talent development and new music across the UK, enabling songwriters and composers of all backgrounds to realise their potential and reach audiences across the world. Through the Hitmaker Fund, the Foundation awards up to eighteen grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 each year to develop the careers of songwriters and producers working in popular music genres in the UK. Applications can be made by songwriters or producers directly (or by their representatives) who have at least five credited works registered with PRS for Music (ie: a reputable cut or songs that have national radio plays, streaming plays, or from a reputable writing camp). The deadline for applications is 6pm on the 2nd June 2021.

The Victoria Wood Foundation was set up after the death of Victoria Wood. It seeks to supports all aspects of the arts across the UK, particularly in and around London and the North of England. Arts organisations and groups are encouraged to apply for funding. The Foundation meets twice a year, in July and December to consider applications. Applications should be received at least two weeks before the following meeting.

Youth Music are a national charity supporting young people's lives in music. Through the Incubator Fund the charity provides grants of £5,000 to £30,000 to businesses, collectives, and not-for-profits working in the music industries. The fund is designed to help open up access to sustainable careers in music for people aged 18-25, particularly those who are underrepresented; and to support creative employers to innovate and incubate new and diverse talent.

Youth Music are a national charity supporting young people's lives in music. Through the Music Education Hub (MEH) Development fund the charity provides grants of up to £50,000 to partnerships of at least three Music Education Hub lead organisations. The fund is designed to support organisational development, specifically to help Hubs to develop their policies and practices around equality, diversity and inclusion.

The Herefordshire Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference to their local communities. Through the Richard Bulmer Fund the foundation provides support for young people under 25 years with their musical development, and for the blind and partially sighted, with emphasis on younger age group.

The Herefordshire Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference to their local communities. Through the Becket Bulmer Fund the foundation provides grants for organisations targeting the following areas of community benefit across Herefordshire: cultural advancement, in particular the theatre, music and arts; education of young people; improvement of the environment; support of handicapped people.

The Arts & Culture Impact Fund brings together public, private and charitable funding to provide affordable repayable finance to the UK’s arts, culture and heritage organisations able to demonstrate measurable positive social impact. The funding could be used, among other things, to acquire new assets, improve built infrastructure, develop new ventures or scale up existing revenue streams.

The Sussex Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference to their local communities. Through the Westdene Fund the foundation provides funding of up to £1,000  to provide one-off financial support to students in need displaying outstanding musical talent. Awards will be made to support a specific activity or object e.g.: consultation lessons, a masterclass, participation in a National Youth Orchestra, a County music tour, or a contribution to the cost of a better grade instrument.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation exists to benefit disadvantaged communities by making grants to support relevant charitable or voluntary organisations, which make a difference to their local communities. Through theDayas Music Scholarship programme the foundation provides funding of up to £600 to enable individuals to undertake studies or projects in connection with composition, conducting, instrumental performance, singing, music in education and musicology.

The Somerset Community Foundation was established in 2002. The Foundation's aim is to provide funding that will address the needs of Somerset's most vulnerable people and communities by tackling disadvantage, transforming people's lives and strengthening local communities. Through the Mary 's Beat Grants programme the foundation provides grants of up to £1,000 to support people with physical and/or learning disabilities to access the music therapy and experience outdoor adventures. Eligible activities include music therapy, one-off concerts and outdoor activities that will build self confidence, encourage participation and inspire hope for the future. 

The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust was established in for the advancement of the arts, health and medical welfare and environmental protection or improvement.   Through the Arts programme, the Trust aims to increase access to the arts for young and old people; support performances; and support charities that seek to use the arts to engage with young people on the fringes of society.

The Pilgrim Trust gives grants totalling approximately £2million each year to charities and other public bodies. Through the Preservation and scholarship programme the Trust provides funding for projects that preserve the United Kingdom’s unique heritage for the benefit of future generations. Part of that heritage lies in physical objects such as buildings, artifacts and recorded information such as manuscripts or books. The main emphasis is on projects that conserve historical buildings, monuments and collections. 

Help Musicians is an independent charity who for almost 100 years have provided a broad spectrum of help, support and opportunities to empower musicians at any stage of their career. Through the Sybil Tutton Opera Awards programme the charity help opera students with the costs of postgraduate study.

Help Musicians is an independent charity who for almost 100 years have provided a broad spectrum of help, support and opportunities to empower musicians at any stage of their career. Through the Ian Fleming Musical Theatre Awards the charity help musical theatre students with the costs of final year undergraduate or postgraduate study.

Help Musicians is an independent charity who for almost 100 years have provided a broad spectrum of help, support and opportunities to empower musicians at any stage of their career. Through the Recording and Releasing Music programme the charity provides support towards recording and releasing music, combined with expert business skills development and personal wellbeing; helping musicians to achieve their creative and career potential

Help Musicians is an independent charity who for almost 100 years have provided a broad spectrum of help, support and opportunities to empower musicians at any stage of their career. Through the Postgraduate Awards programme the charity offer support of between £1,000 and £5,000 to students who wish to complete their studies at the leading UK conservatoires and performing arts colleges.

The PRS Foundation is the UK’s leading funder of new music and talent development. The aim of the foundation is to invest in the future of music by supporting talent development and new music across the UK; enabling songwriters and composers of all backgrounds to realise their potential and reach audiences across the world. Through the Lynsey de Paul Prize the foundation supports women songwriters and musicians by providing a bursary and mentoring support.

The PRS Foundation is the UK’s leading funder of new music and talent development. The aim of the foundation is to invest in the future of music by supporting talent development and new music across the UK; enabling songwriters and composers of all backgrounds to realise their potential and reach audiences across the world. Through the Steve Reid InNOVAtion Award the foundation provides an opportunity for emerging artists that make outstanding music to receive support through expert mentorship and vital bursaries. This award is a partnership between the PRS Foundation and the Steve Reid Foundation.

Connections Through Culture: UK-Southeast Asia aims to develop exciting cultural exchanges and collaborations between artists, arts professionals and arts organisations, and to support long-lasting relationships between people from East Asia and the UK.

The Wolfson Foundation awards grants to support and promote excellence in education, science & medicine, the arts & humanities and health & disability. Through its Funding for Performing Arts Organisations funding stream the Foundation aims to support organisations with an outstanding artistic programme to improve their performance and training facilities. Grants are generally awarded towards refurbishment of artists’ facilities such as dressing rooms or other back stage spaces, refurbishment of auditorium facilities such as seating, and rehearsal spaces; teaching and education facilities; and less often, specialist equipment.

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for people and communities throughout the UK. The Foundation does this by funding the charitable work of organisations that are building an inclusive, creative and sustainable society.  Through the Arts programme the Foundation wants to support projects that use the power of culture to bring communities together and give opportunity and visibility to people who may otherwise be marginalised.

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation's Teacher Development Fund (TDF) supports arts-based learning projects that help primary school teachers develop their skills to deliver effective arts education. The fund prioritises professional development projects focused on creating sustained arts engagement, especially for disadvantaged children. Schools and not-for-profit organisations can apply, with a focus on partnerships between teachers and arts practitioners.

The PRS Foundation is the UK’s leading funder of new music and talent development across all genres. The Writer Producer Fund offers an opportunity for songwriters and writer-producers working in popular music genres to further develop their careers and writing/production credits with grants of up to £10,000. The Writer Producer Fund is delivered by PRS Foundation in association with the BASCA Trust.   The BASCA Trust provides education and grants, and raises public awareness about songwriters and composers

The Resonate programme is a new fund from the PRS Foundation which encourages professional orchestras to programme into their repertoire the best pieces of British Music from the past 25 years. The programme aims to inspire more performances, recordings and broadcasts of outstanding contemporary repertoire, as chosen by UK orchestras, whilst strengthening approaches to programming this music for the benefit of audiences, composers and players in the UK and overseas. Grants of up to £15,000 are available to orchestras who commit to exploring contemporary UK repertoire as part of a season/tour and longer-term audience development programme.

Arts Council England champion, develop and invest in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. The National Lottery Project Grants scheme is an open access programme for arts, museums and libraries projects, the fund will support thousands of individual artists, community and cultural organisations and aims to create and sustain quality work and help people across England to engage with arts and culture. Grants of between £1,000 and £100,000 are available to projects lasting up to three years that are focused on the following artforms and disciplines: Music, Theatre, Dance, Visual arts, Literature, Combined arts and Museum practice. The programme supports development by allowing artists, cultural practitioners and organisations to work in new ways and to get their work out to new audiences. Applications must meet the programme’s four criteria: Quality, Public engagement, Finance and Management.

Music for All is a charity that believes that music is an extremely powerful means of communication, can help to break down cultural barriers and that everyone should have the opportunity to learn to play music. The charity provides funding for individuals to help them to access both musical instruments and lessons to help them to fulfil their musical dreams. It also provides funding for community music groups and educational organisations who have projects that aim to bring music to their community. Grants to groups aim to help them to fulfil their potential and become truly sustainable music programmes. Typical grants for groups are normally in the region of £2500, there are no maximum grant amounts detailed for individuals. There are normally three rounds of funding each year.

Help Musicians UK is the leading UK charity for professional musicians of all genres. The Develop your skills programme provides funding of up to £1,500 to help applicants take advantage of opportunities that enhance their skills or artistic practice. This could be a virtual conference to learn more about the industry, an online course to enhance their skills, one-to-one coaching or perhaps some time to work with a mentor. Grants of up to £3,000 are available to record and release new music at the same time - as long as the skills being developed are related to the plans applicants have around their music release.

Help Musicians UK is the leading UK charity for professional musicians of all genres. The Music-Led Creative Collaboration programme provides grants of up to £5,000 to undertake a UK-based collaboration between themselves and other non-music artists, for example storytellers, lighting designers, choreographers, technologists, scientists, gaming designers, theatre directors, visual artists etc. There should be an end result of the collaboration, such as a body of work created for an upcoming recording or a new performance. Overall, the collaboration should push the boundaries of what you do as a music creator or performer, exploring or
testing something that you are not currently able to achieve without support.

Help Musicians UK is the leading UK charity for professional musicians of all genres. The Peter Whittingham Jazz Award has helped to launch the careers of some of the UK's top jazz stars, including Soweto Kinch, Errollyn Wallen MBE, Empirical, Phil Meadows, Led Bib and Roller Trio. The fund is open to emerging jazz musicians and groups who can demonstrate that they have the talent, innovative approach and commitment to make a sustainable impact on the sector. The award of £5,000 is to be put towards creative development opportunities including recording, filming, touring, mentoring, showcasing, performances, collaboration and promotion. Applications that incorporate a range of activities are encouraged.

Help Musicians UK is the leading UK charity for professional musicians of all genres. They are working together with MOBO to offer grants of up to £3,000 to support exceptionally talented artists with their career ambitions. Funding is available to artists who are performing or creating great music and show potential to build a long-term professional career and who can demonstrate: exceptional ability; high quality musical output; dedication towards their career; the potential to achieve a national or international impact; an impressive track record. Funding can be used for developing skills (vocal coaching sessions or learning software); development of live acts; development of your ability to make and record music; creation of promotional materials; access to recording studio facilities; funding support for touring.

Theatres Trust's Urgent Repairs Scheme has been set up in partnership with the Wolfson Foundation. Both organisations are aware of the challenges facing theatres today and the difficulties faced for both urgent and preventative maintenance. Theatres in need of immediate repair and maintenance, and which could otherwise face closure, are able to apply for grants of up to £15,000. Theatres that are not statutory listed will need to demonstrate the architectural significance of their building. Priority will be given to projects that deliver urgent building repairs, and which can demonstrate that without such repairs the viability of the theatre and its future as a place presenting live work to audiences is at risk.

Millward Charitable Trust makes grants to organisations involved with community buildings, facilities and open spaces, social welfare projects, for the performing arts, medical research and animal welfare.

The Composers' Fund recognises the need for composers to have direct access to funding at pivotal stages in their career. It invites composers to make the case for support of any activity that would enable them to make a significant change in their career. The purpose is to: support the creative and professional development of composers with a clear track record of success enabling access to finance; contribute to their long term recognition; and establish an effective funding model which is shaped by our contact with individual composers who are empowered to take more control of their career development in the short and long term. Grants of up to £15,000 can be applied for by the composers themselves.

The Joyce Fletcher Charitable Trust supports institutions and organisations, usually registered Charities specialising in music in a social or therapeutic context especially for special needs children, the disabled and the disadvantaged. Some children's welfare and support organisations can be supported, preferably for arts activities. Some grants for projects falling outside of these priorities are given each year. The Trust has a strong preference for the South West of England. Capital or revenue funding is available for one off or recurring costs.

The PRS Foundation are the UK’s leading funder for new music across all Genres, it aims to stimulate and support the creation and performance of new music throughout the UK. The Women Make Music programme aims to: break down assumptions and stereotypes within the music industry by encouraging role models for future generations, raise awareness of the gender gap and to ensure that women are aware that support for new music is available to them, increase the profile of women who are creating new music in the UK and stimulate new collaborations between organisations and female music creators. Grants of up to £5,000 are available and can be used to assist with the costs of the first performance and/or the fee for the music creator working in any music genre.

The PRS Foundation are the UK’s leading funder for new music across all Genres, it aims to stimulate and support the creation and performance of new music throughout the UK and to ensure that this music is enjoyed by a wide audience. The International Showcase programme offers funding support to artists based in England who have been invited to play at international showcasing festivals and conferences. Grants are available to help cover the costs of travel, visas and accommodation. The kinds of events and festivals that are covered by the funding are those that have a mostly music industry audience or delegation. The fund cannot support artists to play at festivals for the general public. 

The Foyle Foundation is an independent grantmaking trust that distributes grants to UK charities. It provides grants primarily in the areas of Arts and Learning. The Main Grants Scheme - Arts programme aims to help charities with projects that make a strong artistic case for support in either the performing or visual arts, it has a twofold purpose; to help sustain the arts and to support projects that help to deliver artistic vision. Typical areas that are supported by this funding include: helping to make the arts more accessible by developing new audiences, supporting tours, festivals and arts educational projects; supporting young and emerging artists; building projects to improve or re-equip existing arts venues; projects that encourage sustainability. The majority of grants will be in the range of £10,000 to £50,000

The Foundation’s primary objective is to support the work of UK registered charities by awarding grants that benefit the disadvantaged and promote the advancement of the arts and education.  It awards grants that will make a difference in a particular field, especially for the vulnerable, the young, and the elderly.

The Ouseley Trust is a registered charity set up to promote and maintain to a high standard the choral services of the Church of England, the Church in Wales and the Church of Ireland. It does this by making grants of up to £5,000 towards fees to cathedrals, choral foundations, parish churches, choir schools and other relevant institutions. The largest grant was for £50,000 for the endowment of a cathedral choristership bearing Ouseley's name.

The Foundation provides grants of between £250 and £1,000 for registered charities undertaking music and recreation projects for young people in the UK. Grants of up to £2,000 may be available in exceptional circumstances.

The objects of The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation are to promote culture, heritage and the arts for the public benefit. As well as providing Musical Theatre scholarships and supporting projects through The Architectural Heritage Fund, the Trustees welcome applications to support projects in the areas of culture, heritage and the arts and will consider funding towards projects that make a real and ongoing difference to people’s lives.

Take it away aims to make musical instruments and tuition more affordable for aspiring musicians, especially younger people and those on lower incomes.  The scheme allows individuals to apply for a loan of between £100 and £5,000 for the purchase of any kind of musical instrument, completely interest free. Take it away loans are now available through a network of over 300 +  musical instrument retailers across England. All instruments are included in the scheme and, to help musical development and manage costs, equipment and services such as amplifiers, sheet music and tuition can be included within the loan where available. The scheme is only open to individuals so schools or organisations cannot use it for multiple purchases.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is a charitable foundation based in Portugal and the UK with a special interest in supporting those who are most disadvantaged; in particular with an emphasis on encouraging cross-border exchanges of lessons and experiences.  Grants of between £10,000 and £30,000 are available to not for profit organisations to support a small number of innovative projects that fit well with the Foundations strategic priorities which for 2014 - 2019 are: Transitions in later life: Participatory/socially-engaged performing arts: Influencing the marine environment and protection of the oceans.  The Open Fund is currently suspended.

Through the Awards for Young Musicians, grants of between £100 and £2,000 are available to support major costs of the musician's training such as; lessons; buying instruments; travel; specialist's courses. Grants will be made directly to institutions, music organisations music teachers and other suppliers. The Awards for Young Musicians programme supports young people aged between 5 and 17 living in the UK and who are instrumentalists, are in financial need or have exceptional musical talent and potential.

The PRS for Music Foundation is the UK's leading funder of new music across all genres. The Beyond Borders grants programme provides grants up to £15,000 for projects that include new commissions, recordings and repeat performances of music written in the past five years. The programme stimulates collaboration between organisations and bands/ensembles in England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales and enables music creators to produce exceptional new material to be performed in at least three of these countries. Launched in 2010, the scheme has supported over 40 projects, bringing together organisations and music creators across the UK, Ireland and abroad.

Each year, the JMK Trust provides talented young and emerging theatre directors with awards, guidance and development opportunities. Applicants must be UK residents under 35 years of age, must not have directed more than two professional productions, including fringe, have professional training in performing arts and must not be a student. As the basis of their proposal, applicants must choose one play from a new list of plays available by emailing jo@jmktrust.org. The Award constitutes a production budget of £25,000 plus space for your production at the Orange Tree Theatre. Runner up prizes of £2,000 may also be awarded.

The Idlewild Trust is a grant making organisation that supports registered charities concerned with the encouragement of the performing and fine arts and crafts, the advancement of education within the arts and the preservation for the benefit of the public of lands, buildings and other objects of beauty or historic interest in the United Kingdom. The Trust awards around £140,000 each year in grants and considers making grants of up to £5,000. In 2020 Idlewild Trust awarded 33 grants totalling £128,055, an average of nearly £3,880.

The Skinners' Company Lady Neville Charity aim is to provide grants that will make a clear and significant contribution to grassroots charitable organizations working in designated priority areas. The priority areas are: Local Heritage - projects which help local groups to conserve and restore their landmarks, landscape, traditions and culture; Performing & Visual Arts Groups; Any charitable activity taking place where the Skinners Company has existing works or historical links (The city of London, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Hounslow, West Kent, Romney Marsh). One off capital grants for non-recurring expenditure of up to £1,000 are made to small registered charities and not-for-profit organisations.

The Fenton Arts Trust's aim is to give encouragement and financial support to those actively contributing to the creative arts in the U.K. The Trust has the following objectives : To provide grants which will support or reward work or performance by individuals early in their careers, and to provide grants for institutions or organisations which have the same aims. The Fenton Arts Trust Grants are available to support individual works, activities, performances or prizes in the fields of drama, painting, sculpture, ballet, music and poetry. 

The Leche Trust is a grant making charity that provides funding in the following areas: Historic buildings - the repair and conservation of buildings, artefacts and important historic gardens of the Georgian period or earlier; Church furnishings - the conservation of church features and furnishings of the Georgian and earlier periods, including monuments, tombs, wall paintings, historically-important glass, and furniture and fittings such as pulpits, fonts and pews; Museums and other institutions with historic collections - the conservation and acquisition of items for historic collections, with preference given to objects of the Georgian period or earlier; Arts - projects that promote excellence in professional performance in music, dance and theatre, with particular emphasis on new works. Under a separate programme, Trustees also provide hardship grants to Overseas PhD Students.

The Sylvia Waddilove Foundation focuses on providing grants to charities CICs and Registered Societies for projects relating to the following purposes: Education (organic farming, animal husbandry, veterinary science, animal welfare and animal surgery); The visual and performing arts; Medical Research; The relief of disability and severe illness; The preservation of buildings of historical or architectural significance; The accommodation of those in need; The skills based training of young people.

The Radcliffe Trust supports classical music performance and training especially chamber music, composition and music education. Particular interests within music education are music for children and adults with special needs, youth orchestras and projects at secondary and higher levels, including academic research. Applications are considered under the following headings: composition and contemporary music, bursaries for courses and summer schools; limited to U.K. based students, music therapy / special needs, academic research / projects, youth orchestras, performance projects and educational projects. The funding amount is discretionary.

The Colwinston Charitable Trust distributes grants to UK Registered charitable organisations working predominantly in the areas of Opera, Classical Music and the Visual Arts. The Trust does give priority to high quality projects, and to projects that help young people to better appreciate the possibilities the arts can offer, especially in Wales. Applications for grants to enable organisations to achieve higher standards of performance and/or presentation are of particular interest. The Trust will not consider applications for capital building projects, for general appeals, for retrospective funding, for conferences and seminars, websites, publications, or from individuals. The Trust concentrates its funding on project grants and favours applications for projects that benefit the people of Wales. 

The Wingate Foundation has been a consistent supporter of the performing arts. The Trustees intend to maintain that policy with particular emphasis on financial support for not-for-profit companies with a record of artistic excellence that require additional funding, not available from public sources or commercial sponsorship, to broaden their repertoire or develop work of potentially outstanding interest which cannot be funded from usual sources. Assistance will also be considered for training and professional development for creative talent or the technical professions.

The Trustees recognise that music is seriously under-funded in the UK and will consider applications for support in those areas of music performance and education which do not readily attract backing from commercial sponsors or other funding bodies, or which are not eligible for public funding. Priority will be directed towards supporting the work or education of musicians based in, or wishing to study in, the UK, but by no means exclusively so. An important criterion will be whether, in the opinion of the Trustees, the funding sought will make a significant difference to the applicant's prospects.  The Foundation will be prepared to consider applications for support for on-going expenses and will be willing to consider such support for a period up to three years. Priority will be given to those organisations which give opportunities to young professionals and to education projects for young people as well as for new adult audiences. This would include direct assistance as well as ...

Philip Bates Trust Arts Grants provides grants of up to £500 to charitable and not for profit organisations as well as individuals for the provision of creative and artistic projects and workshops. The scheme aims to allow young people up to the age of 25, to develop artistic skills and encourage creativity. The Trusts main objectives are to advance the education of young people in the arts by the provision of awards to encourage and support their pursuit of creative and artistic achievement, and the provision of financial support to projects or workshops. Applications from individuals and organisations within the West Midlands or from organisations undertaking activities in the West Midlands are particularly welcome. The Trustees meet three times a year - usually in February, June and October to assess applications.

The Foundation makes grants for group music making, especially involving young people in projects incorporating composition and creative ideas. Projects in and out of schools or in community situations will be considered. Grants are likely to be in the region of £500 - £3,000. Grants awarded will be made towards creative musical activity, not instruments or equipment. Projects might be first-time initiatives or the development of existing projects and must be based in the UK. The Trustees will consider applications for first-time initiatives as well as the development of existing projects. The Trustees generally hold one meeting a year, in the autumn

The Hinrichsen Foundation Grant is intended to support organisations undertaking projects to promote music. In particular, the programme is keen to assist contemporary composition, musical performances and musical research. The Trustees of the Hinrichsen Foundation will be pleased to receive applications from individuals, organisations, or other charities. However, they do not wish to consider applications for which there are existing official schemes of help, but rather to devote their efforts to areas at present neglected. The Trustees do not consider applications for assistance in purchasing musical instruments or equipment including the electronic or computer variety. And they do not as a general rule finance degree courses. Their aim is to encourage composition and research, but not to finance the acquisition of basic skills in these subjects.

The PRS for Music Foundation is the UK's leading funder for new music across all genres; their mission is to stimulate and support the creation and performance of new music and to ensure that this is enjoyed by a wide audience. The Open Fund for Organisations supports new music projects led by promoters, large performance groups, talent development organisations, venues and curators. Projects must involve the creation, performance and promotion of new music and enable songwriters, composers, solo artists, bands and performers of all backgrounds to develop creatively and professionally. Funding of up to £10,000 is available.

The Rayne Foundation offers grants to tackle entrenched social issues through the arts, health, wellbeing, and education. The foundation has a particular focus on connecting communities, building bridges between marginalised groups and mainstream society, and enabling individuals to reach their full potential. The annual grant making programme is in the region of £1.5 million and grants typically fall in the range of £10,000 to £20,000 per annum for up to three years. Funding is available both for capital and revenue expenditure. 

The Britten-Pears Foundation is a grant making trust that currently has the following funding programmes; the Britten Awards, New Music Commissions, Local Grants and Composer Retreats. Britten Awards support the promotion of the music of Benjamin Britten, New Music Commissions support the writing of new works by British and British based composers, Local grants provide funds for community projects in Aldeburgh and surrounding villages and Composer Retreats grants enable composers to stay and work at Imogen Holst's former home in Aldeburgh. The foundation also provides annual funding to Aldeburgh Music.

The Brit Trust Fund was conceived in 1989 by a collection of leading music industry individuals with a mission to give young people a chance to express their musical creativity regardless of race, class, sex or ability. The Brit Trust makes grants towards projects which meet the criteria within its mission statement; "To encourage young people in the exploration and pursuit of educational, cultural or therapeutic benefits emanating from music". Applications can be submitted by any organisations with a charitable status pursuing the educational, cultural or therapeutic benefits of music. Applications can be submitted at any time, and will be considered annually at a Trust meeting in September, all applications should be received by The Trust no later than August and should be for projects planned for the following year.