Grant Directories

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. 

Youth Music is a UK charity that supports young people's involvement in music. 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 project should trial work for the first time, test a new way of working, or disrupt the status quo.

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.

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.

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 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. 

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 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 Association of Independent Museums support and champion independent museums, galleries and heritage organisations in the UK. The AIM Training Grants Programme helps to support member museums in developing the skills and expertise of their staff and trustees. Grants of up to £300 are available for course fees, conferences, museum study visits and mentoring placements. Priority will be given to smaller museums receiving fewer than 20,000 visitors per year. Funding can be used for fees, accommodation and travel costs

BlueSpark Foundation is a registered charity which supports the education and development of children and young people by providing grants for educational, cultural, sporting and other projects. Community groups, colleges and schools in England can apply for grants for relatively small-scale projects which are for the public benefit and which otherwise might not happen or would only happen on a lesser scale. In schools, the projects which are supported may relate to intra or extra-curricular activities. The foundation is particularly keen to support projects which the Trustees consider will help enhance the self-confidence, team working skills and future employability of children and young people.

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.

Small charities operating in the areas of community development that have an annual turnover of less than £150,000 per annum can apply for funding of between £2,000 and £10,000 through the Foyle Foundation's Small Grants Programme. The Foundation which is one of the largest grant making trusts in the UK provides grants that support smaller charities in the UK, especially those working at grass roots and local community level, in any field, across a wide range of activities.