Youth Music strives for musically inclusive England with grant awards of over £6.8m
The National Foundation for Youth Music today announced new grant awards totalling over £6.8m to 80 music organisations in England as part of its recently refreshed grants programme.
Download the full list of Youth Music grants awarded here.
Youth Music now supports over 400 music projects around the country providing music-making opportunities for children and young people in challenging circumstances.
The charity’s newly restructured grants programme has enabled a wider range of organisations to apply for funding and the charity today welcomed successful applications from organisations it had not previously funded, many from small grassroots charities. The grants will support a wide range of projects: from music programmes for young people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), to choir projects giving young carers respite from their responsibilities, and weekend colleges developing creative work challenging negative stereotypes of young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
The announcement also included grants for 13 strategic partner organisations around the country who will work together with the charity over the next three years towards its aim of creating a musically inclusive England.
Matt Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer, Youth Music said:
“These grant awards mark the final stage in our refresh of Youth Music’s grants programme and portfolio. As a recent Arts Council review of Youth Music concluded, we remain an important part of the music education landscape with our very particular focus on young people living in challenging circumstances. The grant awards announced today will support thousands of opportunities for young people to develop a life-long engagement with music, which we know to be life-changing.”
Strategic partners including Sage Gateshead and Drake Music will be using their grants to support a number of projects with a particular focus on inclusion. The grants will also support further training for music education professionals to strengthen the workforce and further develop inclusive practice.
Steve Jinski, Head of Youth Participation, Sage Gateshead said:
“This funding will enable us to provide sustained musical provision for young people who would not otherwise have the opportunity. Our focus will be on those who are not in employment, education or training (NEET), those who are looked after and those with special educational needs. It will enable us to make real progress not just in terms of music-making but also in helping participants to become more confident and resilient, qualities that can be carried into all aspects of their lives.”
Youth Music is supported by Arts Council England, People’s Postcode Lottery and by charitable donations, included money raised through its Give a Gig fundraising initiative.