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Recharge Fund

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The Youth Music Recharge Fund offers grants of up to £90k (max £30k per year) to boost organisations in their post-Covid recovery.

This core funding programme is for established not-for-profits who support children and young people to make, learn or earn in music. It will help people and organisations to recharge from the effects of the pandemic. We will invest a total of £1,750,000 across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The deadline for applications has now closed. 

Applicant guidance notes (PDF) Applicant guidance notes (Word) Application questions

About the fund

Recharge draws on our own research about the impact of COVID-19. It responds to the most pressing needs that projects told us about:

  • Mental health and wellbeing – 2020 and 2021 have impacted the mental health and wellbeing of staff, volunteers and young people.
  • Income security – public funding is set to decrease in coming years as the economy transitions after COVID-19 and Brexit.   

By ‘Recharge,’ we mean to move forwards after the effects of the pandemic, in both a wellbeing and a financial sense. Around 40 grants will be made to organisations to improve capacity, capability, and wellbeing.

How much can I apply for?

You can apply for up to £90,000 in total, to a maximum of £30,000 per year. This is a one-off funding round made possible thanks to players of the People’s Postcode Lottery. If you are successful, we reserve the right to offer you a lower or higher amount than you have requested.

How long does the funding last?

The funding period should last between one and three years.

Download the applicant guidance document for more information on who can apply, and what you can use the funding for.

Read the Frequently Asked Questions. 

Watch

Online Q&A

In this open Q&A session we answered any questions people had about the Youth Music Recharge Fund, the guidance and writing your proposal. 

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Improving capacity and capability

Do you need inspiration for your Youth Music Recharge Fund proposal? Our project community have shared some recent examples of how they’ve improved capacity and capability. We’ve added our own experiences to these, alongside some ideas about how you might measure progress.

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Improving wellbeing

Improving the wellbeing of staff, freelancers, volunteers, and young people means embedding wellbeing in your day-to-day working practices. But what does that actually mean? In this article we share some real examples from two organisations and consider ways you could measure improvements in your practices.

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Access Fund

If you identify as Disabled and need further support to make an application to Youth Music, you can apply to our Access Fund. This provides funding to cover any additional access costs required for you to make an application to Youth Music's Incubator Fund.

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Recharge Fund toolkit

This toolkit contains everything you'll need as a Youth Music funded partner, including; guidance on completing your initial grant requirements, reporting templates, communications requirements and a list of helpful resources.

Who can apply?

Youth Music Recharge is aimed at not-for-profit organisations. ‘Not-for-profit’ includes registered charities, charitable incorporated organisations, community interest companies, constituted voluntary groups, and co-operatives. It is open to new, existing, and previous Youth Music grantholders.

What kind of activities can the funding support?

This is a flexible grant to help you navigate the risks and opportunities that will arise in the coming years. The funding will be invested in organisations to bring about two outcomes:

  • Improved wellbeing of staff, freelancers, volunteers, and young people. Embedding good wellbeing in day-to-day working to ensure a healthy and motivated team.
  • Improved capacity and capability of organisations. Helping organisations grow, adapt and be more sustainable.

All proposals should respond to both outcomes. The balance of funding towards each outcome is your decision.

Any questions about the Youth Music Recharge Fund? Get in touch at grants@youthmusic.org.uk 

Thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for making this fund possible and enabling us to expand our work into Scotland and Wales. We are also grateful for our vital support from the National Lottery via Arts Council England.