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 or test a new way of working, sustain a grassroots programme or disrupt the status quo (or all three!).
Your work must meet one of our themes:
- Early years
- Disabled, d/Deaf and neurodivergent young people
- Youth justice system
- Young people facing barriers
- Young adults
- Organisations and the workforce.
Trailblazer Round 8
Deadline: 22 November 2024
Notification: 21 March 2025
For projects starting between: April and June 2025
Trailblazer Round 9
Deadline: 11 April 2025
Notification: 8 August 2025
For projects starting between: September and November 2025
All deadlines are 5pm.
In October 2024 we have updated our eligibility guidance, so that Trailblazer grants can now be used to sustain a grassroots programme, as well as test and trial new ways of working. You can now also request personal access costs to support staff and volunteers facing additional barriers. All changes are highlighted in the updated guidance below
A Trailblazer project could be:
- A new CIC testing out different ways of supporting nurseries to embed music-making into their day-to-day activities.
- A Music Education Hub that wants to disrupt the status quo of their local music scene by setting up a Youth Board that has budget & power to make decisions about how the hub is run.
- An established youth centre trialling a programme of music activities for the first time.
Online Q&A
We're ran an online Q&A. You can watch the presentation back here.
Resources
Access fund: support for Disabled applicants
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 that might be required for you to make an application to one of Youth Music’s funds.
Safeguarding hub
Find out what safeguarding means and what Youth Music expects from funded partners.
IDEA hub
We believe that music should be Inclusive, Diverse, Equitable, and Accessible. We call these principles 'IDEA' for short. Want to improve inclusion, diversity, equity and access in your organisation? Check out our self assessment survey to help you think through what you’re doing well, and what could be improved. We've also compiled additional resources to inspire and shape your IDEA journey.
Youth Voice hub
Find out what Youth Voice is, why it's important, and resources on how to do it.
Finance and budget hub
We have created this page to support you with your project budgets. You will also find information to support you with some of the financial information you are required to provide at the application stage.
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Which fund should you apply for?
Not sure which fund is for you? Work through our six easy questions for some quick suggestions of where to start.
Introducing our new funds
We’re excited to officially launch our Trailblazer Fund and Catalyser Funds. These replace Funds A, B and C, supported through our National Lottery Arts Council investment.
Funding
Discover funding options available with Youth Music.