Youth 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.

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.

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.

A Catalyser programme will be sustaining work, scaling up-work or creating change in sector practice (or all three!). A Catalyser programme could be:

An experienced youth charity sustaining its successful youth-led music provision over four years.
A CIC who, following the successful delivery of a pilot project, wants to scale-up their programme to reach more young people and work across a wider geographic area.
An established music charity wanting to develop an Early Years network. They will up-skill practitioners, and influence sector practice so that more people are delivering child-centred music practice.

Check out our Catalyser programme examples for more examples.

Catalyser Fund dates

There is one Catalyser Fund application round a year.

Catalyser Fund has a two-stage process, if you are successful at stage 1 (which is an expression of interest) you will then be invited to complete a fuller application.

Grants portal opens for Expressions of Interest: 28 March 2025
Expression of Interest Deadline: 02 May 2025
Notification: 20 June 2025
Full Application Deadline: 01 August 2025
Notification: 24 October 2025
For programmes starting between: December 2025 and 30 April 2026

All deadlines are 5pm.

Catalyser Fund dates for 2026 will be confirmed towards the end of this year, but at the moment we anticipate they will follow a similar pattern to this year.

Image of young person lit by a circle of green and yellow lights interacting with multisensory equiptment.

Apply to the Catalyser Fund

Download our application guidance for full details about our fund criteria.

You can also download from below copies of our expression of interest and application form questions to draft your questions offline. All applications must be submitted online through our Grants Portal - click on 'Apply' to be taken there.

APPLY TO THE CATALYSER FUND

DOWNLOAD APPLICANT GUIDANCE (PDF)

DOWNLOAD APPLICANT GUIDANCE (WORD)

DOWNLOAD EXPRESSION OF INTEREST QUESTIONS

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM QUESTIONS

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in applications

We know that organisations use AI to help with their funding applications. However, if you do use AI to help you draft your application, please make sure it’s an honest reflection of your work and plans. We often find AI answers don’t tell us enough about your actual practices, and this can have a negative impact on your assessment.

How can I get help with my application?

Catalyser Fund - Expression of Interest phone call

We are able to offer 15-minute calls to new applicants.

You can see available time slots and book via Calendly. To make best use of the call please ensure you have read the application guidance and application questions before your slot. When you book we’ll also ask you to outline the questions and areas you would like to discuss, so we can best prepare for the call.

The last call slot will be on Tuesday 29th April, with the Expression of Interest deadline being Friday 2nd May.

Once you have booked your slot, you will be sent an email confirming your booking which will include the Zoom link. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact us grants@youthmusic.org.uk

If you are a current or recently Funded Partner, please contact your Grants & Learning Officer to discuss your application directly.

If you have any questions about the phone call and what to expect, please email grants@youthmusic.org.uk or call 020 7902 1060.

If you have any technical questions about the using the grants portal or completing your application, please email grants@youthmusic.org.uk or call 020 7902 1060.

Resources to support your application

news

Catalyser Fund Programme examples

Explore inspiring projects funded by Youth Music's Catalyser Fund, driving change in music education and empowering young people across the UK.

a group of children play violins in a classroom

news

Trailblazer Fund and Catalyser Fund Questions and Answers

These are questions we have received about our Trailblazer and Catalyser funds.

Young man on stage with guitar smiling and giving thumbs up sign

Access Support

Youth Music is committed to accessibility. Learn how our Access Support, Application Access Fund, and personal access costs help break down barriers to funding and participation.

Resource Hub

Explore our Resource Hub for essential guidance, expert tools and insights to support and strengthen your music project.

Exchanging Notes

Discover Exchanging Notes, our learning programme sharing expert insights and tools to inspire inclusive, sustainable, and impactful change in music education.

Current Priorities

Discover Youth Music's funding priorities, key regions, and themes for our Funds. Learn about success rates and recent grant awards.