Available Funding

Shift the Scene Fund by Youth Music

Youth Music’s Shift the Scene Fund offers grants to organisations in England who provide creative opportunities for Disabled children and young people, pushing for genuine inclusion, ambition and accessibility.

This fund has been informed by Excluded by Design research, in conjunction with the Shift the Scene Steering Group.

In this one-off fund, grants of up to £200,000 will be made to organisations for work
that is sustained over a 4 year period.

Opportunities will be funded across all art forms, not just music, for children and
young people aged 9 to 30.

The fund is for organisations that:

• Work across any creative discipline – not just music.
  • They envisage funding a couple of music projects, but music will not be the majority focus of this fund.
• Already actively work with Disabled people across all parts of their organisation (i.e. as participants, volunteers, freelancers, and staff).
• Have built trust with Disabled people.
• Are anti-ableist, advocate for the rights of Disabled people, and operate in line with the social model of disability.
• Can amplify young Disabled voices and already have established ways of co-creating with Disabled young people.
• Are ambitious, who want to push boundaries within their creative practice, with Disabled young people’s creative ambitions at the heart.
• Prioritise Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access. In particular, those who design-in access from the start, and think about diversity and inclusion through an intersectional lens.
• Prioritise participant and staff wellbeing and safety.
• Actively reflect on what they do, and are open to learning and change.
• Have strong partnerships in place.