Grants for choirs

We are delighted to announce that a £100,000 fund has been set up by the National Academy of Social Prescribing in partnership with the Utley Foundation, to support dementia choirs and singing groups across the UK. We now need your support to spread the word and give all hyper-local, grassroots choirs the opportunity to apply.  

Registration for the fund will be open for 48 hours between 9am on 13 February until 9am on 15 February with the first 100 choirs and singing groups receiving £1,000 each (weighted to ensure grants go to people across the country and to reflect diversity).  

This small-grant fund is intended to support social prescribing by helping choirs and singing groups come through a challenging winter and continue providing musical moments of joy to those living with dementia and their carers.  

An estimated 209,600 people will develop dementia this year. This figure, combined with those already living with dementia, will cost the UK £34.7 billion, more than the cost of cancer and chronic heart disease combined. Music therapy is a proven solution to this ever-increasing problem, with research showing that it is the best type of therapy for reducing the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.  

The fund is in response to last year’s Power of Music report, which called for investment in music programmes for health and wellbeing, among other recommendations. It follows Vicky McClure’s ‘Our Dementia Choir’ documentary which demonstrates the life changing power of music for people living with dementia and their loved ones. It is also a precursor to NASP’s £5 million Power of Music Fund launching later in 2023. Projects that aren’t eligible for this fund may fulfil the criteria for that.  

Details on how to apply, eligibility, and key dates can be found here. We would be extremely grateful if you could share this information with your networks, add it to newsletters, bulletins and notice boards. Below is a short blurb that can be included in your comms. 

Please let us know if we can provide any further information or support in spreading the word.