The Energiser Fund aims to celebrate and energise creative practice with 2-4-year-olds. Centring children’s voices, views and lived experience, the fund will explore co-design and participation in creative projects for early years.
The fund will give up to 10 organisations a three-year grant to deliver creative programmes with 2-4-year-olds. Organisations will come together to network and reflect throughout the three years, in a bespoke learning programme.
What will an Energiser Funded Partner get?
- A 3-year grant worth up to £120,000.
- The Energiser Learning Community; a carefully curated programme of online and in-person workshops, reflection sessions and mentoring.
- Communications and advocacy strategy and support from Youth Music.
Going Beyond Music
The Energiser fund will support a range of creative activities, and each programme should work across more than one art form. This is Youth Music’s first fund investing in more than music. Research for Arts Council England’s Let’s Create Strategy indicated that children see creativity in broad terms, not limited to specific art forms. They have asked us to respond to that in delivering our National Lottery programme.
What does Youth Music want to achieve?
Ultimately, we want to bring about change in early years creativity. To generate excitement, greater understanding and more equity for an age group that’s often marginalised and underestimated.
We’re particularly keen to explore co-design and participation with young children. Thinking about how we do it, what good looks like, what happens when we do it and what we can learn from co-designing creative activities with 2-4-year-olds. The 10 organisations awarded a grant will be partnering with Youth Music to explore this.
When?
Funding will be for three years, from September 2024 until September 2027. Planning will take place September 2024 to December 2024. Delivery will then begin in January 2025.
Deadlines
The Energiser Fund is now closed for applications.
Interviews: May/June 2024 (you’ll find out if you’ve been invited to interview by the end of April 2024)
Notification: 12 July 2024
Programme delivery: September 2024 – September 2027
An Energiser Fund funded partner could be:
- A theatre company that specialises in work for early years.
- A maintained nursery school that centres creativity in their curriculum.
- A small CIC comprising freelancers delivering music and movement projects with 2-4-year-olds in a variety of community settings.
- A museum or library that programmes literature and art activities for 0-5s and their families.
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.
Funding
Discover funding options available with Youth Music.