Breadcrumb Home News 10 Years of Support: Youth Music and ... 10 Years of Support: Youth Music and Players of the People's Postcode Lottery Posted: 02/01/2024 Copy URL https://www.youthmusic.org.uk/news/10-years-support-youth-music-and-players-peoples-postcode-lottery 10 Years of Support: Youth Music and Players of the People's Postcode Lottery Posted: 02/01/2024 Copy URL https://www.youthmusic.org.uk/news/10-years-support-youth-music-and-players-peoples-postcode-lottery By Youth Music CEO, Matt GriffithsBack in 2013, the Postcode Culture Trust awarded £100,000 to Youth Music thanks to funds raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. I was in my first year as Youth Music CEO and we were going through a period of considerable change, reshaping our vision and mission. It was a challenging time and one of the many things on our minds was how to become more effective at fundraising to meet the growing demand for our support from the grassroots music organisations we invest in. Player support was therefore a massive boost for us and helped kickstart our fundraising journey. How player funding has helped Youth Music growOur partnership has grown exponentially year on year. In 2018, we were selected as one of Postcode Lottery’s charity partners and we now receive a regular annual award of £2.5m. This coincides with a period of rapid growth and development at Youth Music, with player support enabling us to achieve our longstanding ambitions, including instigating new programmes for 18- to 25-year-olds to progress their careers in the music industries on and off stage with the Youth Music NextGen Fund, together with geographic expansion into Wales and Scotland.The support has also enabled internal developments within Youth Music. This has included the formation of an Engagement Team, bringing together our youth engagement, fundraising and events management. The latter includes the Youth Music Awards, which happened for the first time in 2019 and grows every year, becoming a regular and dynamic fixture in the music industries calendar.We have also been able to reshape our data analysis function. In 2021, we moved from research and evaluation to establishing an agile Insights Team, producing evidence, case studies, reports, and providing vital information on our national impact and emerging trends to inform our funding priorities and programmes. More than fundingThe award from Postcode Culture Trust has been a game changer for us at Youth Music. In the past 10 years, players of the People’s Postcode Lottery have raised over £12.2 million for Youth Music. And not only that, but we have received valuable expertise, advice, and peer to peer support from the fantastic PPL team. Being part of their national and international network of like-minded charity partners provides regular opportunities to share good practice, opportunities, and challenges.One of the most refreshing aspects of working with People's Postcode Lottery is their policy to award unrestricted financial support. This is pretty unique amongst funders and demonstrates the high levels of trust People's Postcode Lottery places in its charity partners, recognising that we know what’s required so can ensure that investment is allocated where it’s needed most whilst staying on mission. This is great to see, even more so in these challenging times where the charity sector is under significant pressure to deliver more with less.Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “I’m delighted that Postcode Lottery players are helping to support young musicians and artists to access exciting opportunities. Youth Music helps to drive inclusivity and innovation in the music industry, something that is especially important while so many creative industries are facing financial challenges.”So, a massive thank-you from me, the Youth Music team and board of trustees for the invaluable support of the players and team of People’s Postcode Lottery over the last ten years, typifying what an innovative and mutually beneficial partnership can look like. Here’s to the next ten! Sign up to the Youth Music Network newsletter to stay up to date with the latest Youth Music news. Image Photo from All Star Entertainment Latest News news Trailblazer Round 9 - Grant Awards Discover the 33 organisations funded through Trailblazer Fund Round 9. 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news 'We Are The Roots' NextGen Community Event With Pirate We joined forces with Pirate for ‘We Are The Roots' a NextGen Community event - a powerful open mic and networking evening celebrating grassroots music, young creatives, and the future of the music industries. Read more
news Youth Music Report: Global Majority Young People Underrepresented in Music Industry A new Youth Music report reveals Global Majority young people are underrepresented in music industry leadership despite strong cultural ties and ambition for careers in music. Read more
news Born Into Music, Locked Out of Power Our latest thought leadership piece, 'Born Into Music, Locked out of Power', exposes the structural inequalities blocking Global Majority young people from progressing in the music industry, despite their deep-rooted cultural connection to music. Read more
news Spotify x Youth Music: Open Doors Day Behind the scenes of Open Doors Day — a landmark moment in our Spotify partnership, celebrating youth creativity, industry access, and the spaces where artists begin. Read more
news NextGen Community Event: Making Money While Making Music In association with Circle of Light, our Nottingham NextGen Community event discussed the realities of making money while making music. Read more
news Cathays Community Centre Wins 'Rescue the Roots' Grant to Empower Cardiff’s Young Musicians Cathays Community Centre in Cardiff receives a £2,500 'Rescue the Roots' grant from DMS Vinyl after being chosen by competition winners, pop-punk band, Junior. Read more
news Catalyser Fund Round 5 Expressions of Interest - How we made decisions Information about the decision-making process for Catalyser Round 5. Read more
news Pride Month 2025: Music Venues as Queer Utopias This Pride Month, NextGen writer, Ben Oxley, shares a powerful reflection on growing up queer in rural England, and how music venues become sanctuaries of joy, identity, and liberation for LGBTQIA+ communities. Read more
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