When you apply to Youth Music, you can submit your main proposal in different formats. This is to make the application more accessible, and enable you to communicate your ideas in the way that works best for you.

We don’t judge the production value of your video or deck. However, there are some things you can do to make sure your proposal is accessible to us and our assessment team.

Videos

• Make sure you respond to all the questions in your video. This is really important, and the most common mistake we see in video proposals. 
• Make sure your video link stays accessible for at least six months from the date of your application.
• Before submitting, check that your link opens when you are logged out. If you use YouTube or Vimeo, set the video to “unlisted” rather than “private”, as private videos can’t be opened by us. If your video is password-protected, include the password in your application.
• Caption your video. This helps us better understand what you’re saying. It also helps anyone who might need subtitles to access your video. There are many online tutorials showing how to do this, and you can also add captions directly on YouTube while uploading your video.
• Where possible, add timestamps to your video. This helps us navigate it and quickly find sections we want to rewatch. There are several online tutorials on how to do this, and you can also do it directly on YouTube.
• Try to record in a quiet space and speak clearly at a steady pace. A short test recording can help you check the sound.
• Keep your video to the time limit specified in the application guidance.  

Presentation Decks

• You can structure your deck whichever way you want – but make sure you are clearly answering all the questions.
• You don’t need to follow the order of the questions in the guidance, but labelling slides or marking which question you’re answering will help us understand your proposal.
• Please don’t embed additional links or videos in your deck – we can’t guarantee they’ll be viewed. Words, images and photos are all fine.
• Don’t worry about the design of your deck, but make sure your slides are clear and legible. Use a readable font size, strong colour contrast, and avoid placing text over images. Please don’t rely on colour alone to convey meaning.
• If an image is important to your proposal, explain what it shows in the text on the slide.
• Where possible, submit your deck as PDF as it keeps your fonts and layout intact. If you share a link, make sure anyone with the link can view it.

For all formats

• Please include everything relevant in the submission itself, as assessors will not follow additional links.
• If you need a different format or any support with your application, contact us on grants@youthmusic.org.uk.