Means testing
Why do you need to ask about money?
We're a registered charity and our charitable objective is to help musically talented young people from low income families to fulfil their potential. Therefore our Award programme is means-tested.
Our financial eligibility criteria is modelled on the lower level threshold of the Government's Music and Dance scheme. This looks at the annual, gross, family income of the home in which the young person lives (or mainly lives) and takes into account the number of children and dependent relatives living in that household.
The following guidelines may help you decide whether to progress with an application:
- An annual family income of £30,000 or under: you are likely to be eligible to apply
- An annual family income between £30,000 - £40,000: you may be eligible depending on the number of dependents in the home
- Annual family income is above £40,000: it is unlikely that you will be eligible to apply for funding.
Do you make any exceptions?
No, we have to be very strict about this. We appreciate the great costs involved in supporting a young person on their musical journey and we acknowledge that middle income families can often struggle to pay for their children’s music costs too. However, our charity was established with the specific focus of supporting musically talented young people from lower income families, and this remains the focus of our work. Other funders of young musicians may have different criteria, so please visit this page on our website for a list (opens in a new tab.
Young Sounds UK is the working name for Awards for Young Musicians. Registered charity. No. 1070994