Jessie's Fund

Jessie's Fund is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1045731).

Jessie's Fund was inspired by a child's love of music and founded by that child's parents to help seriously ill or disabled children express themselves through music. It connects those children and the people who care for them with specialist musicians. It funds individual blocks of music therapy for children and young people, and it supports children's hospices with music therapy applications, with grants of around £5,000 to hospices. It has funded or part-funded music therapy for 113 children across 910 sessions, and paid £47,625 in grants in its latest reported period.

Priority Areas

Jessie's Fund helps children with serious illnesses or disabilities to connect, communicate and express themselves through music. Its organisational grants support music therapy projects, including work with children’s hospices; its grant recipients also include specialist schools, hospitals and music therapy organisations. It funds individual blocks of music therapy for children and young people with significant communication barriers and complex disabilities or life-limiting medical needs. Its wider work brings specialist musicians into hospitals and special schools and trains staff to use music for learning and communication. It prioritises first hospice applications and new, expanded or developing services, as well as those in crisis.

Themes

• Music therapy
• Creative music

Geographic Focus

The United Kingdom.

Hospice applications should specify the amount requested and any other potential sources of funding for the project.

Deadlines: Children’s hospice applications are considered once a year at the spring board meeting.

Application windows:

• Children’s hospice applications: Applications are considered once a year at the spring board meeting; the deadline is 31st January.

Who can apply:

• Children’s hospice applications: We are only considering applications for music therapy from children’s hospices at this time.
• Individual grants for families: We accept applications from either parents/carers or professionals working with the child or young person.

What to send:

• Children’s hospice applications: The most recent annual report and accounts.
• Individual grants for families: The child/young person’s EHCP, if they have one, or a supporting letter from a healthcare/education professional that states how they would benefit from the grant. If the EHCP is more than two years out of date, a short supporting letter is also required to clarify their current needs.

Applying again: Children’s hospice applications: Unsuccessful applicants can reapply no sooner than 2 years after their last application. We do not normally consider applications from hospices which have received a grant from us within the previous two years.

What the charity says:

• The foundation gives priority to first applications.
• It prioritises new music therapy services, service expansion or development, and services in crisis.
• It prefers hospices to show commitment to continuing projects beyond its funding.