Making Music

Registered charity 249219 · since 1967makingmusic.org.uk·United Kingdom·Updated 30 October 2026

At a glance

£12,450

Annual giving, year to 31 December 2025

From filed accounts

Open to applications

Rolling, no deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

Making Music's giving fits best if your group is commissioning a new piece, if you are a young musician seeking concert or recital experience, or if you are a composer or arranger seeking recognition.
Its stated focus is the United Kingdom, its one named single-programme amount is £1,000 for Adopt a Music Creator, and the annual report gives total giving of £12,450, so a modest request is the realistic size.
For Adopt a Music Creator, the musical director and a committee member complete the application form before the project starts, and applicants are strongly encouraged to watch its recording about commissioning new music first.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Do not apply to Adopt a Music Creator if the project has already started or the music creator has been composing professionally for more than seven years.

Overview

Making Music is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 249219).

Making Music is a charity registered in England and Wales that exists to support, connect, champion and celebrate groups of people making and presenting music in their communities. It represents over 3,900 groups and around 200,000 musicians of all types, genres and abilities. Its funds make awards, bursaries and prizes to individual musicians, groups and organisations in both the voluntary and professional sectors. Its programmes include Adopt a Music Creator and the P & D Green Young Artists fund, which helps young musicians gain concert and recital experience across the UK. Its history records that the NFMS was founded in York.

What they fund

Priority Areas

The Foundation makes awards, bursaries and prizes to individual musicians, groups and organisations in both the voluntary and professional sectors. It supports groups commissioning new music through Adopt a Music Creator, a subsidy for commissioning a new piece from a music creator in the first seven years of their professional career; projects must not have started. Its endowment also helps young musicians at the start of their careers gain concert and recital experience across the UK, and part-funds an annual project and awards for composers and arrangers. Its grant activity supports music-making groups and individual creators through new commissions and recognition of musical contribution.

Themes

New music commissioning
Young musicians
Composer and arranger awards

Geographic Focus

United Kingdom.

What they don't fund

Adopt a Music Creator only: projects that have already started; music creators who have been composing professionally for more than seven years (non-continuous)

How to apply

For Adopt a Music Creator, the musical director and a committee member complete the application form explaining why the group wants to commission new music. The group must apply before its project starts and commission a music creator in the first seven years of their professional career.

Application success factors

What the charity says:

The commissioned music creator must be emerging, defined as having composed professionally for seven years or less.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to watch the recording about commissioning new music before applying.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

United Kingdom

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to Making Music.

Universal Music UK Sound FoundationFixed deadlinesGave £395k Continuo FoundationFixed deadlinesGave £220k Hinrichsen FoundationFixed deadlinesGave £221k The Vernon Ellis FoundationInvitation onlyGave £419k Vaughan Williams FoundationFixed deadlinesGave £365k The Foundation FoundationRolling PRS FoundationFixed deadlinesGave £1.9M The John S Cohen FoundationRollingGave £340k Peter Dubens FoundationInvitation onlyGave £1.5M The Andrew Lloyd Webber FoundationInvitation onlyGave £886k

Five years of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 31 December 2021	£721,305	£761,166	—	Accounts for year to 31 December 2021
year to 31 December 2022	£702,779	£770,619	—	Accounts for year to 31 December 2022
year to 31 December 2023	£928,990	£841,299	£8,275	Accounts for year to 31 December 2023
year to 31 December 2024	£1,021,125	£826,903	£10,225	Accounts for year to 31 December 2024
year to 31 December 2025	£936,095	£876,179	£12,450	Accounts for year to 31 December 2025

Income vs grants paid

IncomeGrants paid

Total value each financial year

YE 2023

£8,275 grants

YE 2024

£10,225 grants

YE 2025

£12,450 awarded

Grants paid stayed within income across the 3 years shown.

Grants paid, year to 31 December 2023; year to 31 December 2024: grants to institutions, as reported on the charity register (Part B).
Grants paid, year to 31 December 2025: grants awarded in the year, as reported in the accounts.

— No grants figure for those years.

Figures from the charity’s filed accounts and its register entry. The document icon links to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission register, where its filed accounts can be found.