The Power of Music Fund

The Power of Music Fund supports music projects that make an incredible difference to people’s physical and mental health. These include dementia choirs and singing groups, which can have a life-changing impact for people living with dementia and their carers.

Please support the fund and bring the power of music to someone living with the condition. Your donation will go towards driving systematic and sustainable change. It will help more people affected by dementia to access projects through the health system, so people can get the support they need when they need it.

How your donation could help

£5 could pay for one person with dementia to take part in an uplifting singing session, complete with refreshments.

£10 could pay for a tambourine for any one-to-one or group music activities, to enhance the rhythmic experience of music.

£15 could help a person with dementia and their caregiver travel safely to a music group venue.

£65 could pay for an experienced musician to deliver a one-hour Musical Memories group session, offering a range of engaging musical activities and singing.

£150 could pay for two people with dementia to attend Singing for the Brain sessions for a year to enjoy their favourite songs and take part in gentle dance activities that helps their wellbeing.

Why is it needed?

Almost a million people are living with dementia in the UK, supported by nearly 700,000 unpaid carers.

Dementia is a progressive condition without a cure – but evidence shows that music projects can help to improve health and wellbeing, reduce stress, improve cognition, and encourage social and communication skills.

Dementia choirs and other grassroots groups that provide this support struggle to get the funding they need. Even small costs, to pay for room hire, transport and refreshments, can stop them from keeping going from one week to the next.

That is why we’ve set up The Power of Music Fund. We’re aiming to raise £5 million to bring hope and joy to thousands of people, through the power of music.

The Fund will support dementia choirs, carers groups and projects in care homes, among others – especially in parts of the country where the needs are greatest. It will support research and help create lasting change in the way that the health system works with community music groups, so many more people with dementia can get support through music.

What has been achieved so far?

So far, we’ve raised £2.3 million for the Power of Music Fund, including £500k secured from the NHS. We’ve given grants to over 200 organisations who will support over 12,000 people and create lasting change in the way the health system works with community groups to ensure that many more people living with dementia can benefit in the long term.

The Power of Music Fund kicked off in early 2023 with 100 grants of £1000 to support dementia choirs and singing groups that were struggling to keep going due to rising costs. This was scaled up later that year with a second cohort of grantees offering multi-year small grants to 70 hyper local organisations delivering music activities for people living with dementia. These activities will benefit over 5500 people whilst championing innovators and best practice in the field, as well as focusing on areas of high need.

In addition, regional Centre's of Excellence for Music and Dementia will focus on testing new approaches to embedding music as part of dementia care, gathering evidence and designing new models of care which can be scaled up and spread across the UK.

By building bridges between the health and social care system and community groups, we can help to take pressure off health and care services and ensure that more people are able to live well with dementia.

Who is involved in the fund?

The Fund is being managed by the National Academy for Social Prescribing. We are a charity that champions social prescribing, which involves helping people find non-medical support for their health and wellbeing – for example, through music, art, nature or through getting practical support for complex issues.

Health professionals across the country recognise the value of social prescribing, and we work closely with the NHS to ensure that people who would benefit from social prescribing can get the support they need.

Our previous Thriving Communities Fund supported more than 11,000 people across England, through a wide range of groundbreaking local projects.

The fund was kickstarted by a £1 million donation from The Utley Foundation. It aims to bring together support from a range of sources to raise a total of £5 million – including Government bodies, philanthropists, trusts and foundations, businesses, individual donors and is currently supported by The Rayne Foundation, Arts Council England, Music for All and other donors, including members of the public.

This shared investment model is a realistic and practical way of funding community-based social prescribing activities, so that people who would benefit from non-medical support can be referred to it.

If you have any questions about the Power of Music Fund, please email powerofmusic@nasp.info