Vinehill Trust: Music Grants

Overview

Their vision is to help children and young people to experience music-making, especially those who might otherwise not have this opportunity or who can benefit from an enriched opportunity.

The criteria below define their parameters more closely but are not exhaustive: they welcome imaginative and innovative applications which have the potential to transform young lives through the medium of music.

Overview

They typically award one-off grants of £10,000-£100,000, though exceptionally they will offer up to £100,000 per annum for a maximum of three years. They assess the size of grants relative to the applicants’ overall turnover and to their available resources.

They are lean and focused, applying maximum resources to charitable purposes, and they expect the same of grant recipients. They want to see that funded organisations are well governed and managed, that they have good finance and risk management systems and that they have the necessary skills and expertise to deliver their objectives.

They consider applications for emergency funding only exceptionally and where they are satisfied that robust management structures are in place to ensure that their funding generates long-term value.

They fund specific initiatives and projects rather than providing unrestricted funding.

The Vinehill Trust will consider applications for:

Choral singing

1. programmes that aim to support and build the UK’s choral tradition, through sustained engagement with children, young people and choral leaders, offering pathways to further training and diversification of the musical community
2. choral and organ scholarship schemes at cathedrals and at churches  – though not long-term endowments
3. youth choir or organ programmes run by professional adult choirs and/or as summer schools
4. visiting choir residencies in cathedrals if self-organised (i.e. not run by a commercial agency) and if the choir includes children and/or young people
5. bursary programmes for children and/or young people to attend recognised choral courses, summer schools, choral festivals etc
6. help with the purchase of keyboard instruments and other teaching materials where they are used for teaching and/or rehearsal, or are used in practice rooms which are accessed by children and/or young people

Pipe organ repair and restoration criteria

The Vinehill Trust welcomes applications that aim to support the repair and restoration of pipe organs in churches, cathedrals, civic buildings, or concert venues.  

Each application will be considered on its own merit and within the context of the Guidelines for Music Applications. Applicants should consider that the Trust does not in general expect to be the sole funder of any appeal. The Trust will require regular progress reports and an independent final report on completion of the work.

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• an application must be for the restoration of an organ with historic, cultural, artistic, or archaeological significance
• any proposed work must retain the character of the organ and its builder, with minimal alteration. Any alterations will need to be justified
• any proposed work should aim to conserve the organ in its present state or restore the organ to a clearly established, earlier historical state
• applicants must evidence, or demonstrate a future intention, to use the organ to teach students to play, either through collaborations with community organisations, local schools, or a national organ teaching programme such as the RCO Organs in Schools initiative or a National Keyboard Studies programme
• applicants must be willing to publicly acknowledge The Vinehill Trust as a financial donor to the project

All applications will require the following supporting documentation:

• a statement of need; a statement of significance; evidence of a faculty application by the diocese and a report from an organ adviser
• a signed contract with an appropriately qualified and accredited organ builder
• appropriate planning permission (either faculty, permission from CFCE or civic planning as appropriate)
• a copy of the Historic Organs Certificate (HOC) issued by the British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS), if available
• a statement of the relationship of the organ with the building’s fabric (e.g., is the performance of the organ being affected by adverse conditions of the building and vice versa)

Contractors will be expected to:

• avoid the use of synthetic materials
• avoid the use of components inappropriate to the organ’s original design
• respect historical finishes

The Vinehill Trust reserves the right to revise its guidelines.