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The Power of Music Fund
Music can be a lifeline for people living with dementia and their carers. The Power of Music Fund helps local groups and organisations bring music to the people who need it most — and builds the evidence to make music a lasting part of dementia care.
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 music matters for dementia
Almost a million people are living with dementia in the UK, supported by nearly 700,000 unpaid carers.
While dementia is a progressive condition without a cure, music can improve mood, offer opportunities for self-expression and creativity, strengthen relationships, and reconnect people with those they love.
Research suggests engagement with music offers significant social, emotional and cognitive benefits for people living with dementia — from reducing agitation and the need for medication to improving communication and supporting identity, even in the later stages of the condition.
About the Power of Music Fund
The Power of Music Fund is an ambitious fund, managed by the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP), that supports local groups and organisations providing music activities for people living with dementia.
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 £2.7 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.
NASP and Music for all have provided multiyear small grants to over 200 local organisations delivering music activities for PLWD, championing best practice, and focusing on areas of high need.
In addition, regional Centres of Excellence in Manchester and Hertfordshire 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.
One resident living with Parkinson’s disease, who had shown limited communication, surprised staff, and family members by singing every word to a well-known Elvis song during a group session. Staff working with that resident described the moment as deeply emotional and an example of how music can help unlock connection and communication even in later stages of illness.
Hertfordshire's programme
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 practical way of funding community-based social prescribing, so that people who would benefit from non-medical support can be referred to it through the health system.
If you have any questions about the Power of Music Fund, please email powerofmusic@nasp.info