For a long time, the UK has been at the forefront of the historical performance movement. However, due to the slow return of classical music audiences since the pandemic, and the current cost-of-living crisis, the careers of freelance musicians are precarious.
At Continuo Foundation, our mission is to help UK period-instrument (or early music) ensembles create inspiring live music experiences for more people in more places, enhancing the lives of musicians and audiences of all ages in communities across the country.
As a specialist grant-maker, pooling funds from philanthropists and larger funders, Continuo Foundation has found ACF’s Funders Collaborative Hub an invaluable resource. By posting a collaboration opportunity on the Hub, we have been able to connect with other funders who are seeking to make an impact in the areas of classical music and young artist development.
Bringing together financial contributions from multiple sources into a single fund can make grant-making processes easier and more efficient
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The arts funders who have provided long-term support for our work, including the Maria Bjornson Memorial Fund and the Swire Charitable Trust, alongside our generous private donors, have been transformational in enabling Continuo to provide £200,000 per annum in small project grants (£2,000 - £8,000) to UK period-instrument ensembles – and to provide the ongoing business and publicity support which helps these musicians to carry out their projects successfully in all regions of the UK.
We are delighted to have helped these funders to reach small organisations which might otherwise struggle to apply to them directly, and to magnify their impact in our specialist area by leveraging our deep understanding and close contacts with the community we are supporting.
Funder collaboration doesn’t have to be complicated. Bringing together financial contributions from multiple sources into a single fund can make grant-making processes easier and more efficient for both donors and applicants alike. One of our recent grantees described the Continuo model as “a great example of organised philanthropy: simple, effective, light on bureaucracy, heavy on impact”.
We believe that a sector-wide initiative is the most effective way to help early music flourish in the UK. We are now working to enhance our funding by developing a new digital hub, Continuo Connect. This will enable musicians to create their own profiles to showcase their work, and will allow us to streamline our grant application and evaluation processes even further, giving our team of assessors all information about each ensemble in one place.
Inspired to collaborate?
Add a collaboration opportunity and connect with other funders who share your interests.
