Mary's Beat
Grant details
Grant size: | Up to £1,000 |
Typical grant: | £500 |
Apply by: | Monday 24 February, 2025 |
Decision in: | 6 weeks |
Who is it for?Residents of Somerset or Devon (not North Somerset or BANES) with a learning and/or physical disability
What is it for?To help participation in an activity which, without the grant, would not be available to them
What can I use this money for?
Funding can be used to support people with physical and/or learning disabilities to access the music therapy and experience outdoor adventures, such as:
- Costs of attending a sporting event, a concert or an outdoor activity
- Sessions of music, art, hydro or rebound and other sensory therapies
- Horse riding
- A financial contribution towards a piece of equipment to enable you to take part in a music event or an outdoor activity, eg a seating system or a switch or a support to sit in a boat.
You can’t apply for:
- Swimming costs (we do not view swimming as an outdoor activity)
- Living costs or everyday mobility/communication costs.
Who can apply?
You can apply for money from this Fund if:
- You are a resident of Somerset or Devon (this does not include North Somerset or BANES)
- You have a learning and/or physical disability and need help with the cost of an outdoor or music activity
When do I have to apply?
This Fund is open in January and February each year and applicants will be notified of our decision in March 2025
The closing date for this round is Monday 24 February, 2025.
Do I need to provide any documents?
We may ask for further information or evidence to confirm the information within your application.
This could be a letter from a medical professional or a support worker.
If we need to ask you for further information or evidence, we’ll email you.
How likely am I to get a grant?
We make as many awards as we can, however we never have enough money to support everyone who applies to us. When we have lots of applications, we’ll consider an applicant’s financial situation as well as how closely the application fits the eligibility criteria.
We have around £5,000 to give out from this Fund this year. We’re usually able to support 1 out of every 4 applications we receive.
How are decisions made?
Your application will be assessed by one of our team. We’ll read through what you’ve written and look at your supporting documents. We may contact you if we have any questions.
A recommendation will usually then be made, and a panel will make the final decision.
How do I apply to this programme?
The next step is to fill in our online application form.
You can access the online application form by clicking on the ‘Apply Now’ box at the bottom of this page. Please contact us if you can’t use the online form, letting us know you want to apply to Mary’s Beat. We’ll support you to make your application in another way.
You’ll need to provide the following information in your application:
- Your name, age, address, contact details and a brief description of your disability.
- What you’d like a grant for (include website links if possible and total cost).
- How much you’d like us to give you (between £100-£1,000).
- Why you want to do the music/outdoor activity and what difference it would make to you.
- When the activity will take place.
- Whether you’ve applied elsewhere for funding. If you have, how much have you raised so far? If you haven’t raised any money yet, please let us know what your plans are for this, especially if the activity costs more than you’re applying for from us.
- Whether you have an Education Health Care Plan or receive any benefits.
If you want to save and return to the form you will be prompted to provide an email address and a password.
Get help with this funding programme
This funding programme is managed by Kirsty Campbell. Kirsty can help you if you:
- aren’t sure if you meet our standards
- aren’t sure if this is the best fund to apply for
- can’t use our online form, need extra support with your application or if English isn’t your first language
- can’t attach the documents we’ve asked for.

Grant details
Grant size: | Up to £1,000 |
Typical grant: | £500 |
Apply by: | Monday 24 February, 2025 |
Decision in: | 6 weeks |
Who is it for?Residents of Somerset or Devon (not North Somerset or BANES) with a learning and/or physical disability
What is it for?To help participation in an activity which, without the grant, would not be available to them