Olivia PowellMusicians Union (MU) has set up a £1m emergency fund for members who are in need of financial aid.
The purpose of the fund is to provide immediate support for musicians who have found themselves in financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus, with small grants of £200 to provide urgent relief.
The Coronavirus Hardship Fund is for MU members with ‘genuine and pressing hardship’. It is open to artists who:
- Have been continuous members of the MU for the last 12 months
- Are currently paying the full MU membership subscription rate
- Are UK residents
- Are suffering genuine hardship from loss of work due to the coronavirus pandemic
- Have not already successfully received a payment from the MU Coronavirus Hardship Fund
The MU has also launched a Crowdfunder to provide additional funds to the Hardship Fund. In just a few days, it has grown to almost £6,000.
Within two hours of launching the Hardship Fund, the MU received more than two hundred applications, with more coming in ever since. Due to the number of applications, it was anticipated that the £1m fund would run out by the end of the first week.
After the MU received numerous offers from members of the public who wished to contribute to keep the fund running, it launched a Crowdfunder so that those you wished to contribute and help those affected by the coronavirus pandemic, could.
To donate to the Crowdfunder, click here.