SGMN Membership Criteria

The Sheffield Grassroots Music Network exists to connect, strengthen and champion Sheffield's community music sector. Membership is designed for the organisations doing that work on the ground.

Who can join?

SGMN offers two types of membership: full membership for not-for-profit organisations, and associate membership for small for-profit organisations with music at their core (see below).

Full membership of SGMN is open to organisations that meet all of the following criteria:

Not-for-profit structure. You are constituted as a not-for-profit organisation, for example a registered charity, CIO, Community Interest Company (CIC), community benefit society, social enterprise with an asset lock, or a constituted community/voluntary group
Music at your core. Music is a central part of what you do, whether that's youth music programmes, artist development, workshops, rehearsal or recording provision, events, performance opportunities, or community music-making.
Based in Sheffield. Your organisation is based in, or delivers the majority of its activity within, Sheffield.
Annual turnover under £500,000. Your organisation's annual income is below £500,000. See below for why we set this threshold.
Shared values. You are committed to using music as a tool for creativity, inclusion, personal development, and community engagement, and to working collaboratively with other members of the network.

Why the £500,000 threshold?

SGMN was established, with support from Sheffield City Council, specifically to strengthen the small grassroots organisations that make up the foundation of Sheffield's music ecosystem. These organisations often run on limited staffing and resources, and benefit most from the shared knowledge, peer support, and collective voice the network provides.

Setting a turnover threshold keeps SGMN a network of peers operating at a similar scale, and ensures that the opportunities, resources, and investment the network attracts are directed to the organisations that need them most. Larger organisations typically have dedicated fundraising, development, and partnership capacity of their own, which is why we invite them to join us as Friends of SGMN rather than full members.

Associate Membership (small for-profit organisations)

We recognise that a lot of grassroots music activity in Sheffield is delivered by small businesses, partnerships, companies, music education providers, studios, and independent music organisations, simply because that's how many people structure their work. If music is at the core of what you do but you operate on a for-profit basis, you can join SGMN as an Associate Member, provided you meet all the other membership criteria (music at your core, based in Sheffield, annual turnover under £500,000, and shared values).

Associate Members receive all the benefits of membership: full participation in network meetings and events, access to the databases and shared resources, and a voice in the network. To keep the network formally led by its not-for-profit members, voting on network decisions is reserved for full members.

The one difference is around funding. Many grants and funding programmes are restricted to not-for-profit organisations, so Associate Members may not always be able to be listed as members or partners on SGMN funding bids. Where a bid allows for-profit involvement, Associate Members will be included on the same footing as everyone else, and if an Associate Member later adopts a not-for-profit structure, they can move to full membership straight away.

Friends of SGMN (organisations with turnover over £500,000)

If your organisation's turnover is above £500,000, we can't offer you full membership, but we would genuinely love to work with you, and we'd be delighted to welcome you as a Friend of SGMN. Larger organisations have a vital role to play in Sheffield's music ecosystem as partners, commissioners, funders, mentors, and collaborators. Friends of SGMN are invited to network events and kept in the loop on the network's work and opportunities to collaborate. Please get in touch at info@sgmn.co.uk to become a Friend.

Sole traders, freelancers and individual creative practicioners

Full membership is for constituted organisations, so we can't currently offer individual membership to sole traders or freelance creative practitioners. However, individuals are the lifeblood of the grassroots sector, and we want to keep you close:

We are developing an online directory of individual creative practitioners, which will connect freelancers with member organisations and opportunities across the network.
You are warmly invited to collaborate with SGMN and its members, and to attend open events.

Venues

Not-for-profit venues are very welcome to join SGMN as full members, provided they meet the criteria above.
For-profit venues should contact SIVA — the Sheffield Independent Venue Alliance — which exists to represent Sheffield's independent venues.
Not-for-profit venues are welcome to hold membership of both SGMN and SIVA.

How to apply

Get in touch at info@sgmn.co.uk telling us a little about your organisation, your legal structure, and the music work you deliver in Sheffield. We may ask to see your governing document and most recent accounts to confirm eligibility.