Each year, BABS gives around £18,000 to its member clubs, individual members, and members of the public, to help to educate the world about barbershop singing.

Harmony College Scholarships

One of the benefits that BABS provides for the barbershop community is a number of scholarships, enabling some who will benefit most from the experience to attend, when they might not otherwise have been able to afford to do so.

Last year was a bumper year, with nineteen applications chasing an unfortunately smaller number of scholarships.

The Board met in January and decided that this year's scholarships would be:

• Director's Scholarship: for any applicant wishing to enrol on the Directors' Stream.
• College Chorus Scholarship: for any applicant wishing to enrol on the College Chorus Stream
• Quartet Scholarship: one free place for one quartet member to attend the Quartet Stream
• New Member Scholarship: for any BABS member who joined since 1 January 2019, to attend any stream at Harmony College
• Joe Liles Award: for a BABS member who is under 26 on the first day of Harmony College, wishing to enrol on any stream
• BABS Barbershopper Of The Year: winner gets free place at Harmony College
• Seniors Award: for any applicant 55 or older on the first day of Harmony College, who has not previously attended Harmony College.
• Tony Foster Recruitment Champions Award: For a new member of the club receiving the Tony Foster Recruitment Champions Award to attend any stream.

Unless otherwise stated, each scholarship is open to BABS and non-BABS members. 

Application forms are available from Alistair Lamyman, Grants Secretary [email protected]. The application opening date will be confirmed soon.

Top tip for success? Take care over your application, include as much supporting detail as possible, and include a letter of recommendation from your Chairman or Musical Director. Good luck!

Time to Sing Grants

Time to Sing courses, also known as Learn to Sing, are one of the most popular and effective ways of growing your chorus. 

In a nutshell, these courses involve inviting prospective members to a fixed-length series of rehearsals (usually 3-8 weeks), during which time they are taught the skills required to become a member of your chorus. Often the attendees will also learn a song as part of the course.

BABS wants to encourage clubs to run these courses as frequently as possible, as we’ve seen this format drive significant growth in some clubs. Successfully delivered, a Time to Sing course can have a profound impact on your organisation.

Each year, BABS makes available a number of grants - currently £200 each - to be awarded to clubs seeking to run a Time to Sing course.

What are the requirements?

You just need to be a BABS Club in good standing, planning a Time to Sing course. In addition, after the course has finished, we ask that you provide an article for Harmony Express, as well as feedback collected from your attendees.

How do I apply?

Simply send an email to the BABS Director of Membership, Peter Bryant ([email protected]) with the details of your course, and the details of the bank account you wish the grant to be paid into. Peter will get back to you within 7 days to let you know if there is a grant available.

Please note that the number of available grants may be limited, and are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Regional Events Grants

One of the most enjoyable parts of barbershop is meeting up with other people from around the country who all share a passion for our style of music. It’s a great way to make new connections, and learn from different educators and coaches.

To help facilitate these events, BABS makes available a limited number of grants to support the organisation of Regional Events. These events are usually organised by one or more BABS Clubs, and involve bringing together multiple BABS Clubs for a day’s get-together. Often a guest coach/director is booked to lead the educational aspect of the day, and all attendees may learn a song beforehand which they can rehearse together during the day.

Grants are awarded after your event has taken place. Simply provide us with receipts for any expenses incurred (venue hire, educator fees, music fees etc), and we’ll reimburse you up to £500. We can’t guarantee that you will receive a grant due to limited funding, so please check with the BABS Director of Membership before incurring any expenditure.

Additionally, BABS makes limited copies of a selected barbershop song available for use at Regional Events, free of charge.

To find out more about the Regional Event Grants and Music, or for support on how to organise and run a Regional Event, please contact Peter Bryant, BABS Director of Membership: [email protected]