Founded in 1738 as the “Fund for Decay’d Musicians”, The Society is Britain’s longest established musical charity.  Two hundred and twenty-eight members signed  its Declaration of Trust; they included Arne, Boyce, Carey, Festing, Greene, Pepusch, Edward Purcell (son of Henry), Roseingrave, Sammartini, Stanley (the blind organist and composer) and, most valuably, Handel. The Society still maintains at Drummonds Bank the account which Michael Festing (the first Secretary) opened in November 1738. From the beginning Handel took part in the annual concerts for the Fund’s benefit, and he bequeathed it £1,000 in a 1759 Codicil to his will.
George III gave his patronage to and attended, the Handel Festival concerts in 1784 with some 500 performers. This benefited the Society (as it had been called since 1780) by £6.000, and its first Royal Charter was granted in 1790. Its charitable work has continued unceasingly since its Foundation.
Over many years money was received from benefit concerts, gifts and honorary subscriptions from members of the nobility and from the general public. Dinners or “Anniversary Festivals” were held, presided over by distinguished non-members, including Dickens, the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), Sullivan, and Irving.
These proceedings often included performances of Marches written for the Society, by Haydn and Weber amongst others. In 1824, at the age of 12, “Master Liszt (a youth from Hungary)” gave for the Society his first concert in England, and he played for it again in 1827.  Mendelssohn

and Moscheles extemporized for it, and in 1848 Berlioz responded (in French) to a toast. Dvorák accompanied two of his own songs in 1885.  Over the years, most of those who attended became Honorary Subscribers or gave donations, as id members of the Royal Family, Paganini. Meyerbeer, Liszt, and Clara Schumann, and the famous name of Broadwood.  The Society of Female Musicians, launched in 1840, amalgamated with the R.S.M. in 1866.
By the end of the 19th century it was prudent for a young musician to seek membership of the Society, to confirm status in the profession, and to be able to call for help if in grave need. (By then, only very limited support could be given to non-members.) But the post-war welfare state and insurance developments led to a decline in the Society’s membership, and a renewed realisation that its aims had originally been for the relief of any professional musicians and their families in serious distress, and not just for the protection of Members.
Changes in the policies were reinforced by its second Royal Charter (in 1987), so that the Society can now help stricken non-members, including students, with the same cautious generosity as its Members. As a  result, the greater part of its annual charitable aid is now  given to non-members.  In its early years Members had to be based in central London.  With the widening of its membership, the Society now reaches professional musicians and their dependants, and those active within the world of music, throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland, thanks to the careful initiative of Members.