A song written in memory of Liam Payne is being used to continue the former One Direction singer’s charitable giving.
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song → write → giving
His cousin, Ross Harris, wrote Bones after Payne died aged 31 on 16 October 2024 and later built The Bones Fund around the song’s master royalties.
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Payne → write → royalties
The initiative combines those royalties with direct donations and merchandise profits, with the money intended for causes Payne supported during his life.
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Payne → combine → life
Its inspiration came from a late-night video call in summer 2024, when the cousins browsed online fundraising pages and found children whose fundraising pots needed completing.
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pots → come → children
According to the fund’s website, Payne donated nearly £10,000 to young people that night before his bank began blocking further payments.
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bank → accord → payments
Harris has since sought to carry that spirit of giving forward through the song and the fund.
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Harris → seek → song
How Ross Harris turned Bones into The Bones Fund
Harris wrote Bones with Jordan Round as an outlet for his grief after Payne’s death.
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Harris → turn → death
The song came out at the end of August 2025, shortly after what would have been Payne’s 32nd birthday.
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what → come → August
In an Instagram post reported by Rolling Stone on 1 September 2025, Harris described the track as the most personal song he had written and explained that creating it had helped him process his loss.
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him → report → loss
Rolling Stone and the fund’s website say the song’s artwork features a rose drawn by Payne himself.
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artwork → say → Payne
The idea behind the fund drew on the cousins’ earlier FaceTime call.
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idea → draw → call
During the conversation, they browsed JustGiving and GoFundMe pages, looking for children whose fundraising pots needed completing.
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pots → browse → children
The fund’s website says Payne made donations totalling nearly £10,000 that night.
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Payne → say → 10,000
Harris later decided to use the song’s earnings to continue the kind of giving they had done on that call.
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they → decide → call
In late August 2026, a year after the original release, Harris released an acoustic version to formally launch the fund.
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Harris → release → fund
The fund’s website says royalties from both versions contribute to its pool of money, alongside donations and merchandise proceeds.
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royalties → say → donations
The website explains that The Bones Project Ltd owns the master rights to Bones, which Harris gifted to the company.
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Harris → explain → company
Master royalties collected through its distributor, DistroKid, go into the fund.
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royalties → collect → fund
How streaming, donations and merchandise support the fund
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streaming → support → fund
The Bones Fund’s website displays a running counter for streams and estimated royalties.
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website → display → streams
The figures are estimates, with the site explaining that totals are updated as documented streaming figures and royalty payments come in.
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figures → explain → ?
The website says master royalties from the song are directed to the fund, alongside direct donations and merchandise profits.
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royalties → say → donations
Supporters can contribute directly through the fund’s website, with payments processed by Stripe.
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Supporters → contribute → Stripe
Merchandise offers another source of income, with products including tote bags, mugs, magnets and stickers printed to order.
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products → offer → bags
The website gives two descriptions of how merchandise profits are used.
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profits → give → descriptions
One says around 60% to 70% of the profit on each item is donated, while another says every penny of profit goes to charity.
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penny → say → charity
These statements differ, and the site does not explain the discrepancy.
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site → differ → discrepancy
Is The Bones Fund a registered charity, and which causes does it support?
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it → register → causes
The Bones Fund is not currently a registered charity.
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Fund → register → ?
Its website identifies it as the trading name of The Bones Project Ltd, a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales.
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website → identify → England
The organisation says it intends to apply to the Charity Commission for charitable status when it is able to do so.
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it → say → status
A company limited by guarantee has no shareholders and does not pay dividends.
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company → limit → dividends
The fund says it operates on a non-profit basis, with money intended for the causes it supports.
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it → say → causes
It also says some funds may be used for necessary running costs, including website hosting, marketing and legal expenses.
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funds → say → hosting
Until it obtains registered charitable status, the company says it cannot offer Gift Aid on donations.
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it → obtain → donations
Payments processed through Stripe are also subject to processing fees.
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Payments → process → fees
The fund’s website names UNICEF, Soccer Aid and the Trussell Trust among the organisations connected to Payne’s charitable work.
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website → name → work
It presents the project as a way to continue supporting causes he worked with, raised money for or donated to during his life and career.
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he → present → life
The money raised is intended to be distributed to the different causes Payne supported.
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Payne → raise → causes
The website says the fund will report back with as much information as possible about the money raised and where it goes.
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it → say → money
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
