Tramlines announces £58K in 2025 charity funding with £319K raised since move

Tramlines announces £58K in 2025 charity funding, The festival has now raised over £319000 for charity since moving to Hillsborough Park in 2018.

Tramlines Festival has announced £58,000 in funding for local and national projects in 2025, continuing its support for community initiatives through the Tramlines Trust and other partnerships. The festival has now raised over £319,000 for charity since moving to Hillsborough Park in 2018.

A total of 42 organisations have received support this year through the Tramlines Trust’s funding round, which saw a large number of applications from grassroots projects, charities and community groups across the region. Priority was given to initiatives that improve access to music and the arts, reduce food and fuel poverty, support mental health and wellbeing, and create opportunities for young people.

The 2025 round included over £20,000 raised for the Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation, as well as a further £5,000 donated to Doctors Without Borders as part of a new and ongoing charity partnership. A significant portion of onsite donations was directed to the Tramlines Trust, which has awarded more than £120,000 in small grants since launching in 2022.

Several organisations based in and around Hillsborough received dedicated funding, including Hillsborough Arena, Holme Lane Community Garden, and Soundpost’s Green Open Spaces Walking Trail project. S6 Foodbank also benefited from a direct community push in the run-up to the festival’s artist announcement.

In November, Tramlines launched a tongue-in-cheek Spill the Beans teaser campaign. Hundreds across the UK received specially branded tins of beans in the post, each revealing the name of a 2026 artist ahead of the official reveal. Fans were also invited to donate food to the S6 Foodbank in Hillsborough, where anyone making a contribution received one of the limited-edition tins in return. The campaign continued Tramlines’ longstanding commitment to local causes, with further community activity planned throughout the year.

Across the city, funding has reached a wide range of organisations and ideas. Roundabout will continue its music education partnership with RiteTrax to deliver DJing and production workshops for young people in supported housing. Disability Sheffield is growing its inclusive sports provision, while Bloom Sheffield is extending its Winter Wellbeing programme to support socially isolated women throughout the colder months.

Another standout moment of the year came from Under the Stars, a long-time partner of Tramlines, whose Stars Band returned to the festival line-up in 2025. Funding from the Tramlines Trust helped cover the essential costs of staff and safeguarding support, enabling talented performers with learning disabilities to take to the stage. The performance was a clear celebration of inclusion and musical achievement, earning heartfelt applause from audiences and showcasing the power of creativity across all abilities.

Funding has also supported grief support books for children, free community hiking and holistic wellbeing days, arts award access for young people with additional needs, food distribution to families through local schools, and a new women’s football team in Lowfield backed by Football Unites, Racism Divides.

A full list of 2025 beneficiaries is included below, reflecting the scale and diversity of community action taking place across Sheffield and South Yorkshire.

Pia Scattergood, Tramlines Festival Coordinator said,

Tramlines has always been about more than music, and it matters to us that the festival has an impact beyond the weekend. The Trust helps us stay connected to what’s happening around Hillsborough, while also supporting projects across the city. It means we’re learning from local groups and celebrating the arts and community work that make Sheffield what it is.

Organisations supported by the Tramlines Trust in 2025 include: Burton Street Foundation, ASSIST Sheffield, Saffron Sheffield, Zest, FareShare Yorkshire, Steelers Healers, England Netball, Jude and the Book Factory, Under the Stars, Bloom Sheffield, A Mind Apart Theatre Company, FURD, Wisewood Girls Football U14s, The Riva Project, Royal Mencap Society, Rudyard Road Area Residents and Friends, Christ Church Hackenthorpe, Music in the Round, Cartoon Drawing Club, Sheffield Mencap and Gateway, Holme Lane Community Garden, Sapphire Project Organisation, Hillsborough Arena Sports Association, Roundabout, Sheffield Young Carers, Re-Gen Hijama and Therapy, Meynell Primary School, Southey Green Primary School and Nursery, Sheffield Music School, The Endcliffe Orchestra, Sheffield Youth Orchestra, St Vincent’s Furniture Project, Sheffield Samaritans, Hillsborough Together CIC, Soundpost Community Network, Sacred Heart School, Out of the Archive CIC, Support Dogs, Tapton School Academy Trust, South Yorkshire Visually Impaired Tennis Club, Disability Sheffield and S12 Community Pantry.

For more information about the Tramlines Trust, visit https://tramlines.org.uk/tramlines-in-the-community/the-tramlines-trust/