We’re Absolutely Blown Away: Belladrum 2026 HELPED Raised Over £265,000 for Highland Communities
Wow! We’ve finally got the total numbers in for this year’s fundraising support, and honestly, we’re blown away. With so many tickets and donations across the year, it’s taken us a little while after the event to add everything up. But we’re thrilled to share that our 2026 edition helped generate more than £265,000 in donations and support for charities and community groups across the Highlands. On top of that, a further £20,000 in grant funding for local communities brings our total community investment for 2026 to more than £285,000.
We’re proudly “home-grown in the Highlands,” and as the festival has grown, we’ve worked hard to stay rooted in our community. Every year, we donate free market stall spaces to charities and local organisations, offer free online promotion for fundraising initiatives, and gift more than 200 weekend tickets to help local groups and charities raise vital funds.
That commitment was recognised in September, when we won the Corporate Community Impact category at the Highland Business Awards, organised by the Inverness Chamber of Commerce. The category honours businesses that make a difference beyond their day-to-day operations, and it was a real honour to take it home. (We can confirm, tears of happiness were shed! It was such a lovely recognition for us to receive.)
Belladrum is built on community and coming together, and so we’re grateful that we can use our platform to support so many important causes. Every donated ticket, charity stall and car parking purchase helps us support the people and places that make the Highlands and wider Scotland so special. We’ll keep giving back for years to come.
Who we’ve been able to help
Some of the groups that benefited from this year’s ticket donations include Kiltarlity Village Hall, Mikeysline, Highland Action for Little Ones, Anthony Nolan, Macmillan Cancer Support and Sophie’s Story. A large number of nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools also received tickets, helping them raise essential funds through raffles and other activities throughout the year, like summer fetes.
The Belladrum Community Trust
Alongside the £265,000 raised through donated tickets, stalls and charity partnerships, we distributed £20,000 through the Belladrum Community Trust. This is new funding, ring-fenced for communities local to the festival, and it’s made possible by car parking ticket sales, which we first introduced in 2024. This was our first round of funding, and we’re pleased to say further grants are confirmed and will be announced shortly.
One of the recipients was Kirkhill Primary School, which used its grant to cover transport costs for a school trip. Sara Cockburn, P7 Teacher and Principal Teacher at the school, told us:
“The Belladrum Community Trust grant was such a help! As a school, we want our pupils to have the best possible experiences, but transport costs are a huge barrier to this. Receiving this grant enabled all of our P6 and P7 pupils to access our trip to the Scottish Parliament and Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.”
Hearing that is exactly why we do this!!
Our charity partners
Beyond the wider charity support, we also choose an official charity partner each year. In 2026, we partnered with Cantraybridge College, and we recently announced that Highland Hospice will be our official charity partner for 2027.
The bigger picture
Put it all together, and the total raised for local causes over the last three years (2024 to 2026) now stands at more than £575,000.
Thank you to everyone who bought a ticket, parked a car, browsed a charity stall or simply came along and joined in. You made this happen, and we can’t wait to do it all again.