Scotland’s young musicians awarded £50,000 funding by Eilidh’s Trust

Funding issued through 80+ small grants from Shetland to the Borders

Pipe bands, a ukulele group and musical theatre groups are among the young Scottish musicians to benefit from over £50,000 of funding from the charity created in memory of Manchester Arena victim Eilidh MacLeod. 

A total of £53,400 is being made available to over 80 young musicians and youth music groups from Shetland to the Borders by the Eilidh MacLeod Memorial Trust (full list and locations below). This is the largest amount of funding the charity has issued in a single round with over 2000 young musicians supported across all genres and disciplines of music. 

Over 100 applications were received which is a considerable increase on last year’s funding round. This meant the charity had some very tough decisions to make about how to distribute the funding. 

Eilidh’s Trust was established in 2018 in memory of the talented 14-year-old musician from the Isle of Barra who died in the Manchester Arena attack in May 2017. The trust supports music education for young people reflecting Eilidh’s own love of music and her musical ability and enjoyment as a piper with the local pipe band. The trust will also manage and maintain a permanent memorial to Eilidh and a garden of remembrance and reflection on Barra.  

Today’s announcement means the charity has now issued over £150,000 worth of small grants to youth music groups across Scotland. 

Iagan MacNeil of Eilidh’s Trust said: “This funding round shows that we are succeeding in our mission to build a musical legacy for Eilidh having now issued almost 200 small grants since 2018. We are heartened to know that our 2025 funding will allow over 2000 children and young people to grow in their talent and confidence. 

“While our financial support this year covers a broad range of genres and disciplines in all parts of Scotland, we have seen an increase in requests to help alleviate the costs associated with music lessons. By removing financial barriers to tuition, we are helping young people to continue to realise their ambitions without fear of impacting under-pressure family budgets.”

Iagan added: “The response to our recent funding rounds clearly demonstrates there is a need for a charity like Eilidh’s Trust where people can turn to as other music funding opportunities reduce. We are immensely proud of the work we do and are very grateful to everyone who supports us through fundraising. We urge people to continue donating and fundraising so we can have an even greater impact on more young people in the years to come. You can donate to Eilidh’s Trust via our JustGiving page.”

* Denotes an individual recipient, either applying for themselves or an adult applying on behalf of the young person