Worthy Causes
SUPPORTED CHARITIES
Glastonbury Festival is thrilled to have supported a range of incredible causes in the year up to December 2023. It is thanks to your support for the Festival that we have been able to make substantial donations to help those facing challenges across the world.
By the end of 2023, we had made payments of over £3.7m to charitable causes and campaigns. In addition to this £3.7m, thank you to everyone who donated to the Oxfam Crowdfunder DEC Appeal which raised over £1m towards the Syria-Turkey Earthquake response, and our online auction raised £116,000 for the Trussell Trust.
We’d like to thank all our Festival-goers, crew and volunteers, without whom it wouldn’t have been possible to make these donations and support these good causes. Please read below to find out about some of the great charities and organisations we are proud to have been able to help.
JOINT CHARITIES – OUR CHARITY PARTNERS
Glastonbury’s three long-standing Joint Charity partners – Oxfam, WaterAid and Greenpeace – are an important part of the Festival, and we were delighted to have been able to make payments of over £1.7m across the three organisations for 2023, both as donations and for service provisions such as stewarding. The sale of last year’s Glastonbury Festival / Stella McCartney vest collaboration will also raise funds for our three charity partners.
To read more about the Joint Charities and their work, please click here.
OTHER CHARITABLE DONATIONS
We’re really pleased to have been able to donate to a range of other charitable causes with an additional £1.3m of charitable donations. Below is a round-up of some of the organisations we’ve been able to support.
In response to the humanitarian crisis currently affecting the Middle East, we have made a donation towards the Red Cross’s Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territory Appeal to provide immediate and urgent medical support for all those in need. We have also supported War Child with a donation towards their work in that region and for other children affected by war in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine.
We’re really pleased to have been able to help UK nationwide charities that work with young people experiencing homelessness such as Centrepoint, and charities working with communities living in poverty across the country such as Fareshare, Foodcycle and Beauty Banks.
We’ve also supported young people’s mental health charities including Young Minds and Mind in Somerset, and other organisations such as Girls Out Loud, Young Women’s Trust and Beyond Equality that work to help young people in the UK reach their potential.
Another cause close to our heart is the plight of refugees and asylum seekers. We’re proud to have been able to support charities working with these groups, such as Safe Passage – who help children who arrive in the UK alone – Migrant Help and the UK Refugee Council. We have also funded work supporting refugee women in creative projects such as Makani and Women for Refugee Women.
Many of our wider community and crew are Bristol-based and this year we have donated to various projects in the city. Among these are Young Bristol, The Bristol Children’s Charity, Baby Banks Bristol, Black2Nature and Feeding Bristol, who work hard to compassionately support families and young people in the Bristol area with a range of initiatives.
On our doorstep – in Pilton and other nearby villages – we’ve supported initiatives such as enrichment projects for local primary schools and vegetable growing for community food banks. We’ve also supported local environmental projects through the Somerset Wildlife Trust, grassroots biodiversity initiatives and growing projects such as The Food Forest Project.
Also in Somerset, we’ve donated towards the new Breast Cancer Unit at Yeovil Hospital, and supported Somerset NHS charities with a donation towards their 25th anniversary appeal, which will help fund equipment and materials in healthcare centres across Somerset.
VOLUNTEERS / SERVICES
We would also like to say a huge thank you to the incredible volunteers who donate their time to support over 200 charities while providing essential services to Glastonbury Festival.
Litter pickers, Loo Crew, Stewards, Property Lock-Ups, Campsite Crew, Bar Volunteers, Clean Up teams and many more raised much needed funds for organisations including: Oxfam, WaterAid, Shelter, Bhopal Medical Appeal, Kiota, Friends of the Earth, Samaritans, Diverse UK, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Charity, Cancer Research UK as well as many local schools, community organisations, carnival clubs, sports clubs and other groups.
Our incredible volunteer medical professionals raise funds for Festival Medical Services, who support a range of global health projects.
FESTIVAL AREAS & AROUND THE SITE
Many of our Areas across the Festival also support great causes through their crew and activities, including The Common’s Refugee Community Kitchen, Strummerville’s support for the Single Homeless Project and WAYOut and Theatre & Circus’ ongoing support for Children’s World Charity.
Our Green Futures area and The Park also host many charities and campaigning organisations, who come to the Festival to share their message and connect with other like-minded people. For example, this year in The Park, White Ribbon Alliance campaigned for health rights for young people around the world. Alongside the many campaigning groups in Green Futures, the area supported Stay Up Late for the tenth year running – giving music fans with learning disabilities the opportunity and help they need to enjoy and volunteer / work at festivals, music and cultural events.
The sale of canned Life Water across the Festival site last year has supported women-led initiatives in South Sudan, and provided clean drinking water to 3,430 people.
Festival-goers who rented Vodafone power banks, contributed to the network provider’s ‘rent one – give one’ scheme. As part of their Digital Inclusivity Pledge – which aims to help 100,000 people & businesses in Somerset access phone and data services by 2025 – Vodafone gave away a data sim card for every power bank rented, distributing them via the foodbank network of their national partner, Trussell Trust. Vodafone also provided sims to charities on site.
Chilly’s donated a percentage of the on-site sale of their water bottles to WaterAid. Last year, they also collaborated on a limited edition WaterAid design, with all profits going to WaterAid. This is expected to raise in the region of £25k.
To find out about Sustainability at Glastonbury, please read our Impact Summary.
