GrantRadar

Family Holiday Charity

Funded Holiday programme

Family Holiday Charity funds UK holidays for low-income families who have not had a holiday together in the last four years. The funded holiday usually covers self-catered accommodation (caravans, lodges and cottages booked through Inspire Travel) for up to 4 nights, with a contribution towards travel and food. Families cannot apply themselves: a professional who supports them, working for a registered charity or a statutory service, registers as a referrer and applies on their behalf. Applications stay active for up to 12 months while the charity matches them to funding, and not every application results in a holiday.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Amount not specified
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Families who meet all of these criteria: household income under £24,000 (including means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support, Pension Credit and tax credits, but excluding non-means-tested benefits such as DLA and PIP); the family has not had a holiday together in the last four years (day trips and trips cut short by circumstances outside their control, such as bereavement, do not count); and at least one child under 18 at the time of application goes on the holiday, with the lead name on the application having primary caring responsibility for that child
  • The application must be made by a referrer who supports the family professionally and has regular contact with them, working for a registered charity or a statutory service provider (for example family-support charities, social services, community health teams, NHS family services, schools, nurseries, children's centres, or refuge and domestic abuse services)
  • Referrers must give their line manager's details and use a work email address (not @hotmail or info@ addresses)

What it funds

  • Funded Holiday programme: self-catered accommodation in the UK for up to 4 nights, with a contribution towards travel and food costs during the holiday
  • Gifted Breaks programme: holidays donated by travel partners, with accommodation covered and sometimes meals; dates are pre-set by the partner
  • Day Trip Tickets donated by UK attractions, such as theme parks, zoos or special events, offered to registered referrers when available

families may still need to plan for contributions towards food and travel, activities, spending money and security deposits.

What it will not fund

  • Holidays outside the UK
  • Families who do not meet all three criteria (no exceptions are made)
  • Applications made by families themselves rather than through a registered referrer

How to apply

  1. The family chooses a professional who supports them to act as their referrer
  2. The referrer registers on the Be a Referrer page; registrations are checked by hand and approved within about 14 days
  3. Once approved, the referrer receives the holiday application form link by email
  4. The referrer completes the application in one sitting (the form has no save-and-return), covering family details, safeguarding and risk factors, their relationship with the family, family circumstances, booking needs, past holidays, and barriers and benefits
  5. The Experiences Team matches the application to available funding; if a holiday can be offered, the referrer receives it by email
  6. The family (or referrer) books the holiday with Inspire Travel by phone; families complete short impact surveys before and after the holiday

the Holiday Application Guide lists every question on the form so it can be prepared in advance. If the family cancels after using food or fuel vouchers included in the offer, the referrer's organisation must reimburse the charity.

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