Knowledge Base
Grants for holidays/short breaks
| 3H Fund UK Holiday Grant Programme | 3H Fund awards grants to disabled people and carers, on low income, to help them to organise a break for themselves in the UK. Last checked (March 2025) only covering those in Scotland who are a permanent wheelchair or walking aid users aged 25 and under. They did say at the start of the year it is open to all but this goes pretty quickly. |
| The Adamson Trust | The purpose of the Trust is to provide assistance with the cost of holidays and/or respite breaks for young people aged 17 and under with either a physical or mental disability. |
| Buttercup Children’s Trust | Grants for respite, holidays and travel expenses for children who ‘suffer from a wide range of life hindering illnesses including Leukaemia, The Deaf, The Blind, Cystic Fibrosis’ |
| Carefree | Carefree is overnight stays donated by hotels all over the UK for carers. Do need to pay £33 admin fee per stay and limited to one break per year which can be 1 or 2 nights depending on hotel availability (caring role needs to be confirmed by a referee professional). |
| Disability Aid Trust | Provides grants to fund a carer to allow adults with a severe physical disability to have a break. |
| The Family Fund | Provides grants for short breaks to families who are caring for a disabled or seriously ill child aged 17 years or under. |
| Family Holiday Charity | We provide short breaks at seaside holiday parks like Haven or Butlin’s, staying in a self-catering caravan. We also work with a wide range of other holiday parks, hotels and hostels who donate availability to us. In exceptional circumstances we may be able to make a financial contribution towards another type of holiday if our usual short breaks are unsuitable for a family. |
| Lilias Finlay Holiday Fund – Trefoil House | Trefoil offers Personal Development Grants to young people in Scotland under twenty-five years old with special needs, whether mental, social, or physical, that affect their development. Applicants for holiday grants should be under eighteen years old and living in Scotland. Trefoil only funds holidays in the UK and does not support overseas trips. |
| The Ogilvie Trust (The Margaret Champney Rest and Holiday Fund) | Provides small grants toward a break for individuals who care for others to have a break completely away from the person whom they normally care for or where the carer and cared for wish to holiday together. May also consider family holidays in the UK where one or more members of the family are substantially disabled and where the Margaret Champney Rest & Holiday Fund has funds available. They also have grants for essential house hold items for up to £300. |
| Pamis | Offer 2-night (Friday to Sunday), 3-night (Monday to Thursday) and 6 night breaks (Friday to Thursday) at the Coach House in Aberfeldy. The Coach House is a 4 bedroom holiday cottage in rural Perthshire which can sleep 8 people, the downstairs areas are fully wheelchair accessible and have a tracking system and a fully accessible wet room. |
| Take a Break Scotland | Provides individual grants to help families with disabled or seriously ill children or young people (up to age 20) to have a personalised short break. The Fund is administered by the Family Fund on behalf of the Scottish Government. Eligibility is based on social model of disability and not of medical model so not dependant on diagnosis/ receiving CDP/ADP. It opens annually in May/June time. Generally you won’t receive a payment if you were successful the year before, however there is no limit on applying so it is worth submitting an application. |
| Time Away | Charity which sources vacant time in self-catering holiday accommodation and gifts it to families facing both emotional and financial difficulties following a child’s life changing diagnosis. This is available to families with children under 5 years old, however families with older children can register with them and if there are breaks that are not booked or last minute availability they are offered out to all registered with them. The best way to stay up to date is to join their WhatsApp channel and they post there if they have any last minute cancellations. They recently changed to being able to apply once every 2 years. |
| Whiteleys Retreat | Fully adapted cottages in Ayr for young people age 0-24 with a terminal or life limiting illness with therapy spaces including animals. |