OUR CRITERIA
Grants are made to people of limited means who are either recovering from illness or trauma, or for carers needing a break from their caring role.
We do not give grants for the purchase of equipment, capital goods or for debt relief.
Grants cannot be repeated, to enable us to help a larger number of people
Our grants can be used solely towards holidays within the UK
Holidays which have already been committed to will not be considered for a grant.
Applications for funding where convalescent breaks/carers breaks is part of the applying organisations remit, will not be considered.
Applications
Who can apply
Please note that potential beneficiaries cannot apply directly to the fund. Applications for grants need to be made by a professional in the statutory or voluntary sector, who work with the individual, couple or family concerned and who can give evidence of their need of a convalescent/carers break and that this would not be possible without a grant.
For referee groups new to the charity, an initial “get to know us” video call will be booked to discuss our grants, policies etc in detail and to establish how we can best work together to support those you work with in your role.
Application procedure
An Application Form needs to be printed off, completed and sent along with a covering letter and any supporting documents which provide useful additional information, to the Grants Officer, either by post to the Grants Officer, Clevedon Forbes Fund, 4 Kenn Road, Clevedon, BS21 6EL or by email to joan@clevedonforbes.org.
To comply with current Data Protection Regulations, our form needs to be signed by both the referee and the potential beneficiary. Unsigned forms will not be accepted.
Decision
The Trustees meet regularly to consider applications, so once all the required information has been given, if the application meets our criteria and there are sufficient funds available, a decision should be made, usually within a fortnight.
Grants cannot be paid directly to the person for whom the grant is made. They will either be used to make a direct payment to the holiday provider once the appropriate break has been finalised, or paid as a cheque to the referee group.
A grant award letter will then be sent to the referee informing them of the award, with a receipt slip enclosed which is required to be signed by the referee and returned to us.
Afterwards
On return from their holiday, a Christian gospel booklet is sent to each beneficiary, unless there is a specific request to the contrary. The Trustees appreciate receiving feedback concerning the holidays the charity has helped provide.
Application form:
FAQs
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Convalescence involves a recovery from something which has adversely affected your life. This could be a sudden illness eg stroke, an accident, a bereavement, a prolonged period of illness, or poor mental health, where a break could be part of your ongoing treatment.
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The best break for a carer is to be able to have time away from the cared for and the caring role. However, we appreciate that is very often not possible, so the carer and cared for can enjoy a break away together, provided some evidence is given that it will be a break for the carer. Holidays are the preferred use of a grant, but other uses may be considered eg evening or day class when cared for can safely be left for short period of time. Please always discuss this first with the Grants Officer before making an application.
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As a Referee you will need to be actively supporting the intended beneficiary in your role within the professional or voluntary sector position you hold. You cannot be a family member or friend of the person concerned. We do require some knowledge of their financial circumstances, so you would need to be able to verify that they are of limited means- eg in receipt of benefits detailing which ones, or in part time/low paid employment with limited disposable income for extras such as holidays. We would expect to have some insight as to why a break would be beneficial to recovery and why at this particular time.
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If you are someone who would like to be a beneficiary and are looking for someone to act as your referee, please ask the intended person to contact us first to discuss what is involved, to ensure they are willing and able to do this for you. We do not advise asking someone who would charge for form completion- the receipt of an application does not guarantee the offer of a grant, so we would not wish you to incur any cost. If you are a carer and are registered with a local Carer Support Group, your support worker there could possibly be approached. If you are suffering from a diagnosed medical condition, there may be a charity associated with that with someone able to apply for grants.
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We are willing to receive applications on behalf of individuals of any age, gender, ethnicity, religion. The only restriction being that they are UK citizens.
Being based in the South West of England, priority will be given to those living in this area, but currently we offer support to anyone living in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland-not Ireland.
We prefer to give grants to those who have not had a holiday for some years.
If the intended beneficiary is under the age of 18, then the parent or guardian would be required to give their signed consent on the form.
To enable us to help as many people as possible, we only offer one grant to any individual, so if the intended beneficiary has received a grant from us in the past, we will not be able to offer a further grant.
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We do not own or recommend any specific holiday accommodation. The choice of destination and type of holiday depends on what is best in the specific circumstances and this will be discussed with referees. Usually it would be self-catering, on a holiday park, or cottage etc, but catered breaks in hotels can also be considered. We are happy to combine our grant with one from another charity to enable a break to take place.
Other types of break may be considered such as day trips, but holidays are always the preferred option.
Data Protection
All information supplied will be held securely according to the principles of the Data Protection Act of 1988 and the General Data Protection Regulations effective from May 2018. We will use the data that you provide to create an electronic and paper record, to assess grant entitlement and process the application and to enable the Forbes Fund to compile statistics. No data will be sold, used for marketing purposes or unnecessarily passed on to third parties. All data retained will only be as is necessary to meet our legal obligations and to discharge the Charities purposes. Please see our Privacy Policy for details.