## **Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement – Issue 1** From 01.01.2023 to 31.12.2023 

## **Charity name: The Getaway Foundation** 

Charity registration number: 1187336 

The Trustees are pleased to present their report for The Getaway Foundation for the financial period 01.01.2023 to 31.12.2023. The financial statement has been set out to comply with the Charity’s Constitution, the Charities Act of 1993 and as per the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting of Charities published in 2005. 

## **Executive Summary** 

**TGAF supported 72 UK holidays for families impacted by poverty in 2023,** up from 67 in 2022. We supported over 324 people in 2023, with approximately 50% being below the age of 12. We have now provided 191 holidays since 2021, helping almost 900 people. **We supported families living in poverty from Buckinghamshire, Isle of Wight, Luton, and Milton Keynes** . All families are assessed as being impacted by poverty and referred to us by local authorities, family support workers and family support charities. Over 68% of the families we supported in 2023 stated that at least one member of their family was impacted by a physical or mental disability. 

Example direct feedback from families living in poverty we supported in 2023: 

- ! _Watching the children so full of happiness just filled my heart with so much joy. You really have given us a priceless gift”. 4th June 2023_ 

- _"Thank you for making this happen for us, it has been a really challenging and traumatic year for us so far and the holiday has given us all something to hold on and look forward to. I can_ " _t put into words how very grateful I am” - Summer 2023_ 

Our goal is to support 74+ family holidays in 2024, providing over 264  holidays as a charity by the end of 2024. We have funding secured to provided 74 holidays with the objective to add additional families subject to additional fund raising and inflationary impact on costs. 

## **Introduction to The Getaway Foundation (TGAF)** 

TGAF is a registered CIO charity, charity number 1187336. The charity was registered on the 13th of January 2020, its main purpose is to **help families in poverty create happy memories through holidays.** 

The Trustees and founders set up the charity to provide families in poverty with some of the same memories and experiences that they benefitted from with their families as children. Research shows that many families in poverty are unable to afford luxuries such as holidays with an estimated 1 in 4 families struggling to afford a holiday (Barnardo’s research). Today there are just over 2.471m children in the UK living in relative poverty (DWP, March 2023). Many of these children do not have the chance to create happy family memories on holiday. 

Mental health and wellbeing are key concerns impacting families today that the Trustees and founders wanted to address. Families’ experiences gained through holidays are proven to help them through times of crisis. It is the goal that the holidays provide short term relief from the everyday stresses facing families in poverty but also in the long term, provide tools which the families can draw upon to get through challenging times. Many adults today say some of their happiest childhood memories are from 

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family holidays. The Trustees and founders believe that as many families as possible should have this opportunity and that poverty should not be a barrier to creating happy family memories on holiday. 

The charity’s work in 2023 focused on supporting families in Buckinghamshire (Bucks), Luton &Beds (Luton), Milton Keynes (MK) and on the Isle of Wight (IOW). The charity has developed close relationships with local council children care services in these areas, working closely with family support workers and teams in each local authority, supporting the local community. UK government figures below show that in 2023 there were 46,843 children living in relative poverty in the geographic areas TGAF supports (34,675 living in absolute poverty). 

Table 1 below shows the percentage and number of children (aged under 16) living in relative lowincome families, by local authority in the areas we focus on and support. This highlights the need in the areas we work to support families impacted by poverty. 

**Table 1 - Number of Children Living in Families living in Relative Poverty in 2022. Source: Department of Work and Pensions March 2023** 

|reas we work to support families impacted by poverty.|reas we work to support families impacted by poverty.|reas we work to support families impacted by poverty.|
|---|---|---|
|**Table 1 - Number of Children Living in Families living in Relative Poverty in 2022.**<br>**Source: Department of Work and Pensions March 2023**|||
||||
|**Local Authority**|**Percentage of**<br>**children**<br>**FYE 2022**|**Number of children**<br>**FYE 2022**|
|Buckinghamshire|13.5%|14,793|
|Isle of Wight|24.4%|5,096|
|Luton|29.1%|15,224|
|Milton Keynes|18.8%|11,730|
|**Total**||46,843|



## **Need and Poverty Outlook for TGAF Family Holiday Support** 

According to the Office of Budget Responsibility in 2023-24, living standards are set for the largest fall on record (October 2023). Low-income households spend a larger proportion than average on energy and food, so are more affected by price increases in these areas. The need to support families impacted by poverty is therefore increasing, and we expect these challenges to increase in 2024 with the current economic and inflation outlook. 

## **Key Objectives and Activities of TGAF** 

The objectives of TGAF, as defined in our Constitution, are for the public benefit and are to be carried out in such parts of the United Kingdom as the Trustees shall determine. The key objectives are: 

1) To relieve the needs of economically and socially disadvantaged families by the provision of grants of financial assistance to enable them to experience family holidays and other shared recreational activities that they could not otherwise afford in the interests of social welfare and in order to improve their conditions of life. 

2) To advance in life, relieve the needs of and help children and young people by providing support and activities which develop their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals. 

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3) To relieve the needs of families who are economically and socially disadvantaged in periods of extreme national crisis and associated economic and social uncertainty, by the provision of grants. 

## **Implementation of TGAF Key Objectives in 2023** 

## **Summary of main activities and achievements to support the charity’s public benefit and core purpose** 

The table below shows the number of families we have supported by local authority in 2023 v 2022. TGAF provided 72 family holidays in 2023 with 74 holidays being booked and 2 holidays cancelled due to family circumstances and refunded. 84 families were referred with 10 families not going forward and booking.  We had an increase in demand from families who needed additional transport support for their holiday due to not having access to a car (55% in 2022 to 60% in 2023). The highest need for transport support came from Luton in line with their position as having the highest level of family poverty out of the local authorities that we work with. 

**Table 2 – Total TGAF Holidays provided 2022-2023 for families impacted by poverty** 

|**Table 2 – Total TGAF Holidays provided 2022-2023 for families impacted by poverty**|**Table 2 – Total TGAF Holidays provided 2022-2023 for families impacted by poverty**|**Table 2 – Total TGAF Holidays provided 2022-2023 for families impacted by poverty**|**Table 2 – Total TGAF Holidays provided 2022-2023 for families impacted by poverty**|
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
|**By Local Authority**|**2022**|**2023**|% that did not have access to a car<br>2023|
|Buckinghamshire|25|21|62%|
|IOW|15|20|55%|
|Luton|8|17|71%|
|Milton Keynes|19|14|50%|
|**Total**|67|72|60%|



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## **2023 Impact and Outcomes** 

TGAF surveys families immediately after their holiday and again 12 months after the holiday to assess the direct benefits of the holidays and look at longer term impact on family wellbeing. Infogram 1 below shows the direct feedback and benefits reported from families who went on holiday in 2023. 


TGAF has now provided over 191 family holidays since 2021 and family feedback / support worker feedback shows that we provide family benefits  and positive impacts for families living in poverty– preholiday, during the holiday and long-term post-holiday. Infographic 2 below shows the key benefits and positive impact our family and support worker surveys show – 2021-2023 results. 


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## **Support Partner Feedback** 

We also survey the family support workers we work with from our local authority support partners. The feedback shows we provided significant benefit for family engagement. Many of the families impacted by poverty we support have children with Child Protection Plans in place. The holidays form part of the engagement plan providing a direct positive impact for children and helping support positive outcomes; reducing the chance of family break down and need for further intervention from the courts. 


**What we provided to support family holidays  in 2023.** TGAF looks to provide holidays that support the real cost of the holiday for a family impacted by poverty. The holidays were provided by Parkdean Resorts and as part of the holiday TGAF included the following: 

- UK-based, caravan holiday with entertainment, dining facilities and swimming/beach access. 

- QR Code Voucher, value depending on the age and size of the family (QR Code was new for 2022) to support eating at the resorts’ restaurants and mobile food stations as well as activities such as high ropes and trampolining. This helped address issues such as food poverty and made sure the family’s personal cost for the holiday was reduced. It also meant the families could have the benefits of new experiences and activities to help create happy family memories. 

- Support for transportation. This may have included fuel costs or, if the family did not have access to a car we provided taxi transport, including provision of child car seats if needed. This was critical in our experience to support all disadvantaged families and remove hidden poverty barriers associated with going on holiday. 

- Provision of wheelchair access caravans if required for the family. Also additional rooms in specific situation for families with children with Autism, when possible. 

- Cancellation costs in the event of illness and covid 19. 

- Choice of date - families were offered a choice of date for holidays, based upon availability with Parkdean Resorts. Funding provided covered peak period summer holidays as the Trustees felt it important that families with school-aged children could go on holiday without impacting education. 

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## **Working with the local community and community partners** 

2023 was our third full year as a charity providing holidays for families impacted by poverty. As part of our charity’s work, we have been able to build good local relationships with the community and a number of key partners to support our work.  Examples include: 

- a. **WightFerries** have been inspirational in providing free ferry transport for families living on the IOW. They have committed to continue to support this for 2024. 

- b. **The WightAid Foundation** support families on the IOW enabling us to maintain and expand our holiday provision. 

- c. **The Steel Charitable Trust** supported us to expand our holiday support for families living in Luton working with **Luton Borough Council** . As part of this we worked with the **Luton FUN Charity** providing holidays for 2 FUN families who were impacted by poverty. 

- d. In 2023 we supported 3 families referred to us via **Buckingham Young Carers** providing respite and support for these families who are also impacted by poverty. 

- **e.** Support for STEP Families (Supporting Teenagers and Empowering Parents). A request from Milton Keynes Council to help support a limited number of families at risk of family breakdown with holiday support. We supported 5 STEP families who were referred to us by MK and Bucks Family support workers funded by the **Peter Harrison Foundation.** 

- f. **Our partnerships with local council child care services and and family support workers is vital.** Many of the families we support have complex family challenges, suffer from anxiety and many will be going on holiday for the first time. Working with local council childcare and family support services is a key factor in our ability to be able to provide holidays and remove some of the poverty barriers faced. 

- g. Taxi partnerships with **Aqua Cars and Skyline Taxis** were instrumental in our ability to provide transport with 100% success rate. Making sure contact numbers and pickup addresses were correct was a key challenge. This needs to be considered as a key dependency as we look to expand to an additional support partner. 

## **Diversity and Support for Families with Disabilities** 

Our stated aim is to be able to support all types of families and remove barriers for disadvantaged families living in poverty to be able to create happy family memories on holiday. A large % of the families we supported had children with ASD, Autism, and other forms of learning and behavioural difficulties. This was reflected in our post-holiday survey with 68% of families that responded saying at least one member of the family suffered from at least one form of disability. 

As a charity we want to make sure we support families impacted by poverty from all ethnic backgrounds. According to Wikipedia 91.7%, 78.9%, 97.3% and 45.2  of the population in Bucks Council, MK, IOW and Luton respectively define themselves as white, with the Asian / Asian British communities being the 2nd biggest demographic with 4.3|%, 9.7%, 1.1% and 37.1% of the population defining themselves as Asian respectively. 

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||||
|---|---|---|
|**Table 3 – Total Families referred by Ethnicity**|||
|**Ethnicity**|**Total**|**%**|
|Asian|2|2%|
|Black / African / Caribbean / Black Britis|5|6%|
|Mixed Ethnicity|8|10%|
|White|69|82%|
|**Grand Total**|**84**|**100%**|



## **Improvements made in 2023 from 2022 Feedback.** 

- In 2023 we added Sandford Resort to offer families a woodland setting option near to the Dorset coastline, proving popular with 30 families choosing this location. 

- We removed Camber Sands Resort as an option for 2023 holidays. 

- Due to inflationary impact we increased the QR code voucher value provided per child by £20 to £120 to support holiday activities and food provision on holiday. 

- We increased the amount we provided for Fuel cost support by £10 to £60 for families who had access to their own car to address increasing costs of transport for families. 

## **Key learnings and improvement goals for 2024 – based upon recommendations and feedback** 

1. Cost management improvement - Optimize travel distance – offer choice of two locations per family within 140 miles of the holiday location. 

2. Family experience improvement - Reduce the number of locations offered so we can improve knowledge and training on the QR codes to support the families on holiday. 

3. Safeguarding improvement - Only allow names approved by family support workers to go on holidays. Changes will be possible, but only if confirmed by the person who has referred the family. 

## **Statement on Fundraising and Charity Objectives 2023** 

**Sources of Income 2023.** Our fund-raising activities in 2023 focused on raising funds to support holidays for 2024 as the holiday booking cycle is 6-12 months before the holiday. Funding and budgets for 2024 holidays are set based upon received and committed income by Q1 2024 for that year. 

|ear.|||
|---|---|---|
||||
|**Unrestricted Income 2023**|**Amount**|**Funding or grants to support the charity**<br>**without a specific defined purpose**|
|Primary Benefactor|£120,000|Support Holiday and Operational Costs in 2023|
|HMRC Gift Aid|£31,375|Gift aid claimed on private donations and via<br>Enthuse for online donations|



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||||
|---|---|---|
|Online or Private one-off Donations|£5,876|Online charity donations via Enthuse. Included<br>one major private donation to support the charity.|
|Will Donation - Private Benefactor|£19,329|Benefactor asked to remain anonymous|
|**Total**|**£176,580**|Unrestricted|
|**Restricted Grants 2023**|**Amount**|**Funding or grants with a defined purpose or**<br>**objective**|
|POSTCODE SOCIETY TRUST|5,600|Support Families based on the IOW 2024|
|Shanly Foundation - 2023 Grant for<br>STEP / YOUNG Careers|3,000|Support families in Bucks and MK 2024|
|STIFEL NICOLAUS EU STIFEL BGC|2,902|Support inflationary Cost inpact 2024|
|Tesco Ground Works -  Reference<br>Number: 102302 - Aylesbury|500|Support families in Aylesbury - allocated in 2023|
|Tesco Ground Works - Reference<br>Number: 90178 - IOW|1,000|Support Families living on the IOW 2024|
|Tesco Ground Works - Reference<br>Number: 97506 - Luton|1,000|Support families in Luton 2024|
|Wight Aid Foundation - Grant 2023 to<br>support 7 families Q4 2024|5,601|Support familied from the IOW 2024|
|**Total**|**£19,603**|Restricted|
|**GRAND TOTAL**|**£196,183**||



Restricted funding balances in our 2023 accounts will be spent on 2024 holidays as defined purposes above and grant conditions. 

In addition to the above we are extremely grateful to **WightLink Ferries** who provided family ferry crossings in support of the charity for families living on the IOW. 

## **Cost and Inflationary Impact 2023 and 2024** 

Costs per family supported increased by 7.5% due to price inflation, travel support requirements and the provision of an extra funding for child QR Codes (food and holiday activities). The biggest cost increase overall was transportation support by 8% due to the number of people needing support and the cost of the provision and taxi hiring. The costs of the actual caravan holidays only increased by 2% and the funding for food and activity provision by 6%. 

In line with the current economic inflation outlook, we are taking a 7.5% budgetary inflation assumption across all our variable cost and holiday provision in our forward planning for 2024. Our employment costs are forecasted to be flat in 2024. 

## **TGAF Financial Position** 

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## **High Level Plan 2024 and Funding Strategy** 

The charity has funds in place to support an estimated 74+ summer holidays in 2024 v 72 in 2023, subject to partner alignment, referrals, and inflationary cost impact. We plan to support families impacted by poverty living in Beds (Luton), Bucks, MK and on the IOW in 2024 working with our existing local support partners. Our core benefactor has committed to donate the same level of funding for 2024 as per 2023. 

## **Policy for holding Reserve.** 

We plan to build up a reserve over time in line with our long-term commitments and charity’s growth. 

- £17,500 will be held in reserve in FY2024 in line with our funding plan and commitments. The objective for 2025 is to increases the reserve  to £20,000. The reserve build up is funded by our core benefactor donation. 

- Additionally, we plan and hold a contingency for holiday costs and inflation of £5,000 and hold a cash flow contingency of £5,000. 

- Total Reserves and Contingencies for 2024 will be £27,500. This is included within our Cash Assets on the balance sheet. 

The decision to spend the contingency is agreed and managed between the CEO and Joanne Smith (Trustee) as part of the charity’s financial planning. Agreement to use the reserves must be agreed by the Trustees. 

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## **Financial Review.** 

Our accounts have been signed off by our independent examiners – Ad Valorem Accountancy Services, in line with our statutory requirements as detailed below. 


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lease note the restricted funds spent in 2023 were aligned to specific donation and projects defined by the grant purpose made i.e Wight Aid foundation support for families from the Isle of Wight as per the restrictions and conditions of the grant. 

## **Structure, Governance and Management** 

## **Type of governing document and constitution** 

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The charity’s constitution was registered on the 13th January 2020 and amended on the 26th March 2020. The charity is registered as a CIO. 

## **Governance and Trustee Appointments** 

The charity has 4 Trustees: Joanne Smith, Barry Smith, Philip Smith, and Toby Quartley. Dr Toby Quartley was added as a Trustee in July 2023 to increase diversity to the Trustees and to strengthen knowledge and experience of Safeguarding. Dr Quartley is a practising GP. 

Trustee relationship clarification: please note that Joanne Smith and Barry Smith are a husband-andwife team. Philip Smith has no relation to Joanne and Barry Smith. 

The budget for 2024 was initially reviewed in December 2023 and has been confirmed at the start of January 2024 with the Trustees. 

## **Operational Management and Organization of the Charity** 

Peter Tebbutt is the CEO of TGAF and manages the day to day operational and financial management requirements of the charity as well as act as the key interface for partnerships and other activities, such as fund raising for the charity.  The CEO provides a monthly update on finances and key activities and actions achieved during the month. The CEO works to deliver on the key strategies agreed by the Trustees. All major financial decisions are agreed and reviewed with the Trustees before the CEO actions them. The charity bank account has two factor approval for bank transactions. 

## **Reference and Administrative details** 

Charity name: The Getaway Foundation Other name the charity uses: TGAF- Abbreviation used within our communications Registered charity number: 1187336 Charity’s principal address: 2 Manor Farm Court, Old Wolverton Road, Old Wolverton, Milton Keynes, MK12 5NN 

## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity.** 

|||||
|---|---|---|---|
|Trustee name|Office (if any)|Dates acted if not for<br>whole year|Name of person (or body)<br>entitled to appoint trustee (if<br>any)|
|Joanne Smith|Trustee|N/A||
|Barry Smith|Trustee|N/A||
|Philip Smith|Trustee|N/A||
|Toby Quartley|Trustee|19thJuly 2023|Appointed by the Trustees|



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## **Names and addresses of advisers.** 

|||||
|---|---|---|---|
|Type of adviser|Name|Address||
|Accountants|Ad Valorem Accountancy<br>Services|2 Manor Farm Ct, Old Wolverton Rd<br>Wolverton, Milton Keynes MK12 5NN||



## **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members.** 

Peter Tebbutt – CEO. 

Declarations. 

The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ report above. 

Signed on behalf of the charity’s Trustees 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Joanne Smith<br>Full name(s)<br>    Position (eg  Secretary,  Trustee<br>Chair, etc)<br>Date  6th March 2024<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


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