TRAVEL HANDS
Travel Hands charity relieves the needs of Visually Impaired People (VIP) by facilitating safe, convenient, and inexpensive outdoor travel so they can attend formal appointments, recreational activities and community events.Travel Hands eases the outdoor commute of VIP by pairing them with sighted & verified volunteers to walk together to similar destinations.
Objects
TO RELIEVE THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS BY FACILITATING SAFE, CONVENIENT, AND INEXPENSIVE OUTDOOR TRAVEL SO THEY CAN ATTEND FORMAL APPOINTMENTS, RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES AND COMMUNITY EVENTS.
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that the charity ended the year with net liabilities of £18,053, resulting in negative unrestricted reserves and a deficit for the year. The trustees report that the breach of trust regarding the use of restricted funds has been reported to the Charity Commission, although post-year-end funding secured has eliminated the deficit. The trustees maintain that the charity is a going concern based on recent income and settled liabilities.
What the accounts disclose
“Under the current Reserves Policy the Trustees aim to maintain free reserves at a level which equates to two months core operating expenditure to provide working capital and a buffer against unplanned expenditure.”
“During the period under review the charity paid gross salary and employer’s pension of £41,013 (2024: £40,675) to Ishan Jha, trustee, for his role as Chief Executive of the charity.” — page 19
“During the period under review the charity paid gross salary and employer’s pension of £41,013 (2024: £40,675) to Ishan Jha, trustee, for his role as Chief Executive of the charity.” — page 19
“The breach of trust has been reported to the Charity Commission for England and Wales as matters of material significance.” — page 9
Policies the charity declares
- Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
- Complaints policy and procedures
- Financial reserves policy and procedures
- Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
- Internal risk management policy and procedures
- Safeguarding policy and procedures
- Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
- Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
- Social media policy and procedures
- Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
- Volunteer management
From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)
Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2025
- Volunteers: 120
- Trustee benefits, answered Yes to: any trustee benefit; other trustee benefit
Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2024
- Volunteers: 50
- Government income: £80,000 — contracts £80,000 (1); 63% of the £126,069 total gross income on the same return
- Trustee benefits, answered Yes to: any trustee benefit; payments to trustees for services to the charity
- Grant-making is its main activity
Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2023
- Volunteers: 60
- Trustee benefits, answered Yes to: any trustee benefit; payments to trustees for services to the charity
- Grant-making is its main activity
Trustees
- Ishan Jhachair
- Marco Fabbri
- Piyush Chaudhary
Income and spending
| Financial year end | Income | Spending |
|---|---|---|
| 31/12/2025 | £63k | £118k |
| 31/12/2024 | £126k | £87k |
| 31/12/2023 | £16k | £17k |
Common questions
Is TRAVEL HANDS financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity ended the year with net liabilities of £18,053, resulting in negative unrestricted reserves and a deficit for the year. The trustees report that the breach of trust regarding the use of restricted funds has been reported to the Charity Commission, although post-year-end funding secured has eliminated the deficit. The trustees maintain that the charity is a going concern based on recent income and settled liabilities. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.
Who funds TRAVEL HANDS?
Funders whose own accounts filings name TRAVEL HANDS as a grant recipient include The AVOCADO Foundation, THE FORRESTER FAMILY TRUST, LONDON CATALYST.
Known funders
| Funder | Year | Amount | Purpose (as stated by the funder) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The AVOCADO Foundation | FY2023 | £20k | Dragons Den 2023 Grant Winner |
| THE FORRESTER FAMILY TRUST | FY2026 | £10k | Smaller Grants |
| LONDON CATALYST | FY2022 | £2k | For the support and training of volunteer travel buddies for people with visual impairment. |
Government & lottery funding
| Funder | Date | Amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| The National Lottery Community Fund | 13/06/2024 | £20k | Travel Hands |
Funders of similar charities
| Funder | Similar charities funded | Amount to them |
|---|---|---|
| KATHLEEN BERYL SLEIGH CHARITABLE TRUST | 1 | £28k |
| THE WILL CHARITABLE TRUST | 1 | £15k |
| SANDRA CHARITABLE TRUST | 1 | £14k |
| THE PRIMARY CLUB | 1 | £14k |
| The Patricia Routledge Foundation | 1 | £13k |
| SUSANNA PEAKE CHARITABLE TRUST | 1 | £10k |
| NORMANBY CHARITABLE TRUST | 1 | £6k |
| THE HAWTHORNE CHARITABLE TRUST | 1 | £6k |
Charities like this
- WARRINGTON VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE
- Visably
- THE HANDS AROUND THE WORLD CHARITABLE TRUST
- VISION OF ADVENTURE
- GLOBAL HELPING HANDS
- HANDS OF GIVING FOUNDATION
Side by side with its peers
| Charity | Income | Top pay band | Staff >£60k | Reserves vs policy | Fundraising cost | Going concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRAVEL HANDS | £63k | — | 0 | unclear | — | no doubt |
| WARRINGTON VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE | £142k | — | 0 | unclear | — | no doubt |
| Visably | £758k | — | — | below | — | no doubt |
| THE HANDS AROUND THE WORLD CHARITABLE TRUST | £192k | — | 0 | unclear | — | no doubt |
| VISION OF ADVENTURE | £134k | — | 0 | unclear | — | no doubt |
| GLOBAL HELPING HANDS | £3.1m | — | 0 | unclear | — | no doubt |