Since its launch in October 2025, Travel Connect Fund has directed 13 million ISK to 12 projects across Iceland and Scotland, from supporting children with rare diseases to funding inclusive play for disabled young people. Grants are distributed twice a year through a staff-led process, with the next round opening this October.
Travel Connect Fund was launched in October 2025 with a clear purpose: to ensure that tourism gives something meaningful back to the communities and environments it depends on. It supports projects aligned with key UN Sustainable Development Goals, including climate action, gender equality and community wellbeing.
Grants totalling 13 million ISK have now been allocated from the Travel Connect Fund to 12 projects. Allocations are made from the fund twice a year.
This April, in our second allocation, 6.5 million ISK was directed to five organisations across Iceland and Scotland. Recipients are identified through direct applications and employee nominations, with a staff-led committee making all final decisions.
In Iceland
Einstök börn support over 900 children with rare diseases and more than 4,500 family members through parent groups, peer support for young people aged 15 to 25, and specialist sessions for children under six. The grant will go directly into that group work.
UN Women Iceland will use their grant to amplify Svellið. It’s a new podcast produced by the national committee exploring how men and boys can engage in gender equality, covering topics from social media and mental health to fatherhood, sport, and relationships. Funding will go towards promotion and distribution to reach as wide an audience as possible.
Neistinn supports families of children and young people with heart conditions both socially, financially and emotionally. Their grant will send a group of teenagers to pan-European summer camps in Ireland this summer. For those young people, that opportunity means everything.
In Scotland
Steps to Hope SCIO runs a residential recovery programme for people experiencing homelessness and addiction. Their grant will support the activities at the heart of that programme including fitness, wellbeing, massage therapy and group outings that build confidence and show residents that a full life beyond addiction is possible.
The Yard creates inclusive play sessions for disabled children and young people, alongside outreach, respite care and family support. Their work is built on something straightforward but powerful: play is not just fun but essential. Every child deserves access to it.
The Scottish organisations will receive their grants at a ceremony in Scotland, and we look forward to celebrating with them in person.
We're grateful to everyone who applied and nominated. We’re also thankful to the staff committee who made these decisions with real care. This is what the fund is for. Our next round of funding will be in October this year and we encourage everyone that has a project idea we should support to submit an application on our website.
