Scholarships
Some organizations set money aside to help families afford what they run. On Famlo that money is awarded to your family in advance and spends itself when you register. There is nothing to apply for at checkout, no form to fill in, and no "pay with scholarship" button to look for.
How an award reaches you
The organization decides. They fund a budget, decide who receives some of it, and award it. You do not request it through Famlo.
When they do, you get an email headed "You've received a scholarship". It names the organization, the amount, and the activity if the award is tied to one. It also tells you the date the award runs out, if there is one.
That email is the whole notification. There is no scholarship page in your account settings, and nothing for you to accept or activate.
What an award can be spent on
An award is either:
- Tied to one activity — it applies to that registration only, or
- Open across the organization — it applies to any eligible activity that organization runs.
Either way it is that organization's money and cannot be spent anywhere else on Famlo.
An activity is eligible only if the organization has turned scholarship payments on for it. An organization that awards you money almost always has, but a one-off activity may not, and then the award simply does not apply there.
What happens when you register
Register exactly as you normally would. Nothing about checkout changes. See Registering and checking out.
When you complete the booking, Famlo works down what is due in this order:
- Any promo code you entered.
- Any account credit on your balance.
- Your scholarship award, against whatever is still left.
Whatever remains after that is what your card is charged. If the award covers the whole remainder, no card is charged at all and your booking is confirmed straight away.
If you hold more than one award from the same organization, the one that expires soonest is spent first.
The order summary on the checkout page does not show a scholarship line. It shows the ticket price, any discount and any credit. The award is applied when you complete the booking, so the amount that reaches your card can be lower than the Total on that page.
Why scholarship money carries no fee
Famlo charges an organization only on money it actually handles. Scholarship money is not that. It never passes through the card processor, so no fee is taken on it, and the organization keeps every cent of what it awards you.
Organizations whose families pay mostly by scholarship have a plan built around exactly that. It changes nothing for you. See What's free and what's paid.
This is also why the money is settled between you and the organization directly. Famlo records the award and spends it down; it never holds the money.
Cancelling: what comes back and what does not
This is the part that surprises people, so read it before you cancel.
A refund returns what your card was charged, and nothing else. Scholarship money was never charged to your card, so it cannot be returned to your card. There is no money for Famlo to send back, because none was ever taken.
What actually happens is better than it sounds. When you cancel, the scholarship coverage goes back onto your award. The balance is yours again and you can spend it on another eligible activity from the same organization.
So a cancellation returns:
| What covered the booking | What you get back |
|---|---|
| Card payment | Refunded to your card, under the usual rules |
| Account credit | Returned to your credit balance |
| Scholarship award | Returned to your award, to spend again |
| Promo discount | Nothing — it was never charged |
Reading the cancel screen
The Cancel booking screen shows Amount paid as the full ticket price, because that is what the registration was worth. Total refund shows only the card money coming back.
On a booking your award covered in full, that means Amount paid shows the ticket price and Total refund shows $0.00, with the line "No card payment to refund." underneath. Nothing has gone wrong. Your award has been restored instead.
Once a refund has been issued, open the activity's row in your inbox and select Show details. The panel that slides out lists a Refunded to card line — the amount that genuinely went back to your card, which is not the ticket price when a scholarship covered part of it.
The rest of the cancellation rules — the 24-hour cutoff, activities marked no-refunds, and what happens when the organization cancels — are the same as any other booking. See Payments and refunds.
Invoices
You will not receive one, and you do not need one.
Scholarship invoices exist on Famlo, but they belong to the organization. They are how an organization bills its own scholarship fund for what it has awarded. They are generated for the organization, sent to the organization, and never appear in your account. There is nothing for you to download, sign or submit through Famlo.
If your own funding program needs paperwork from the organization, ask the organization directly. See Messages.
Troubleshooting
I have an award but the price did not change. Check the organization matches — an award only works at the organization that gave it. Then check whether the award was tied to a specific activity, and whether the expiry date in your award email has passed. An award that is already fully spent has nothing left to apply.
The checkout total still shows the full price. That page does not preview the scholarship. The award is applied when you complete the booking, and your card is charged the lower amount.
I cancelled and nothing came back to my card. Your card was probably never charged, because the award covered the booking. The coverage has gone back onto your award, ready to use again.
Part of my refund is missing. Compare it against what your card was actually charged, not the ticket price. Credit and scholarship coverage return to your balance and your award instead of your card.
I cannot find a scholarships page in my account. There is not one. Awards are announced by email and applied automatically.
I need help affording an activity. Ask the organization. Awards are theirs to give, and Famlo cannot grant one. Message them from their page.