CHARITIES are being encouraged to apply for grants from the parent company of the Prestwich and Whitefield Guide.

The Gannett Foundation is the charitable arm of Gannett, which owns the Guide's publisher, Newsquest Media Group.

In the last 10 years alone, the foundation has made grants in the UK alone totalling nearly £4 million.

In the local area projects to benefit have included Bury Blind Society, which was awarded a £12,000 grant in 2015 to help create a sensory garden at its base in Tenterden Street.

Another local charity to benefit with a £520 grant was the Bury Pipeline - a popular talking newspaper for the blind that circulates tapes, CDs and memory sticks to 150 avid listeners boroughwide each week.

The foundation is looking for practical and creative projects that bring lasting benefits to the communities and neighbourhoods served by our newspapers and online audience.

That includes schemes for neighbourhood improvement and local problem-solving, economic development, youth development, education and cultural enrichment, care of the elderly or infirm, help for the disadvantaged or disabled, and environmental conservation.

Particularly welcome are applications asking for specific items of equipment or materials.

Most applications are for relatively modest sums under £10,000 for meeting every-day needs, but larger scale worthwhile projects will also be considered.

To download the form, click here: GANNETT FOUNDATION APPLICATION FORM 2016.docx

The foundation can also join with other contributors to support elements of more ambitious projects.

While preference will be given to ideas which create a durable legacy for the community, single events or projects of limited duration that otherwise meet the criteria are allowed.

Each year a special theme is chosen and relevant applications are considered.

The needs of rural communities is the chosen theme for 2016, but equal consideration will be given to other applications which otherwise meet the criteria, although projects that demonstrate good planning, oversight and financial responsibility will be favoured.

It should be sent via email to lisa.schofield@nqnw.co.uk

Submissions via the post are not encouraged, but if unavoidable, they must be sent to The Bolton News, The Wellsprings, Victoria Square, Bolton BL1 1AR.

The closing date for submissions is October 14.

Restrictions:

You must supply copies of your most recent accounts (where required by the Charities Commission) or other appropriate financial information, together with any supporting materials and details of your organisation’s managing committee.

It will be a condition of each grant that the recipient must report back on it use to the Chairman of the Trustees within 12 months of the award.

Applicants must be registered charities

Applicants must not have received a grant from us within the last two years

The Foundation will NOT fund:-

Salaries, professional fees or day-to-day running or maintenance costs

General appeals as opposed to specific projects

Projects that do not bring benefits to our local communities

Political or religious objectives

State or privately run schools (other than special needs) or hospitals (other than hospices)