Foundation urges charities to apply for funding grants
A WOODLAND charity creating a garden for people recovering from mental ill health; dance weekends for blind children in Dunoon; and play equipment for a Bridgeton health and poverty relief charity were among those to get a boost last year from the charitable wing of The Herald and Evening Times’s parent company.
Now charities from across Scotland are being invited to apply to share in this year’s bonanza. Over the last decade, the Gannett Foundation, has given away more than £3 million in grants to charities in areas covered by the company’s newspapers.
In 2015-16 those taking advantage of the fund included New Caledonian Woodlands, a project in Edinburgh whose sun-trap garden near the Royal Botanic Garden received £1,600. The charity teaches people who have significant mental health problems a range of skills from jam-making to forest management.
The charity For All Bridgeton (FAB) received £3,302 to help fund new play equipment, while £2,500 allowed the Glasgow Play Resource Association to install a second-hand paper and cardboard compressor.
Glasgow based Confi-Dance used its £1,000 to run a dance weekend for blind and visually impaired people in Dunoon.
Last year a total of £250,000 was distributed to organisations in communities served by the company’s 165 local news brands. To qualify, registered charities must be providing projects which bring lasting benefits to communities.
The theme for the fund this year is rural communities, but equal consideration will be given to all applications as long as they meet the general criteria.
Applicants must be registered charities and cannot have received a grant from the foundation within the last two years.
Applications need to be submitted no later than 5pm on October 14. To apply, contact Elaine Young: elaine.young@heraldandtimes.co.uk