We've got lots of great charities on the Isle of Wight and most of them need a leg up to continue their good work.

This week the County Press is announcing the opening of the 2019 round of applications for grants from the Gannett Foundation, Newsquest's charitable giving arm.

In 2017 Havenstreet Community Association received a £5,000 grant to help fix the roof in its busy community centre, and this year you could be a lucky receiver.

In the past ten years alone, the Gannett Foundation has made grants in the UK alone totalling nearly £4 million.

We value practical and creative projects which bring lasting benefits to the communities and neighbourhoods served by titles such as the IW County Press and countypress.co.uk.

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.

We particularly invite clearly reasoned applications asking for specific items of equipment or materials.

Most of our applications are for relatively modest sums meeting everyday needs and that will be our special focus in 2019.

We will favour projects that demonstrate good planning, oversight and financial responsibility. 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.

The grants will be monitored by Emily Pearce, editor of the County Press, and 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.

The following are just some typical examples of the grants we made in 2018 all over the UK:

* £3,000 for 30 starter packs supporting the previously homeless settle at Elmbridge Rentstart, South London

* £1,000 to build a retaining wall at Stroud Sea Cadets premises in Gloucestershire

* £5,000 to create a sensory garden at High Royds Memorial Garden in Bradford

* £9,000 to help Aire Rivers Trust clean up a stretch of the River Aire in West Yorkshire.

You can submit your charity's application here Gannett Foundation UK 2019 Application Form.docx.

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