DO you know a charity or community group in need of money? We may be able to help.

The Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard has teamed up with the Gloucestershire Community Foundation to seek out good causes in need of funds.

We want to hear from anyone doing work that benefits the community in the areas served by the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard.

The Gloucestershire Community Foundation was set up 30 years ago. In the last three years it has distributed more than £800,000 to more than 300 organisations in the county.

It works to match donors with causes they care about, managing and distributing funds that money to where it can achieve things.

Constituted community groups can apply even if they are not a registered charity, as long as they can provide recent accounts, details of their activities and of how much they have raised. The foundation is particularly interested to hear from groups who have already engaged local people in their cause through volunteering or fundraising.

Here are some examples of groups it has helped:

For some families, summer can be a difficult time. The Churn, Cirencester, organises a programme of summer activities for the families it supports throughout the year.

Earlier this year, the Churn applied for a grant towards the cost of its summer activities and some equipment.

The group had already raised £380 from sales and refreshments at events. Gloucestershire Community Foundation could fund the whole project thanks it received from philanthropic individuals and organisations.

In all, the Churn received a total of £4700 from the foundation this year.

Research shows that early interventions with families with young children can avoid many problems in later life. Homestart Stroud recruit and train volunteers as family visitors who support and help parents with young children in a non-judgemental way. In 2017, the foundation awarded grants of £6,600 to Homestart Stroud towards their volunteer recruitment and towards their weekly family groups.

The organisation had already raised £1,750 through its own efforts and recruited 16 volunteers.

GL11 is a busy and well attended community hub serving the communities of Cam and Dursley.

It is open for 47 weeks each year, for a minimum of five days each week, and fosters a strong sense of community and wanted to invest in the ongoing learning and development of the unpaid committee and staff.

A grant of £3,000 from foundation enabled GL11 to invest in the future of the community hub, providing foundations and support for their continued growth.

The promotion of independence and enabling people to live a fulfilled life and making the most of their capacity and potential is central to health and wellbeing. Womankind was set up several years ago following research and consultation into the needs of isolated people with mental health problems. With a grant of £2,000 towards their costs, Womankind was able to support 20 local women with mental health issues – they had a total of 22 active volunteers during the year.

For more details and to apply for a grant visit www.gloucestershirecf.org.uk/Pages/Category/our-grant-programmes before January 16, 2019.