THE charitable trust of The Scottish Farmer’s parent body is inviting applications from registered charities for its awards for 2016.

And the good news is that The Gannett Foundation’s chosen theme this year is to support the needs of rural communities.

The closing date for applications is October 14 and must be submitted electronically on the official form - DOWNLOAD HERE

The record shows that specific applications, targeted confidently at a particular and demonstrable need, and often quite modest in scale, have the best chance of success.

The Trustees will NOT consider applications:

• that are not on the official form (including applications made on forms downloaded from the Gannett USA website);
• that do not give full answers, or fail to supply all data and materials requested in the official form; or
• from organisations or causes that are not registered charities.

The Trustees will not give awards:

• to general appeals;
• for salaries or general running costs;
• to political or religious organisations; or
• to state or privately run schools (other than special needs) or hospitals (other than hospices).

So, check out the criteria on the application form - and get your thinking caps on!