LAST weekend saw Tindle Newspapers proprietor Sir Ray Tindle celebrating his 90th birthday and to mark the auspicious occasion the Abergavenny Chronicle plans to launch a brand new fund offering small grants to local charities, societies and groups.

The Sir Ray Tindle Fund will use cash raised by the newspaper and its staff to offer small amounts of money, to local good causes who are invited to apply for support during two funding rounds each year.

In the last three years The Abergavenny Chronicle has raised money for charity by staging a number of events including a murder mystery evening and an annual ghost hunt in its Nevill Street offices.

Money raised at these events has supported The Prince’s Countryside Fund and the National Eisteddfod, but staff at the paper felt it was now time to bring the fundraising support back to the town.

A fundraising drive during the recent National Eisteddfod in Abergavenny helped swell the coffers and it was decided that Sir Ray’s birthday celebrations would make a perfect opportunity to officially launch the fund named in his honour.

“We felt that this was the ideal time to put the money we raise for charity to good use locally,” explained Abergavenny Chronicle general manager Mary Purcell.

Under the scheme local groups can submit funding applications of up to 200 words outlining why they need the money and what it will be used for.

The applications will then be printed in full in The Abergavenny Chronicle and readers given the opportunity to vote for their favourite good causes.

“We were asked a lot on the Eisteddfod Maes what good causes we would be supporting and everyone we spoke to thought it would be a good idea to let our readers decide, which is exactly what we are going to do,” said Mrs Purcell.

How to apply for a grant

What is the Sir Ray Tindle Fund?

The Abergavenny?Chronicle has established a fund designed to

support local groups which may be in need of small grant of up to £200. Money is raised through various activities organised by the

newspaper and its staff and will be distributed twice a year following a public vote.

Who is eligible to apply to the Sir Ray Tindle Fund?

The winning causes could be anything from a local scout group which needs money to decorate its headquarters to a local football team that needs new kit. However, the applicants will need to meet the following criteria:

1. It should be a local charity, club or group that makes a significant impact on the local community – it cannot be a personal or individual plight, nor a government funded organisation, such as a school.

2. The award must also be for a specific project or purpose, rather than just to cover operating costs

3. The award does not have to be stand-alone but can be part of a larger contribution or bigger appeal

How will the winning causes be selected?

Chronicle readers will be invited to nominate the cause / project using the nomination form

printed in The Abergavenny Chronicle for the next three weeks.

The entries will then be published in The Abergavenny Chronicle and opened to a ballot of our readers - those with the most votes from the public will be presented with an award of up to £200

The more votes your group gets the more chance you have of claiming the grant

Entries close at midday on Friday, November 2