Readers of The Times are rightly renowned for their generosity, a generosity not limited by borders or personal politics. That is why, every Christmas, the paper launches a charity appeal.

In 2008, we supported three charities - Pump Aid, Action for Children and Thrive. Thank to our readers we raised over £1.2 million for these good causes, a record for the paper.

Charities which would like to be considered for the Times appeal for Christmas 2009 should submit an application. Submissions should include brief background details about the charity, its history and its work. Please also outline clearly specific projects and case studies which illustrate your work. Please also include any analysis of the success of your programmes in terms of its outcomes. Please do not send DVDs or bulky material of any kind. We are looking for a brief, eloquent written description of your work and key projects.

We seek to support charities that will benefit from the enormous publicity we bring during the appeal period, as well as from the money raised from our readers. The Times commits to running a story featuring the work of our chosen charities every day during December and early January. For that reason, we will look favourably on applications which contain a dozen or so distinct story ideas that illustrate the work of the charity and, in particular, provide a wide variety of individual human interest stories and illustrated reports from the field. Times readers have shown a distinct preference for practical and innovative charities who find often simply solutions for tough humanitarian challenges. If this sounds like your charity, please apply.

How to apply

Written applications should be submitted by Monday September 21, 2009. They should be addressed to David Chappell, Managing Editor, The Times, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1TT. We will make our decision by mid-October.

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