Do you know of a charity or community group that could do with a boost?

Let us know, and they could be in with a chance of winning £1,000.

The Leicester Mercury has once again teamed up with the Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation to give away a total of £6,000 to worthy causes over the next few weeks.

We will be giving £1,000 a week to the groups that are making a real difference to communities – and we are asking Mercury readers to nominate them and then vote to decide the winners.

When we first ran the giveaway in 2010, groups including a charity that supports families with premature and poorly babies and a website created by HIV-positive children were among those that received the cash.

Garry Rollins is secretary of the fund-raising group for one of the successful nominees, the Glenfield Project, a centre that provides respite care for children with learning disabilities.

He said the group had spent its £1,000 on sensory equipment for the centre's bathroom.

"We kitted it out with fibre-optic lights and push buttons for the children to turn them on and off and made it into a real sensory bathroom," he said.

"Most of the children we care for are dependent on wheelchairs and some of them can't even move without support. This makes bath time so much more enjoyable."

Pozitude, a website created for HIV-positive children in Leicestershire, was also among the first set of winners.

Michelle Overton, women and families support worker for the Faith In People charity, which developed the website, said: "We used the money to buy a camcorder and camera so we can update the website with lots of pictures and audio.

"It was lovely to win and I think the young people felt really proud to get the recognition as well."

The other winners were the Open Hands Trust, a Highfields group which supports disadvantaged people; Remap Leicestershire, a charity which helps disabled people gain independence; Adapt, a charity that helps the families of premature babies; and Leicester Visually Impaired Bowls Club.

Mercury readers will be asked to nominate their chosen groups over the next few weeks.

Each week, the nominations will be shortlisted to a top three, which will be published in the Mercury with details of what they would do with the cash if they won.

Readers will then be asked to vote, with winners announced each week, along with the next shortlist.

The cash will come from the Community Foundation's pot of funds donated by local businesses, individual donors and philanthropists, groups of friends and local and the Government.

Foundation chairman Rick Moore said: "There was a fantastic response last time – Mercury readers brought great groups to our attention.

"We help companies and individuals to support local needs all year round, so we do know most of the good work done, but we are always very keen to hear of new groups."

The judging panel that will decide the top three groups each week will comprise foundation staff and advisers, as well as Mercury head of news Mark Charlton.

The nominations for the first cash award need to be in by noon on Wednesday.

The first three shortlisted groups will be published for readers to vote for next Monday, and the winner will then be announced the following Monday, when voting for the next shortlisted three will start.

HOW TO NOMINATE A GROUP

ELIGIBILITY: Community Cash is for not-for-profit charitable groups in Leicestershire and Rutland. The group must:

Be based in Leicestershire or Rutland; have a clear charitable aim; have a constitution or set of rules; have its own bank account; not use the money to promote one faith or political belief;

not work for profit.

TO NOMINATE:

By post: Describe in 100 words or fewer the difference this group makes in their community and why you think they should receive a grant. Send the name of the group, the name of the main contact and their contact details (address, telephone number and e-mail) to LRCF, 20a Millstone Lane, Leicester, LE1 5JN.

Also include your name and contact details.

Online: Download a nomination form here or complete the form below.