Eight charities will share more than $400,000 in grants from the Bermuda Community Foundation (BCF).

Through the Buechner Society Fund for Family Literacy and Literature, three non-profit groups will collectively benefit from more than $105,000 to help launch the Read Write Bermuda campaign, which aims to encourage reading, support writers and expand libraries.

These are the Friends of the Bermuda National Library, CedarBridge Academy PTSA and the Reading Clinic.

The Family Centre is being given $75,000 to help improve the lives of vulnerable children and families, while YouthNet will receive $20,000 to help provide school-based mentoring services.

Streetwise MBA at Bermuda College is being awarded $82,250 to develop a sustained training certificate programme for small businesses and non-profit leaders, while Friends of Bermuda Railway will receive $100,000 — through the RenaissanceRe charitable fund at BCF — for further repairs to the Railway Trail.

Funding will also be go towards research into early childhood development, although the specific amount is from multiple donors and has not yet been revealed. A spokeswoman for the BCF said: “The grants help non-profits to improve the lives of people throughout Bermuda, along with producing a key piece of early childhood development research.

“These grant opportunities are made available through BCF’s Donor-Directed grants programme, where a donor has asked BCF to manage its grant-making funds and then makes recommendations as to how those funds shall be disbursed.

“Upcoming grant opportunities will be regularly published and open to all Bermuda-based organisations in September.”