Charles Sturt University (CSU) has launched a new grants program aimed at forming strong, relevant and collaborative partnerships with its communities. Head of Campus at CSU in Port Macquarie,  Emeritus Professor Ross Chambers, said the Community-University Partnership (CUP) program complemented the University's mission is to advance higher education opportunities and research that meet the particular needs and aspirations of regional communities. "The CUP program is a very welcome resource to support Charles Sturt University's engagement with its communities and I am sure that the program will be enthusiastically supported on the Mid-North Coast," Professor Chambers said. "The program demonstrates the wide range of ways in which a university in a regional setting is able to work with and add value to its community." The CUP program offers grants in several categories: Rural and Regional Schools Development, Rural and Regional Arts and Culture, Rural and Regional Sports Development, 'Healthy, Active, Sporting Regions', Rural and Regional Community Integrated Research Grants, and Rural and Regional Indigenous Community Engagement. The program is open to not-for-profit community organisations such as sporting and cultural bodies, schools, health and social service organisations, faith-based organisations and local councils. More information is available from the University's Community Portal.