Aviva Community Fund

Background

The Aviva Community Fund is provided by Aviva plc, a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London. It is the largest general insurer and a leading life and pensions provider.

Please note this is a match-funding initiative delivered in partnership with Crowdfunder and thus not a traditional grant scheme (funds awarded are conditional upon applicants first securing crowdfunding via Crowdfunder’s platform).

Objectives of Fund

The Aviva Community Fund has been running for the last five years. It has joined with Crowdfunder to support projects that are looking to raise up to £50,000.

One of Aviva’s objectives is to build stronger, more resilient communities across the UK.

To that end, it is providing this match funding opportunity to help small charities and communities causes to test innovative ideas and explore new sustainable strategies without fear of risk in the areas of Climate Action and Financial Wellbeing.

Value Notes

In 2024, the total funding pot is £1.8 million.

The maximum grant available is £50,000.

Aviva will match each donation up to £250. For example, if someone gives £5, Aviva will double it to £10. If they give £250, Aviva will match it, so the cause gets £500. Organisations can receive up to £50,000 in match funding.

Who Can Apply

Applications will be accepted from one of the following types of organisations:

• Charity
• Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
• Community Interest Company (CIC)
• Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG)
• Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC)
• Constituted community group.

To be eligible, organisations must:

• Be based in the UK
• Have been operating for at least 12 months at the time of submission
• Have an annual income of no more than £2 million (can be averaged over the last three years)
• Have a UK bank account in their own name
• Have a safeguarding policy if it supports children or vulnerable people
• Be a living wage employee (if the organisation employs people)
• Have an active board of trustees or directors or management body.

Projects can only be submitted by UK residents who are aged 18 years or older and who use a UK IP address and not a disposable email address.

Location

UK

Restrictions

The following are not eligible for funding:

• Projects that benefit a single individual.
• Projects whose outcome is only accessible to people of a particular faith or belief.
• Projects that are raising funds to provide people with cash grants or vouchers for goods and services.

A list of restrictions can be found in the eligibility criteria document on the Aviva Community Fund website.

Eligible Expenditure

The funding is intended for projects that address the following two themes:

• Financial Wellbeing: Helping people take control of their wellbeing by giving them the tools to be more financially independent and ready for anything.
• Climate Action: Promoting healthy, thriving communities by preventing, preparing for and protecting against the impacts of climate change.

To be eligible, projects should be UK based, for the benefit of UK communities and aim to do one of the following:

• Develop a new approach, product or technology.
• Implement a new initiative or pilot a new scheme.
• Expand existing services to a new area or beneficiary group.
• Adapt services to meet today's needs without compromising those of future generations.

How To Apply

Applications are open all year. There are no deadlines.

The first step is for applicants to set up a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdfunder. Campaigns typically run for 28 days but take a few weeks to create so groups should allow about six weeks in total.

Full details and the online application can be found on the Aviva Community Fund crowdfunding page.