Wednesday 12 September 2018

THE AVIVA COMMUNITY FUND - NOW OPEN TO APPLICATIONS

The Aviva Community Fund operates like a competition with the most voted-for projects receiving funding or going forward to a judging panel depending on the amount of funding requested.
Approximately £1.5 million is available through the Fund this year. Please note that projects that do not need additional funding will have a better chance than of succeeding than those relying on other funds being secured.
This year Aviva is partnering with Crowdfunder UK to give groups the chance to raise extra funds for their project as part of the competition. As projects collect votes, groups will also be able to choose to crowdfund and turn their support into pledges.
Voluntary and community groups, charities, social enterprises, Community Interest Companies and faith organisations (for projects that are not solely religious and are open to the wider community) are eligible to apply. Financial advisers and insurance brokers are also eligible to apply on behalf of local projects, which will help increase the group's chance of winning.
Eligible applicants must:
o Have been in existence for at least six months;
o Be a not-for-profit organisation or group for community good;
o Be able to meet the due diligence requirements; and
o Have an income of £1 million or less.
The most-voted for projects asking for up to £1,000 will secure their funding.
The projects with the most votes asking for up to £5,000 or more will go through to "The Finals" and be judged by Aviva's judging panel.
For 2018, the awards will be distributed as follows:
A. General awards - groups can apply for one of these four funding levels:
1. Up to £1,000 (400 awards);
2. Up to £5,000 (78 awards);
3. Up to £10,000 (44 awards); or
4. Up to £25,000 (16 awards)
B. Insurance Broker awards – this is a separate set of awards for projects submitted and supported by an insurance broker. The broker awards are open to any UK based Insurance Broker. It is not necessary to have an existing account or relationship with Aviva to enter into the Insurance Broker awards.
1. Up to £1,000 (30 awards);
2. Up to £5,000 (18 awards);
3. Up to £10,000 (6 awards);
4. Up to £25,000 (2 awards)
C. Additional Awards - £500 will be given to every finalist in the £5,000, £10,000 or £25,000 funding levels that does not win an award.
D. Crowdfunder UK - all projects will have the chance to get more money for their project through crowdfunding. In partnership with Crowdfunder UK, groups can set up a crowdfunding page to run in parallel with their Aviva Community Fund campaign.
E. Customer and Employee Awards - £200 will be given to the first 1,000 customer entries and the first 1,000 employee entries, if they do not win any of the funding awards.
The project categories for 2018 are:
1. Skills for Life;
2. Health and Well-being; and
3. The Environment
1. Skills for Life 
These should be projects that aim to help communities and individuals improve their lives by learning useful new skills, particularly financial literary and digital ones. Living in an increasingly complex world, many people can begin to feel isolated and left behind if they do not have the opportunity to develop skills to make their lives easier or more fulfilling. Community projects in this category can help people of all ages and backgrounds – from school children to groups for older people. Examples of projects include:

o Budget training for families with limited income;
o Job skills for young or homeless people;
o Teaching older people how to use new technology; or
o Teaching young people financial skills.
2. Health and Well-being 
These should be projects that relate to helping people take control of their physical and mental health. Projects within this category should aim to make people feel better on a number of levels, improving physical, mental and emotional health and boosting social interaction. It is open to people of all ages and situations. This includes those caring for others and those that need care. Examples of projects include:
o Walking clubs to reduce loneliness;
o Improving playgrounds; or
o Support and activity groups for people living with dementia.
3. The Environment 
These should be community projects that are trying to improve their natural surroundings and make a positive change to the local area. This could be anything from improving sustainability to regenerating community areas to creating more natural habitats for wildlife. Projects should be trying to make sure the next generation has a better environment to enjoy. Examples of projects include:
o Clean energy or projects that promote or improve energy efficiency;
o Improving community flood defences and resilience projects;
o Cloth nappy loan; or
o Protection of natural habitats and/or endangered species
Entries will be accepted from Tuesday 11 September until midday on Tuesday  9 October 2018.
Projects need to be completed or well underway before 31 December 2019.
Applicants will need to register on the Aviva website before they can submit a project to the competition. Applicants are encouraged to add videos (these must be hosted on YouTube) and photos to their project submission to paint a better picture for the public.
As the public will be able to vote for their favourite projects all applicants are promote their project as widely as possible and gather as much support from their local community as they can.
toolkit (scroll down the page to the "Making a Successful Submission" section) can be found on the Aviva website offering hints, tips and tricks for publicising projects and gathering support.
Contact details for the Aviva Community Fund are:
The Aviva Community Fund 
PO BOX 4 
Surrey Street 
Norwich 
NR1 3NG 
Email:
 communityfund@aviva.co.uk

(Aviva does not advertise a phone number for the Fund.)
(Source: GRIN)

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