2016 Aviva Community Fund competition open for submissions

Aviva Canada has opened its 2016 Aviva Community Fund (ACF) competition for submissions.

Canadians with ideas for positive change in their community can submit them for a chance to share $1 million in funding, Aviva Canada said in a press release on Monday. There are three ACF categories – Community Resilience (Environment, climate, disaster relief and prevention), Community Health (Health, sport, active living and play) and Community Development (Education, skills training, culture, research and basic needs). There is also two funding levels – Small Ideas for under $50,000 and Large Ideas for $50,000 to $100,000.

Idea submissions close on Oct. 6 and voting begins on Oct. 11. Finalists will be revealed on Nov. 7 and winners are announced on Dec. 6. Judges rank ideas based on the following criteria: longevity & sustainability (35%), impact (20%), likelihood of success (15%), votes (15%), originality (10%) and submission quality (5%).

New to this year’s competition is ACF’s partnership with CanadaHelps.org, a “known leader and innovator in the charitable sector,” Aviva Canada said in the release. CanadaHelps supports positive impact for charities through online fundraising platforms, resources, training, education and more. All ACF Grand Prize Winners will receive certain free services from CanadaHelps in addition to receiving funding from Aviva.

Related: Aviva Canada announces the Aviva Community Fund is back for eighth year

“One of the things I learned about the Aviva Community Fund through this competition is that anyone can enter their idea for a chance to make a real impact,” said Michelle Porter, executive director of Souls Harbour Rescue Mission and 2015 ACF Grand Prize Winner, in the release. “A good idea needs to be lasting, sustainable and meet a need that would resonate with the average person in your community.”

Aviva Canada provides home, automobile, leisure/lifestyle and business insurance to more than three million customers. A wholly-owned subsidiary of United Kingdom-based Aviva plc, the company has more than 4,000 employees, 27 locations across Canada and approximately 1,500 independent broker partners.