Why are we holding this competition?
Aviva believes that to truly make a difference, insurance companies and brokers must see beyond policies and transactions to the people looking for insurance expertise and advice. That's why we stand behind local, independent brokers as the best choice to help Canadians protect their homes, cars and businesses. Brokers are involved in and often champions of local causes in their community, and the Aviva Community Fund competition is simply another way to harness this support and help the communities where we live and work.
Why a competition?
At Aviva, we pride ourselves on being experts in the insurance world. When it comes to protecting your car, home, or business, or helping you deal with a claim, we've got you covered. But when it comes to knowing what it takes to improve your community, we recognize that you know best.
To get your ideas heard and set into motion, we created the Aviva Community Fund competition. We're committed to helping Canadians make a positive impact by funding local and national initiatives for change, whether it's through providing new opportunities for at-risk youth, improving education, protecting the environment, or supporting cultural activities.
Our responsibility
We believe being responsible in business lets us provide peace of mind to our customers - our first priority. We also realize that being responsible means taking positive action in the community and environment. Among the many charities Aviva partners with, we give major corporate support to two initiatives: the United Way and "Street to School". "Street to School" is our own global charity program that fights for the futures of children living or working on the street by providing housing, education and employment support through corporate outreach and fundraising. Since 2009, we've helped over 400,000 children move towards brighter futures.
Supporting homeless and at-risk youth
Providing prosperity and peace of mind for our customers is a priority, but we also recognize the importance of helping those who aren't our customers. That's why our programs for helping homeless and at-risk youth were developed - to provide the resources they need to achieve their potential.
For the fourth year running, Aviva is offering $1 million to encourage Canadians to lead, empower and support community initiatives across the country. We have already provided over $2.5 million in funding to 31 charities and community groups including youth programs, animal shelters, public schools, camps and centres for those affected by disabilities or illness.
In the competition's first three years, Canadians overwhelmingly answered the call proposing over 6,000 ideas and casting more than six million votes in support of causes from every province and territory.
New to the competition this year is a specific prize of up to $150,000 for Canadian community groups or charities that support homeless and at-risk youth programs.
United Way
Aviva supports the United Way of Canada through corporate donations and employee contributions. In 2011, we contributed more than $513,000 to United Way chapters across Canada.
Employee programs
We believe it's crucial to support Aviva employees in their own charitable activities, so we designed three programs to assist our employee-directed efforts.
- Volunteering on Company Time: This program covers employees' salaries for 15 hours spent serving the community.
- Matching Dollars: This program matches a portion of employees' annual personal giving to any registered charity.
- Dollars for Doers: This program makes a donation to any registered charity where employees volunteer at least 40 hours annually.
Preserving the environment
Aviva's corporate responsibility program takes great measures to manage our impact on the environment. In 2006, Aviva was the first insurance company to announce a commitment to become carbon neutral and made a commitment to develop and implement an environmental strategy to reduce our carbon footprint. We continue to pursue opportunities to maximize efficiency and minimize environmental impact in the areas of energy & water, waste, communication and transportation.
