Across 2025, the Communities Fund (formerly the Aviva Community Fund) received strong interest from charities and community organisations across the UK.
We value the commitment of the broad range of organisations we support to improve financial wellbeing and advance climate action in their local communities, and appreciate the important role they play in supporting people and places across the country.
Across the year, we received 1,304 applications. Of these:
- 412 were accepted, and
- 813 were declined.
We recognise how much time and care goes into preparing an application, so we want to be transparent about the most common reasons organisations were not successful. By understanding these trends, we hope to help future applicants feel more confident and prepared before they apply.
Common reasons for declined applications
Most declines fell into two broad categories:
1. The project did not meet the funding criteria, or
2. The organisation did not meet the basic eligibility requirements.
The top three specific reasons were:
1. The project did not strongly align with Financial Wellbeing or Climate Action
While many applications described valuable community activity, the Communities Fund focuses specifically on projects that improve financial wellbeing or deliver climate action. Projects that fall outside these themes cannot be supported.
Here are some example project types that have been accepted;
Climate action
– green spaces
– nature restoration
– renewable energy
– community climate education
Financial wellbeing
– budgeting support
– debt advice
– food banks
– life skills programmes
2. Organisations did not have published online accounts
Transparency and accountability are important to us. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to progress applications from organisations that did not have up‑to‑date accounts available online, as this information is necessary for our assessment process.
3. Organisations had not been incorporated for at least 12 months
To help ensure that funding goes to organisations with a stable structure and some operational history, applicants need to have been legally incorporated for at least one year at the time of applying. We recognise that newer groups do important work too, but this requirement helps us assess eligibility consistently and responsibly.
You can find out more about what’s new and why Aviva Foundation relaunched earlier this year here