Millennials have rekindled the community spirit, according to new research announced today by the Aviva Community Fund.
![](http://static.aviva.io/content/dam/aviva-corporate/images/article-page-and-carousel-840-x-473/brandsite/2011_Young%20people%20camping.jpg)
Two thirds of Brits (68%)1 admit that community values have noticeably declined since their parent’s day, but it is the younger generation of Millennials who have rekindled the community spirit, according to new research announced today, by Aviva.
The study, which marks the opening of public voting for the Aviva Community Fund, discovered half of all respondents aged 16-29 (49%) have volunteered in their community at least once or twice, significantly more than people aged 30-44 (37%), 45-59 (36%), and over 60s (38%).
the percentage of 16-29 year olds who have volunteered in their community, according to research from Aviva1
Communities cannot thrive solely on the support of the public, however. 78% have no idea how to go about securing vital funding and 73% of respondents agree big businesses could do more to help.
![](http://static.aviva.io/content/dam/aviva-corporate/images/article-page-and-carousel-840-x-473/different-sized-images/aviva-community-fund2.jpg)
While there is uncertainty of how to raise funds, 86% have experienced how small things can make a big difference – with attending local events (25%) and picking up litter (24%) shown to be the most frequent ways to show support.
The nationwide survey also identified what would most benefit communities. These include:
- More activities to bring the community together (35.8%)
- Counselling services (34.6%)
- Self-help groups (32.5%)
- Skills training (30.4%)
- Outdoor spaces (27.6%)
- A revamped village hall / community centre (27.4%)
- A community resource such a minibus (26.9%)
- Disabled facilities (26.0%)
- Training for volunteers (24.7%)
- A well-kept children’s park (24.2%)
The elderly are most in need of support with 56%, followed by individuals with disabilities (44%), people with mental health problems (43%) and the homeless (40%).
Millennials are often unfairly stereotyped as self-centred or lazy, so it is great that our research has officially shifted this paradigm. We could all learn a thing or two about community values from them.
It is a worry that people don’t know how to source funding for their community. With more pressure on businesses to help it is initiatives like the Aviva Community Fund which give a vital lifeline for communities across the UK.
Tom Daniell, Marketing Director at Aviva says, “Community wellbeing is incredibly important to us at Aviva, so it’s great to see that this young generation is so proactive. We can see that, despite many misconceptions, many people in fact want to help, but also that people don’t know how. This is why we run the Aviva Community Fund – we want to offer people the opportunity to easily take action and help a group in their area.
![](http://static.aviva.io/content/dam/aviva-corporate/images/article-page-and-carousel-840-x-473/different-sized-images/aviva-community-fund1.jpg)
“We’ve had over 3,000 groups enter this year, so there will be a cause close to everyone’s heart.”
The Aviva Community Fund voting period runs from 23rd October - 20th November, with winners announced on 24 January 2019. Now in its fourth year, the initiative has helped a variety of groups, totalling more than 2,000 to date.
To vote visit www.aviva.co.uk/community-fund.
-ENDS-
1All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from Ginger Comms. Total sample size was 1,602 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 12th–16th October 2018. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 16+).
For more information please contact:
Mark Lewington
0203 128 8569
AvivaACF@enginegroup.com
John Franklin
01603 680795
john.s.franklin@aviva.com
About Aviva Community Fund
The Aviva Community Fund is an initiative that lends a helping hand to local communities by offering support and funding for inspirational local causes. Projects could receive funding from up to £1,000 to £25,000. To vote, visit www.aviva.co.uk/community-fund.
Notes to editors:
- We are the UK's leading diversified insurer and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India and China.
- We help our 19.5 million (as at 30 June 2024) customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we’ll be there to put it right.
- We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being ‘with you today, for a better tomorrow’. In 2023, we paid £25.6 billion in claims and benefits to our customers.
- In 2021, we announced our ambition to become Net Zero by 2040, the first major insurance company in the world to do so. We are aiming to have Net Zero carbon emissions from Aviva’s operations and supply chain by 2030. While we are working towards our sustainability ambitions, we recognise that while we have control over Aviva’s operations and influence on our supply chain, when it comes to decarbonising the economy in which we operate and invest, Aviva is one part of a far larger global ecosystem. There are also limits to our ability to influence other organisations and governments. Nevertheless, we remain focused on the task and are committed to playing our part in the collective effort to enable the global transition. Find out more about our climate goals at www.aviva.com/climate-goals and our sustainability ambition and action at www.aviva.com/sustainability
- Aviva is a Living Wage, Living Pension and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at https://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/
- As at 30 June 2024, total Group assets under management at Aviva Group were £398 billion and our estimated Solvency II shareholder capital surplus was £8.2 billion. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE 100 index.
- For more details on what we do, our business and how we help our customers, visit www.aviva.com/about-us
- The Aviva newsroom at www.aviva.com/newsroom includes links to our spokespeople images, podcasts, research reports and our news release archive. Sign up to get the latest news from Aviva by email.
- You can follow us on:
- X: www.x.com/avivaplc
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/aviva-plc
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/avivaplc
- For the latest corporate films from around our business, subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/aviva