Spirit of 2012

January 2025 marks the beginning of our last year of operations. Spirit of 2012 will close by the end of January 2026. If you haven't taken advantage of our knowledge bank or the opportunity to work with us yet, there's still time - just! See what you can do in our latest blog. https://lnkd.in/dAZwXZkk

Our latest #FridaysFromTheArchive looks back at funding we gave to Comic Relief to support 94,000 young people to step into taking social action. Happy #RedNoseDay! 🔴

It's World Happiness Day and the #WorldHappiness2025 report is out - this year with a focus on caring and sharing. As a funder committed to investing in - and measuring - the wellbeing impacts of everything we do, check out our thoughts on the latest findings.

Next week marks the end of an era for Spirit of 2012. Alex Johnston, who joined Spirit on secondment from the Big Lottery Fund Scotland (as was) in 2013 will be leaving Spirit at the end of next week. Alex originally joined the organisation to develop Spirit’s response to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, working with stakeholders across the UK to celebrate Glasgow’s moment on the world stage. In his interview he described the opportunity as a “proud son of Glasgow” to make a contribution to ensuring that the Games left a lasting and tangible impact for Glaswegians over the long term as his driving force, and throughout his time with us he has continue to ensure that this promise is delivered. So, it seems very fitting that Alex is leaving Spirit, 12 years later, to go and work on the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games as their Legacy Manager. Alex will take with him the toolbox of insights and lessons that Spirit has developed over our last 12 years. Anyone that has worked with Alex, or heard him speak, knows that he also takes a passion for addressing inequality and knocking down barriers to participation for those that could most benefit. One of Alex’s defining contributions to our work at Spirit has been his unwavering focus on inclusion seen through projects like Activity Alliance's Get Out Get Active and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games's Critical Mass. We will be reflecting more on Alex’s journey with us next week. In the meantime, it’s safe to say that Spirit’s loss is most definitely Glasgow 2026’s gain and we all wish him every success as Glasgow steps onto the world stage again to host what will be another world class event.

Congratulations to UK Sport for securing this fantastic event, coming to England, Scotland and Wales in 2027. A few things caught our attention: > A pan-UK competition requiring partnership working across England, Scotland and Wales, and as the routes are announced we'll know more about which Mayoral Combined Authorities or LAs are also involved. So much to recommend a multi-location approach - and it also requires some serious agreement about the common purpose of events. Scotland & Wales have their own #MajorEventStrategies as do some regions in England. > Continued emphasis from Government on parity of women's sport & focus addressing participation gap between girls and boys. We could see huge enthusiasm & energy behind this agenda on Monday when we joined Loughborough Sport colleagues for launch of the #WomenInSport Research and Innovation Hub. > An exciting focus on showcasing landscapes. Huge potential here not just for the visitor economy but for connecting residents to beauty on their doorstep that evidence suggests there are real inequalities to accessing. Parallels here with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, the first UKCoC to emphasise rural as well as urban spaces in their programme. > In launching both stages in Scotland, a real chance to build on the 2023 UCI World Championships, which put inclusion at their heart (a topic we were delighted to support David McGillivray, Gayle McPherson, Centre for Culture, Sport & Events to explore in #FestivalsConnect research. > On the M&E front, a real test for efforts to measure accurately attendance at unticketed events building on recent DCMS R&D projects.

"Any part of the city, you can feel involved in the event." Glasgow Life's Billy Garrett on how Glasgow's unique model blurs the lines and makes an event accessible to everyone. Head to our Local Event Strategies case study for more insight from Billy and on Glasgow's approach to events. https://lnkd.in/eUgbhvpx

Introducing the first of a series of summaries of our most essential reports, starting with our youth report Inspiring A Generation. Want to know how and why to engage young people with events and volunteering? This short report includes all the key lessons from our decade-plus of funding youth social action and volunteering projects in as little as four pages, with a link to check out the full length version included. https://lnkd.in/ea5iwRhm

#FridaysFromTheArchive Between 2017 and 2019, Spirit of 2012 supported Verbal Arts Centre (VAC) in Derry with a £149,000 grant to deliver its Reading Rooms project. Selected for funding by our Youth Panel, Reading Rooms worked with 265 young people who had experience with the criminal justice system, supporting them to build a community through an in-person regular book group. VAC worked with Probation Board for Northern Ireland for referrals, and participants were mentored by older volunteers who had been through similar experiences.    On collecting ONS4 wellbeing data from participants at the start and end of the project, VAC saw striking increases in the proportion of participants who felt satisfied with their lives (29% to 62% at 7/10 and above) and that the things in their life were worthwhile (45% to 79% 7 and above out of 10).  James Kerr, Chief Executive of VAC, thinks the project was so successful because, “it created a safe and supportive space where participants could engage with stories that resonated with their own experiences. Through guided discussions, they were able to reflect, connect with others and build confidence in expressing themselves. The combination of Verbal’s model of applied storytelling, mentorship from those with lived experience and a sense of belonging made a real impact on their wellbeing and outlook on life. As the audience for the Reading Rooms model has grown over the years, the stories, discussions and support materials that they create and produce have adapted and evolved to integrate even closer with best practice in psychology and become even more purposeful. Verbal’s model of applied storytelling continues to be driven by our aim to continually strive to address participant need, meet people where they are—whether in justice settings, schools, care facilities, youth groups or communities—and empower them to live healthy, happy lives. During Covid-19, they were forced to adapt quickly, shifting from in-person sessions to a fully digital model ensuring we could still reach those who needed our support. What began as a short-term response to the crisis became a key part of their long-term strategy, allowing us to expand our reach beyond physical locations. The shift to digital meant that not only could we deliver our sessions remotely and reach more people across a wider geographic area, but it also enabled us to distribute the model much further on a self-serve basis. Today, Reading Rooms or, more broadly, Verbal’s unique model of Applied Storytelling operates on a hybrid basis, combining the best of in-person connection with the flexibility of digital delivery, ensuring that no matter where someone is, they can benefit from the power of our work to support their wellbeing. This has been a long journey of discovery, change and delight, and the support of Spirit of 2012 was a significant contributor to the momentum that has maintained them ever since.

"If you put culture at the heart of regeneration this is what you end up with." Associate Director Claire McColgan CBE talks about what events have done socially and economically for Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Check out the full case study with more insight from Claire below. https://lnkd.in/eCPZttBu

Spirit is delighted to support the launch of the new and improved Power of Sport toolkit by Belong. Spirit funded the original version of the toolkit and worked closely with Belong on its redevelopment.    The toolkit includes case study videos, links to useful external resources and interactive exercises, and guides you through creating your own Theory of Change tailored to the needs of your organisation or sports programme. Whether you’re working in diverse neighbourhoods or with marginalised groups, this step-by-step guide can help you to harness the power of sport to design inclusive, impactful programmes that promote social cohesion. The toolkit is another valuable resource to help the sport and physical activity sector change lives through sport. https://lnkd.in/eMRHXHR3