The Big Lottery Fund has today launched its latest effort to deliver a lasting social and community legacy from last year’s Olympic Games.

The £40m Spirit of 2012 Trust, an independent organisation with an endowment of £40m, was unveiled at a reception at the House of Lords this morning, hosted by Baroness Sue Campbell and attended by Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, both of whom are also on the trustee board.

The £40m of funding from BIG is an endowment in advance of the refund from the sale of the Olympic and Paralympic Village.

More information about how to apply for funding from the Spirit of 2012 Trust will become available next year.

The Trust aims to “harness the energy, commitment and organisation of the volunteering legacy of the London 2012 Games for community benefit”.

It will fund projects that will galvanise groups of people into social action; use local and national events such as the Glasgow Commonwealth Games to spur the formation of partnerships to develop community activities, and work to inspire positive attitudes to disability and impairment.

The Trust's chief executive is Debbie Lye, previously the head of worldwide impact and director of the International Inspiration programme at UK Sport.

Lord Coe said: “The Spirit of 2012 Trust now has a fantastic opportunity to capture the positivity of London 2012 and inspire future generations by supporting a range of exciting ideas around the UK.  Just as the Games took ten years to win, plan and deliver, so legacy must be seen as a ten-year project to realise lasting change.  This funding will help deliver that lasting change.”

The other trustees are Dugald Mackie (chair), John Gartside, Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Paul Cuttill, Sir Harry Burns, David Watters and Jan Paterson.  

Dugald Mackie said: “2012 demonstrated that the huge energy and optimism generated by an event can be powerful. The Spirit of 2012 Trust will work through events in the future to ensure we use that power as a catalyst for positive social change and I am very proud to take a lead role in this exciting initiative.”

The Trust will launch its first funding programmes in 2014, though BIG has already allocated over £11m to 11 initial projects through its ‘Keeping the Spirit of 2012 Alive’ campaign. 

These projects are Join In, Britain’s Personal Best, Get Set to Make a Change, Pedal On UK and National Paralympic Day.