As Spirit of 2012 nears its planned closure at the end of the year, I’m reminded of Magnus Magnusson’s iconic words on Mastermind: “I’ve started… So I’ll finish...”
Spirit of 2012 is the social legacy organisation for the London 2012 Games, and I joined at its inception. What began as a six-month secondment from the civil service to the Big Lottery Fund turned into 12 years, culminating in my role as chief executive.
Over that time, we’ve used our £47m endowment from the renamed National Lottery Community Fund, alongside £25m in matched funding, to support participatory projects that enhance wellbeing and explore how major events can leave lasting legacies.
Now, as we prepare to close, I’m proud of what we’ve achieved. During that time, we’ve measurably improved lives, advanced the use of events for social good and built an extensive and robust evidence base. But closing a time-limited organisation comes with its own lessons, some of which we are only just learning.
Think about the end when you begin
Even as a spend-out trust, we didn’t initially have much in our governing documents about closure. Deciding when to lean into the process was one of the biggest challenges. Start too early, and it feels like you’re winding down prematurely, but start too late, and you risk missing critical steps, like structuring investments or managing the contraction of operations and staff.
At one point, we considered extending our timeline and fundraising for an extended life. However, our board decided to stick to the plan and focus on ending well. This clarity of purpose became our superpower. With a clear mission and a committed team, and with secure funding, we were in a privileged position.
Being time-limited also shaped our approach to risk. While we embraced innovation in our projects, we were more cautious with our investment strategy. And, of course, some risks, like Covid, were beyond our control. For an organisation focused on bringing people together, the pandemic had a profound impact, shortening our already limited timeline. Future time-limited organisations should now include such scenarios in their planning.
Closing can be (almost) as fun as starting up
The start and end of an organisation share a similar entrepreneurial energy. At the beginning, we focused on building our brand and profile. Now, we’re thinking about the legacy of Spirit and what it will represent after we’re gone.
One key learning is the importance of planning for the skills needed at closure. While loyalty often keeps staff and board members in place, the expertise required to close an organisation is different from what’s needed to run it. Bringing in fresh skills for this phase is crucial.
Contrary to assumptions, recruiting for a closing organisation can be exciting. I’d encourage anyone to consider it as a rewarding career opportunity!
Time and understanding your relationship with it
We were tasked with creating a “knowledge bank” to influence how the UK approaches event planning. However, developing credible learning that drives actual real change takes time. More time than we initially anticipated.
At the start, 10 years felt like a long horizon. Now, as we hit our stride, it feels short. Time moves differently for a time-limited organisation. What’s “at some stage” for others becomes “in the next two months” for us. This urgency can be frustrating, especially when trying to engage organisations for knowledge transfer. Despite early planning, this final year has been a whirlwind.
One thing that helped us navigate this was starting with a theory of change. It set out the impact we wanted to achieve and guided our principles and values. Remarkably, it has stood the test of time and remains a touchstone for our work.
Planning for your own legacy
From the outset, we aimed to be a learning organisation, asking grantees to measure specific outcomes to build our evidence base. While this has sometimes created tension with how organisations wanted to articulate their own impact, it was essential for fulfilling our mission.
As we close, we’ve worked hard to ensure our learning doesn’t sit unused. We appointed legacy learning partners, including Loughborough University, PBE and Belong Network, to build on our archive for the benefit of future organisations. Their work has meant we are able to share our learning with funders and delivery organisations.
This final year has been our busiest yet, as we prepare our archive to live on as an online knowledge bank and commission the necessary research to fill any gaps. It’s been an emotional journey for me, the staff and the Spirit board.
Finishing well
It’s a privilege to see an organisation through from conception to closure. What began as an idea with potential funding and high-profile trustees has become an organisation leaving a significant legacy.
As we approach the finish line, I’m reminded of the journey we’ve taken and the lives we’ve touched. It’s bittersweet, but I know we’re ending as we started. With purpose and with impact.
