Project evaluations Women & Girls
UK Youth: EmpowHER
A comprehensive research project on the benefits of youth social action carried out by UK Youth and funded by Spirit of 2012 and the #iwill Fund.
Volunteering & Youth Social Action
Using the platform of events from the major like London 2012 to community events on the doorstep to inspire people into a lifetime of volunteering and social action
What can we learn from event volunteering about how to strengthen volunteering infrastructure over the long term?
Research & Learning Volunteering Volunteering
Volunteering Together: Inclusive Volunteering and Disabled People
This report from Kim Donahue Associates aims to help organisations better understand the needs of disabled people, and open up more volunteering opportunities.
Inclusion Inclusion Research & Learning Toolkits and guides Volunteering Volunteering
Jo Cox Foundation: Moment To Movement
A project seeking to find out how community events can inspire people to become organisers and improve community wellbeing.
Legacy of Events Project evaluations Volunteering
Hull Volunteering Evaluation
An evaluation report which looks at the one of the great legacies of Hull’s 2017 City of Culture year.
Project evaluations Wellbeing
Fourteen / 14-NOW Evaluations
Fourteen was a £3.5m programme which allocated £250,000 to each of 14 communities across the UK to deliver sports, arts and volunteering activities with the aim of enhancing social connectedness in those communities.
Project evaluations Volunteering Wellbeing Women & Girls Young People
Southbank Centre: WOW
Nine festivals were held between 2017-2019, in Bradford, Exeter, Perth, Norwich and Cardiff.
Legacy of Events Project evaluations Young People
Inspire 2022
A youth-led social action programme inspired by the 10th anniversary of London 2012 and the major events of 2022.
Inclusion Inclusion Research & Learning Toolkits and guides Volunteering Volunteering
Inclusive volunteering in museums
Connected Communities Project evaluations Wellbeing
Youth Sport Trust & Sporting Equals: Breaking Boundaries
Evaluation reports from Breaking Boundaries, a community project which used sport to unite people across divides.
Project evaluations
Inquiry 2022: How events can boost volunteering
The first report from “Can events help build happy, thriving and more connected communities? A Spirit of 2012 Inquiry.”
Research & Learning Toolkits and guides Volunteering Volunteering
Reimagining Volunteering
A report and toolkit for volunteering organisations to help them mobilise “community helpers”.
Cohesion Connected Communities Project evaluations Volunteering
Thank You Day Community Connectors Summary
An evaluation report which assesses the pilot of /Together’s Thank You Day programme and its success in community cohesion.
Research & Learning Volunteering Wellbeing
Volunteer wellbeing review of evidence
A comprehensive review of volunteering evidence carried out by What Works Centre for Wellbeing, the Institute for Volunteering Research at the University of East Anglia, and Spirit of 2012.
Legacy of Events Project evaluations Volunteering
Volunteering Cities
Emerging insights from an ongoing evaluation by Neighbourly Lab of the Volunteering Cities fund.
Disability Inclusion Physical Activity Toolkits and guides Volunteering
Get Out, Get Active Volunteer Toolkit
In 2018, Volunteering Matters launched an inclusive volunteering toolkit built on learning from the GOGA programme, partners and localities.
Volunteering
Volunteering Cities
Bradford Conwy England Great Yarmouth Medway Wales
Grants to four cities who bid for UK City of Culture 2025 to strengthen their local volunteering infrastructure.
Volunteering
Birmingham Volunteering Legacy
Birmingham England
A grant to Birmingham 2022’s organising committee to secure the future of its Commonwealth Games volunteering programme.
Community cohesion Volunteering Wellbeing
Moment To Movement
Nationwide
We supported the Jo Cox Foundation to explore community connection and social action through The Great Get Together.
Arts Volunteering
Hull City of Culture / Volunteers
England Hull
Since 2017, we have supported Hull both as City of Culture and the wonderful legacy of volunteering which has been built since.
Volunteering
Volunteering together: inclusive volunteering and disabled people
England Salford
Spirit of 2012 awarded a grant of £29,858 to carry out new research into the background, nature and experiences of disabled people who volunteer.
Sport and physical activity Volunteering
The Ripple Effect
England Leicester Manchester Sheffield
A grant to Swim England to increase inclusion and accessibility across their volunteering structure.
Women and girls
WOW – Women of the World
Bradford Cardiff England Exeter Norwich Perth Scotland Wales
We funded the Southbank Centre to support communities across the UK in developing their own Women of the World festivals.
Volunteering
Volunteering Spirit Wales
Cardiff Flintshire Methyr Tydfil Wales
This programme funded the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) to work with partners on six pilot projects, exploring how principles of good volunteer management can be embedded and applied consistently across different kinds of events.
Volunteering
Festival City Volunteers
Edinburgh Scotland
In 2018 funding from Spirit and the Big Lottery Fund Scotland supported Edinburgh residents to share their passion for their city and get behind-the-scenes of its diverse and exciting festivals.
Disabled people Volunteering
Inclusive volunteering in volunteer-run museums
Dorset England
Spirit of 2012 awarded a grant of £30,000 to fund a project working with Dorset museums and heritage organisations to remove barriers to volunteering for disabled people.
Volunteering Young people
Inspired Action
Nationwide
Inspired Action was run by the British Red Cross and aimed to remove barriers to volunteering for young disabled and non-disabled people.
Volunteering
Team London Young Ambassadors
England London
Team London Young Ambassadors is the Mayor of London’s volunteer programme for schools.
Community cohesion Volunteering
Thank You Day
Nationwide
Spirit of 2012 awarded a grant of £50,000 to support a new national day wherein people around the UK were encouraged to form meaningful social connections with one another.
Wellbeing
Fourteen & 14-NOW
Nationwide Northern Ireland
Fourteen NI was part of Spirit’s £3.5m Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games social legacy programme, which allocated grants to communities across the UK to deliver sports, arts and volunteering activities aimed at enhancing social connectedness. Following a three-year partnership, Springboard Opps was awarded an additional grant in July 2018 to continue its work via 14-NOW.
disability HEAR Kim Donahue Consulting Volunteer Centre Dorset volunteering
A lot is known about the benefits of volunteering, but what about the experiences of disabled volunteers?
The pandemic has seen a surge in volunteering, with the Together Coalition’s Talk Together research suggesting that 12.4 million people offered their time in 2020. Among this group were 4.6…
Birmingham 2022 HEY! Volunteering volunteering Volunteering Cities wellbeing
A little volunteering goes a long way: a look back on Spirit’s week
It’s not officially Volunteers’ Week but if feels like that this week at Spirit HQ! This week we are delighted to have launched some major new funding initiatives to consolidate…
14-NOW cohesion community covid-19 Northern Ireland Springboard volunteering
14-NOW: How Springboard’s social cohesion project became a COVID community lifeline
This is not the year we had planned. As we approach the anniversary of the first national lockdown, no doubt many of us will be in the mood to reflect….
arts older people volunteering young people
Celebrating Volunteers Week and the Importance of Intergenerational Work
Intergenerational work is an area that is vital during the current climate, with many older people being isolated at home with little access and support. Young people can really make…
disability Scotland volunteering
Edinburgh City Volunteers: Don’t think about it. Just do it
After being diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) type 3 and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia syndrome (POTS) there were times when I was completely bed-bound. Sometimes I couldn’t even sit up and…
mentoring One Million Mentors volunteering young people
Everything I learned while volunteering as a mentor
I volunteered to be a mentor with One Million Mentors (1MM) at the end of 2019. The programme that Spirit of 2012 were funding through 1MM seemed a great way…
Big Help Out coronation Learning Moments To Connect Research volunteering
How do people feel about volunteering ahead of the Coronation weekend?
Neighbourly Lab have received research grant funding from Spirit of 2012 to better understand the nation’s motivations for getting involved locally, as part of national moments. We are specifically looking…
volunteering young people youth advisory panel
Why the power of youth is volunteering’s secret weapon
To me, the Power of Youth is an untold truth in society – how vital young people are in the world of volunteering. Last week was Volunteers Week, which celebrates…
community Thank You Day Together Coalition volunteering
UK Thank You Day receives welcome boost thanks to development grant from Spirit of 2012
Award recognises the importance of participation in fostering feelings of connection and belonging First-ever Thank You Day to celebrate our connections due to take place this Sunday, 4 July Spirit…
inclusive volunteering Learning Thank You Day volunteering
Thank You Day: A time for inclusive volunteering
It’s Volunteers’ Week 2022, a celebration that marks the contribution that volunteers make to lives of people in this country and beyond. On Sunday, Spirit of 2012 joined #CheersForVolunteers, a…
Moments To Connect neighbourly lab reimagining volunteering volunteering
Stepping up to help out: How do ‘community helpers’ play a role in informal volunteering?
Neighbourly Lab were awarded a grant by Spirit’s Moments To Connect fund to conduct research to better understand how people across the UK help out in their communities especially for…
disability HEAR Kim Donahue Consulting Volunteer Centre Dorset volunteering
Spirit of 2012 funds research into making volunteering more inclusive
What are the differences in the backgrounds and experiences of disabled and non-disabled volunteers? New research, along with pioneering project will help volunteer programmes be more inclusive. Spirit of 2012…
volunteering wellbeing What Works Centre for Wellbeing
New report shows that while volunteering can improve happiness, the approach and delivery in programmes and activity makes a big difference
Over 19 million volunteers in the UK* offer invaluable support to improve the lives of other people. But how can volunteering support the wellbeing of volunteers themselves? As the first…
communities great get together jo cox foundation volunteering
More in common: how Jo Cox Foundation’s Great Get Togethers inspire connected communities
“…it really made me feel better and happier than I normally am.” Great Get Togethers come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s difficult to choose one quote to summarise…
events Hull City of Culture legacy volunteering
Blue Cagoules and Golden Noses: Did the City of Culture make Hull Happier?
Spirit of 2012 was very proud to be one of the principle partners of Hull City of Culture 2017. Spirit was formed as part of the legacy of the summer…