Spirit of 2012 is delighted to award £997,000 to the Jo Cox Foundation to continue the legacy of Jo Cox’s work and values through the Great Get Together.

This new partnership will focus on building a society of stronger, happier communities through growing the Great Get Together from a moment in June to a year-round movement of social and community action. The programme will build on its successes to date, and aims to further inspire and empower the nationwide More In Common community of volunteers and organisers which will sit at the heart of the programme.

Now in its fourth year, the Great Get Together helps people to make genuine connections, through community events including lunches, sports days and street parties. In the three years since Jo was murdered, The Great Get Together has shown just how powerful an event can be at galvanising a movement of positive action.

Catherine Anderson, CEO of the Jo Cox Foundation says:

“Spirit of 2012 is an inspirational organisation rooted in values of partnership, inclusion, and learning, and we admire their work hugely. To be working together over the next three years to embed Jo Cox’s values in communities large and small across the UK is a great privilege. We are incredibly excited to work together – and, thanks to their transformative support, to create happier and more cohesive communities, where everyone has a sense of belonging and recognises that we have in Jo’s own words more in common than the things that divide us.”

 

The Great Get Together’s More in Common community is a dedicated group of 3000 community organisers nationwide, who share Jo Cox’s values and drive to tackle local issues. This project, Moment to Movement, follows on from a piece of research Spirit of 2012 commissioned. It aims to use the impact of the Great Get Together to inspire more people to get involved and become community organisers, through peer-to-peer training activities and enhanced online resources.

Over the next three years this funding will go towards growing participation engaged in the June Great Get Together events and expanding the reach to more activations per year. It will work towards breaking down barriers, developing and providing training for community organisers and increasing outreach, to ensure that more people and more communities can benefit from the Great Get Together.

Further Information:

    • Find out more about the Jo Cox Foundation here.
    • Find out more about the Great Get Together here.