Stewarding Loss is pleased to be announcing a new pilot fund: ‘The Care-full Closures Fund’. This fund will deliver ground-breaking support to 4 organisations to support them to consider and design an organisational closure or merger. 

As they look ahead Stewarding Loss are now in a position to work alongside organisations considering closure or merger so they can test what support and approaches might be most useful and meaningful. The Paul Hamlyn Foundation has provided funding for up to 4 organisations to be supported to anticipate, consider and design an ending.

This fund is open to nonprofit organisations of any size who are considering closure and are wanting to explore their options carefully, intentionally and with a design-led approach.
What do we mean by the ending or closure of an organisation in this context? We mean simply that an organisation in its current form is considering coming to an end. This means it might merge with another or it might close while handing over certain programmes or services to another. (This fund is therefore not for those looking to design the ending of individual projects or programmes).

They are in a position to offer up to 4 organisations paid for time with experienced consultants Caroline Ellis, Delia Barker and Faye Davies at the firm Deeds and Words. Alongside them Iona Lawrence, co-lead of Stewarding Loss, will also support. Organisations will also be given a grant of up to £4,000 to fund staff time and associated costs for this work. Due to the bespoke nature of this work, each of the grantees will work with Deeds And Words to develop an agreement of how they want to work together.

As an organisation you might have:

• Achieved your original purpose or feel that the need for it has reduced;
• Lost the funding and resources you need to carry on but would like to keep that purpose alive in some capacity;
• Be considering a merger with an adjacent organisation and want to help design a bespoke strategy to deliver it well for all parties involved.

In particular, they’d love to hear from you if you’re a civil society organisation that:

• Is interested in collaborating on a considered and reflective process of ending or evolving
• Would like that process to be inclusive of all stakeholders, especially across hierarchies
• Can identify a core internal group to work with Deeds and Words on a strategy around that change or closure.
• Is interested in working with a range of external partners and practitioners
• Would benefit from a library of resources and shared learning on designing and delivering ‘good endings’
• Could be ready to start this work in the next 4–5 months (in the autumn / winter of 2021)

Deadline 

14th June 2021: Closing date for expressions of interest.
Monday 28th June — Friday 9th July 2021: Interviews held with prospective grantees and members of the Stewarding Loss and Deeds and Words team
By end of July 2021: Decisions taken jointly by Deeds and Words and Stewarding Loss, offers made, terms of reference / MoUs agreed setting out expectations of grantees and Deeds + Words
September 2021 onwards: Kick off work with organisations

https://medium.com/thefarewellfund/announcing-the-care-full-closures-fund-a97c9e9b3551