Supporting a wide range of innovative cultural and sporting activities for all, which celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and which will leave a lasting legacy in communities throughout the United Kingdom

Wednesday 30th January 2008 - For immediate release.

LEGACY TRUST UK ANNOUNCES NEW CEO

Moira Swinbank OBE, currently Chief Executive of TimeBank, will become the new Chief Executive of the Legacy Trust UK (LTUK). The £40 million Trust, which was launched in November, aims to support the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, through the promotion of culture and sport among young people and communities.

Dugald Mackie, Chair of the LTUK Board said "We are delighted that Moira Swinbank has agreed to take up the challenge of being our Chief Executive. She will drive the Trust forward and help us create a legacy from the London Games that will benefit people all over the country for years to come. The Trust intends to make a small number of high-value grants to partners that can co-ordinate significant programmes to deliver on our promise. We had a very strong field of candidates for the post and I am extremely pleased that we have been able to appoint such an inspiring and experienced individual as Moira."

Moira's extensive experience in leadership has recently been seen at TimeBank, the national volunteering charity, where she joined as Director of Corporate Affairs in 2000 and became Chief Executive in January 2003. Her work has included developing innovative ways to engage individuals in volunteering in a vast range of areas, including sport and the arts, which connect communities across the UK.

Previously Moira was Deputy Head of Corporate Fundraising at the NSPCC where she worked with major corporate partners such as BT and Microsoft. She was also part of the management team which launched The Full Stop Campaign, the largest ever charity appeal in the UK.

As a Board Director of the sports and marketing agency, John Taylor International Limited, Moira was responsible for a number of key clients including Littlewoods, and British Airways. Working with established brands has always been an integral part of Moira’s work, including roles at Pepsi Cola on the launch of the Pepsi Challenge in the UK and Pepsi Cola’s sponsorship of Live Aid worldwide.

LTUK currently has plans for projects that benefit the whole UK, including £6million for the UK School Games. Approximately half of the money will be allocated to specific projects via the three nations and nine English regions of the UK and there are plans for three other UK wide projects which will go out to tender in the spring.

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Contact for further information:
Helen Platt at TimeBank on 020 7785 6386 / 07889332476

www.legacytrustuk.org

Notes to editors

  1. Big Lottery Fund, the Arts Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have endowed Legacy Trust UK £40m. This will be used to support cultural, artistic, educational and sporting activities that celebrate the 2012 Games.
  2. The Trust will form partnerships with organisations that will attract additional match funding to deliver Legacy Trust supported programmes.
  3. The Trust will co-ordinate its work with that of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).  It is expected that many of the projects that the Trust funds will be eligible for inclusion in the programme for the Cultural Olympiad, which is a key element of the 2012 Games.
  4. The City of London led a consortium that included the East London Business Alliance, Business in the Community, Yorkshire Forward and TimeBank.  This consortium was one of several that put forward proposals to the funders (DCMS, Big Lottery Fund and Arts Council England) as to how the fund should be spent.

Legacy Trust UK launch – Immediate release: Tuesday 20th November 2007

NEW £40m TRUST WILL CREATE A LEGACY FROM 2012 GAMES

A new £40 million fund that will use the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to promote culture and sport among young people and communities was launched today at the City of London by the recently appointed board chaired by Dugald Mackie and supported by Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, James Purnell, and Stephen Dunmore, Chief Executive of the Big Lottery Fund.

The Big Lottery Fund, the Arts Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have endowed Legacy Trust UK with £40m.  This - and other funds that the Trust will raise from other public and philanthropic sources - will be used to support cultural, artistic, educational and sporting activities that celebrate the 2012 Games.

Currently there are plans for projects that benefit the whole UK, including £6million for the UK School Games.  The rest of the money will be allocated to specific projects via the three nations and nine English regions of the UK.

The Trust will form partnerships with organisations that will attract additional match funding to deliver Legacy Trust supported programmes. This approach was central to the successful application to create the Trust submitted by a consortium led by the City of London.

The Trust will co-ordinate its work with that of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).  It is expected that many of the projects that the Trust funds will be eligible for inclusion in the programme for the Cultural Olympiad, which is a key element of the 2012 Games.

Dugald Mackie, chair of Legacy Trust UK said: "This money will create a legacy from the London Games that will benefit people all over the country for years to come.  The Trust intends to make a small number of high-value grants to partners that can co-ordinate significant programmes to deliver on our promise.  We expect to make the first awards next autumn".

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said "When we bid for London to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we bid on behalf of the whole country. I am absolutely determined that the benefits of hosting the Games are spread right across every nation and region of the UK. Legacy Trust UK will help make that happen, by giving out £40 million to cultural, artistic, educational and sporting activities that celebrate the 2012 Games. 

"Some will be national projects, like the UK School Games. Others will be local, with each region and nation deciding what works best for them. But all will use 2012 as a catalyst to improve lives around the country."

James Purnell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: “Our Cultural Olympiad will showcase the best of British culture to the world, and of world culture to Britain.  Today's launch of the Legacy Trust is a big step towards this.

“The Trust will also help us achieve our ambition of using the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to inspire a generation of young people to learn about and get involved in their cultural heritage."

Stephen Dunmore Chief Executive of the Big Lottery Fund said: “The Big Lottery Fund is delighted to be supporting the Trust to develop inspirational projects in each nation and region of the UK. The funding will allow the Legacy Trust to play a significant role in ensuring that people across the UK are able to take part in activities that embody the spirit of the 2012 Games and generate a lasting impact on communities.”

Sarah Weir, Executive Director, Arts Council England, London, said: “Delivering a truly creative Cultural Olympiad is one of our priorities in the coming years, and we are delighted that our £5 million endowment to Legacy Trust UK will help support a greater number of innovative artistic projects across the country. We look forward to working with the Trust to develop its plans to create a true lasting legacy for this remarkable time ahead.”

Stuart Fraser, Deputy Chairman of Policy at the City of London Corporation, said before attending the launch: “The Olympic & Paralympic Games last a matter of days but through the Legacy Trust UK the benefits will be felt for decades. The international City thrives by its position at the heart of London and welcomes the Legacy Trust UK as a way of enhancing for all time the whole nation's cultural assets.”

Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury said “I hope the 2012 Games will give rise to a celebration of sport and culture across the whole of the UK, and won't just be about what happens in the Olympic Park in London, however important that will be.  And the issue of legacy, deep down at community level, will be every bit as vital for the whole of London as for the rest of the country.  Quite simply, everyone has to feel that they're a part of it.  And the Legacy Trust's work will be one of the ways we can help that to happen.”

Notes to editors

The City of London led a consortium that included the East London Business Alliance, Business in the Community, Yorkshire Forward and TimeBank.  This consortium was one of several that put forward proposals to the funders (DCMS, Big Lottery Fund and Arts Council England) as to how the fund should be spent.

The board of Legacy Trust UK was appointed by the funders after an open advertisement for expressions of interest. Dugald Mackie was until recently assistant principal of the University of Manchester, having previously been the secretary of the University of Glasgow.

For further information call: 020 7211 1888

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