Sport and Recreation Alliance takes over assets of volunteer charity Join In

Sport volunteer charity Join In Trust has closed its doors, with all its assets moving over to a consortium headed up by the Sport and Recreation Alliance.

Join In was established in 2012 to create a volunteering legacy following the London Olympics of the same year.

While the charity was originally funded by the Cabinet Office and founding partner BT, Sports Management understands that both have pulled their resources, and Join In failed to find adequate commercial partnerships to make up the shortfall.

According to information held by the Charity Commission, Join In generated £2m (US$2.6m, €2.3m) of income in 2014, down on the £6.5m (US$8.4m, €7.5m) it was granted in 2013.

“While the Join In Trust will not continue past the autumn, we are thrilled that our innovative work on volunteering has become the blueprint for the DCMS sport strategy, and that Sport England has pledged to invest up to £30m (US$38.8m, €34.6m) in a new volunteering strategy, enabling more people to enjoy the benefits of volunteering,” said chief executive Rebecca Birkbeck.

During its four years of operation the body engaged with 8,000 grassroots sports clubs, and recruited and retained more than 100,000 volunteers a year for grassroots sport. Comedian and activist Eddie Izzard was the body's patron.

While the charity will dissolve, the brand will remain under the stewardship of the Alliance and consortium partners Do-it.org, GLL, Jump, Volunteer Kinetic and Volunteering Matters.

However, Sports Management understands that there is no funding partners yet in place for the new consortium.

Emma Boggis, chief executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance, said she was “delighted” to take the brand on.

“Volunteering is fundamental to sport at all levels – without volunteers there would simply be no sport, so investing in volunteers and their experience is vital to the future sustainability of the sector,” she added.