Announcement: We’ll be closing the Connection Coalition in June

We have decided to close the Connection Coalition at the end of June 2024. 

The Connection Coalition was formed in April 2020 and grew from 10 organisations in 2020, to 600+ organisations today. Along with the More in Common Network, the Great Get Together, and our work in West Yorkshire, it has formed an important part of our Stronger Communities workstream at the Foundation. 

The Connection Coalition has been important for many people and organisations, particularly through the crisis of disconnection brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, and we understand this will be sad news for many people. 

As a small charity, we have to focus our efforts on where we can make the most impact with the resources we have. The Connection Coalition was only originally intended to be a short-term network to see us through the pandemic, and rather than seeking funding to continue running it, from June we are choosing to focus on connecting communities through our work in West Yorkshire, the national More in Common Network, and the Great Get Together, which this year will be taking place on what would have been Jo Cox’s 50th birthday.

We would like to thank all those who have connected through the network, shared expertise, learned from each other and supported us to influence government action. We understand that this closure comes at a time of change in the national loneliness sector, not least with the recent closures of The Cares Family and The Campaign to End Loneliness. Despite these closures, loneliness doesn’t go away, and it remains a priority of The Jo Cox Foundation to create less lonely, better-connected communities across the UK. 

We will be running our monthly informal get togethers and fortnightly newsletters for Connection Coalition members until the end of June, and in the coming weeks we will share with members more about how they can continue to be part of our Stronger Communities work beyond June. 

We are committed to ending the Connection Coalition well and we are embracing the principles developed by our friends at The Decelerator. We recognise that endings are part of the inevitable cycles of change and renewal, but understand that members may have emotional reactions to this news, which is why we have already provided space for those members who are likely to be most impacted by this ending to share their thoughts and feelings with us. One of our main areas of focus in closing the Connection Coalition is to capture and share our learning from the past four years, in order to contribute to the necessary discussions about what is next for all of us who are committed to reducing loneliness and prioritising social connection in the UK.

For any enquiries, please get in touch.