Transitioning from Trust to SCIO
Written by Mark Anderson, Chair of Trustees
When the early founders of our Community arrived in Findhorn in the early 1960’s I don’t think they could have imagined the substantial, thriving ecovillage and community which exists today. Indeed, that was partly the point. They didn’t arrive with a specific material vision, they arrived in Findhorn following guidance with a clear intent to work with spirit, trusting that all was and would be very well if they continued to listen to and work with spirit in all its forms.
Dorothy, Eileen and Peter at Findhorn Bay Holiday Park in the 1960s
In his talk to the Community during our 60th birthday celebrations in 2022, David Spangler inspired us to think of all of us together as founders of the next evolutionary phase of our collective experiment. He suggested that the founding spirit should always be present, while remaining true to the deeper impulse of putting spiritual principles and practices at the heart of everyday community life.
We are now at a turning point of what might be the most significant evolutionary development of this work since the 1970’s when David brought a more structured educational impulse to our work, which has grown into the many workshops and programmes of the Foundation over the last 50 years.
David Spangler giving a lecture in the Park Building in the 1970s
As we announced last July, Findhorn Foundation, the charitable trust which has served us well for so long, is in the process of being wound down. In its place a new charity, Findhorn Foundation SCIO*, will be carrying forward the educational purpose and vision of the trust. At the end of last month we announced that Foundation education will be restarting in July, starting on the sacred isle of Iona on the west coast of Scotland.
At the same time that we are launching Findhorn Foundation SCIO, and preparing to restart educational programmes, the work of winding down the charitable trust continues. The energy of holding a winding down and completion process is very different from the energy of starting something new. To support the unfolding and progression of each of these processes in the best way possible, we decided to reduce the overlap between the groups of trustees of each organisation.
The Findhorn Foundation’s retreat house Traigh Bhan – pronounced try van in Scottish Gaelic, meaning ‘white beach’ (photo by Mark Richards)
On Friday 26th April, Findhorn Foundation SCIO trustees met to tune out Kathy Tyler, Nicola Coombe and Francine Rietberg from their role as SCIO trustees, so they can focus on holding the winding down of the charitable trust, along with trust trustees Helen Wildsmith and Paul Dickinson. All have been instrumental in ensuring that Findhorn Foundation SCIO has strong roots in the original Foundation impulse and legacy as we have been preparing for the launch of this SCIO. I will continue as chair of both charities to help maintain a strong bridge while the trust is in the process of winding down.
During our trustee meeting, and in perfect timing, as the email announcing the launch of Findhorn Foundation SCIO was arriving in people’s mailboxes, SCIO trustee Barbara Vacarr ended our process of tuning out Francine, Nicola and Kathy with the following words of blessing, which beautifully capture the hope we all hold for this next step in the evolution of our educational impulse:
Grant this circle the wisdom born of deep listening and discernment, as we co-create with compassion and integrity, let us move toward collective vision and purpose, guided by the timeless principles that anchor us in unity.
May our spirits be uplifted in the spirit of cooperation, as we join to co-create a future where the seeds of harmony and transformation flourish.
In this moment of new beginnings, we offer this prayer, invoking blessings of grace, abundance, and divine guidance. As we embark together on a journey of shared purpose and collective evolution it is with joy, anticipation, and love that we hold this Circle.
Although the legal form of the 50-plus year old Findhorn Foundation is being wound down, the spiritual impulse which led to its creation is very much alive, and not just in the newly launched SCIO. The community at the Park Ecovillage which has grown up through and around the Foundation over five decades is as active as ever. As the Foundation continues to step back from being at the centre of life and activities at the Park, other organisations are stepping forward with fresh energy and enthusiasm.
The Findhorn Ecovillage
As we have announced before, the Foundation has been working closely with Park Ecovillage Trust (PET) which has taken over responsibility for the rebuilding of our new sanctuary at The Park. Although we are blessed with many sanctuaries and quiet places at The Park, having our main community sanctuary operational again will fill a gap we have all felt since the original building was lost to fire in 2021, and we expect the new sanctuary to be open by the end of this year. PET is also playing a key role in other community work with the provision of affordable housing at The Park, caring for people in need through the Caring Community Circle, and working on our ongoing efforts to reduce our collective carbon impact. Visit PET’s website for more information about these projects.
Eileen and Peter Caddy in front of the Sanctuary
We have also been working closely with Ecovillage Findhorn Community Benefit Society, a new organisation set up last year to help ensure a smooth transition of core community assets from the Foundation into community ownership. Like SCIOs, Community Benefit Societies (or BenComs for short) are a relatively new legal form, more appropriate than a charitable trust for holding and operating community assets.
Discussions with Ecovillage Findhorn are actively in progress now, and we hope that over the next year or so, significant parts of The Park and core community assets such as the Universal Hall, the Youth Building and the Family House will be transferred to Ecovillage Findhorn and into community ownership.
The Universal Hall auditorium, which can seat up to 300 people, where many community events are held
In the early decades of the Foundation’s work, there was little distinction between the community and educational aspects of our work. This worked well for many years, and the easy flow between community life and educational programmes became a core part of the Findhorn experience, both for community members and programme participants.
As our local community has grown both in size and complexity, and the expectations and requirements for holding educational programmes have increased, it has been harder and harder over the years to have both aspects realise their full potential within a single organisation. Although the 50-year old Foundation has faced huge challenges in recent years, the winding down of this form is not because we have failed, or because our work is over. Six decades of dedication and hard work have laid the foundations for new organisations to focus on specific aspects of that deeper spiritual purpose – in creative collaboration as we continue to develop and evolve.
Findhorn Foundation SCIO is focusing on holding that educational impulse, teaching the practices and tools to help cultivate deeper connection with all life, and the inner resilience necessary to navigate this complex and ever-evolving world. Building on our rich legacy of work over the last five decades, and working with the principles of inner listening, co-creation with nature and work as love in action, we are responding to the global call for deeper human connection, greater harmony with nature and more love in our world.
Whether you have been with us on the Foundation’s journey for decades, or have only recently discovered our work, I hope that you will find value and meaning in these emerging journeys. Whether it’s through Findhorn Foundation SCIO programmes, or through the activities and projects of PET, Ecovillage Findhorn and the many other organisations and groups here at the Park Ecovillage in Findhorn, we look forward to engaging with you online or in person, wherever your journey leads.
*A SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) is a more modern, appropriate form in which to continue our educational work. The SCIO legal form has only existed for about 15 years – it didn’t exist in 1972 when Findhorn Foundation was originally created.
