Closing Time: counting civil society’s endings
The Decelerator has catalysed this work because of what we hear on our Hotline. Many leaders tell us their ending feels like a failure. Looking back, most also say that with time and support their ending was strategic, respectful and valuable to the communities they serve, even when it was hard. We want to bring closures out of the shadows and give the sector the evidence it needs to support them well.
Initial findings show that the number of civil society organisations closing, merging or handing on their work rose from about 8,000 in 2015 to around 12,500 in 2025. The sector has also grown over that time, but the rate of endings has still gone up, from about 3.4 to 4.6 for every 100 active organisations. A rising number of endings can reflect renewal as well as strain, and we don’t yet know how much of each we’re seeing. Some endings are carefully planned and leave a lasting legacy, while others happen suddenly and communities lose services and relationships with little warning. Most sit somewhere in between. Across the board, The Decelerator sees the cost of the lack of support, funding and vision for endings, and we hope this research can make a difference to those things.
The research is for the people whose decisions shape how endings happen: funders, regulators, policymakers, infrastructure bodies and advisers, as well as the boards and leaders facing these choices. We’ll be sharing findings with them directly and working with them to turn the evidence into better policy, guidance and support. This is an experimental piece of work and we look forward to strengthening it in partnership with the sector in the months, and hopefully years, ahead.
In the first half of 2027 we’ll publish the national picture, along with an early framework to map better and worse endings.
Read the research findings so far on the PBE website and follow along on The Decelerator’s Substack to be the first to hear about new insights when they are published.
Closing Time is funded by Unbound Philanthropy, AB Charitable Trust, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Talent Fund, and we’re very grateful for their support.