The Foundation were offering a range of workshops, programmes and events in the environment of a working ecovillage and at Cluny Hill Hotel in nearby Forres.

[4][5] In the late 1940s Sheena Govan emerged as an informal spiritual teacher to a small circle that included her then-husband, Peter Caddy, and Dorothy Maclean.

[7] In the early 1960s, Caddy, along with others who called themselves channellers, believed that they were in contact with extraterrestrials through telepathy, and prepared a landing strip for flying saucers at nearby Cluny Hill.

He and Eileen settled in a caravan near the village of Findhorn; an annex was built in early 1963, so that Maclean could live close to the Caddy family.

[9] Maclean initially followed practices from the Sufi group centred on the teachings of Inayat Khan, and from this developed her contact with the divine to focus upon communication with 'nature spirits' which she named as devas.

[3][7] Many others were involved with varying importance and influences in the early years, from Lena Lamont, part of Sheena Govan's circle, who lived in her caravan with her family and who shunned publicity, to those whom Peter Caddy met as he travelled in British New Age circles: among them Robert Ogilvie Crombie (ROC), who wrote of nature spirits in The Findhorn Garden;[13] Sir George Trevelyan who formed the Wrekin Trust;[14] Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke, Liebie Pugh, and Joan Hartnell-Beavis.

[19] Scotland’s Sunday Post newspaper reported that he had been distressed to learn that because of restructuring plans he was one of 50 staff who would have to leave Findhorn, where many had worked long-term for housing, food and minimal wages.

[19] The fire and the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns forced the Foundation to cease its educational activities by September 2023,[20] marking a significant shift in its operational model.

Each year a council and two listener-conveners are elected by the membership of the NFA, who organise monthly community meetings to decide upon community-wide issues.

[27] The Management team consults with the council, which consists of approximately 40 "committed members" who "meet regularly to discuss issues and participate in team-building activities".

These include Ekopia, Moray Steiner School, the Phoenix Community Store,[28] Trees for Life (Scotland)[29] and The Isle of Erraid.

[30] Physically, Findhorn Ecovillage is based at The Park, where the Foundation's belief in sustainability is expressed in the built environment with 'ecological' houses, innovative use of building materials such as local stone and straw bales, and applied technology in the Living Machine sewage treatment facility and electricity-generating wind turbines.

The Ecovillage is intended to be a tangible demonstration of the links between the spiritual, social, ecological and economic aspects of life, for use as a teaching resource.

[5] The Findhorn Foundation is a member of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGO), attends the Sustainable Development Committee meetings and is a founding member of the following NGO groups active at the UN Headquarters in New York: The Earth Values Caucus,[31] The Spiritual Caucus,[32] and The NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns.