About Bath Women’s Fund

Bath Women’s Fund is a giving circle - which means we pool and give funds to local groups. We bring together local women to support and celebrate women’s philanthropy in Bath and the surrounding area.

We hold events where members get to meet each other and hear directly from local women leaders. At recent events we had a tour of Cleveland Pools’ newly restored lido; learned about the challenges facing unpaid carers at The Carers’ Centre; and met local women tech entrepreneurs at The Studio.

Giving Circles

A giving circle is a type of collective giving where people come together to pool their resources so that their combined gifts can make a bigger difference. People join a giving circle because they want to make a difference, connect with others, learn and have fun.

Bath Women’s Fund is part of a growing, global movement of Giving Circles. Giving circles have been around for many years. They are increasingly popular and the number has tripled in the US over the last decade. Outside the US there are estimated to be 426 circles with 42,200 members giving out $45.74 million in grants.

Find out more from our friends at Philanthropy Together: ‘What is a Giving Circle?’ ‘Your Invitation to Disrupt Philanthropy’ TED talk by Sara Lomelin.

How it Works

Each Bath Women’s Fund member donates £25 per month (or £20 plus Gift Aid) or more if they wish. These donations are pooled and 100% are awarded in grants and donations to local groups. Members decide how the pooled funds are allocated to make the biggest impact. Since our launch in October 2019, we are proud to have given £77,500 to 13 organisations.

Who can join?

We welcome everyone who shares our aims and values. Our members work and volunteer in a wide range of roles. See our meet a member section to hear some of our members talk about what they do and why they are part of Bath Women’s Fund.

Our values

We are committed to promoting equal opportunities and to valuing diversity regardless of age, gender, race, ethnic origin, nationality, religion/belief, culture, language, disability, learning difficulty, sexual orientation, marital status, economic status, health status, or any other discriminatory grounds. Bath Women’s Fund is inclusive within the class of women and girls: grants will be made to all women, including trans women and gender non-conforming women.

Our plans

We are working toward having 100 members.

We aim to have more money to give out.

We will increase the diversity of our membership to make sure that we are truly including women from under-represented backgrounds.

We are developing a sponsorship scheme. We already have some members ‘paying it forward’ to enable other women to join, and we will build on that.

Together we will build a movement that is a powerful force for good.