Bath Women's Fund

Each year, our members get the opportunity to vote on our grant funding theme. This year, our grant funding theme is: Improving the health and wellbeing of women and girls – especially those most affected by health inequality. Definition: Health inequalities are unfair and avoidable differences in health across the population, and between different groups within society. These include how long people are likely to live, the health conditions they may experience and the care that is available to them. The Gender Health Gap 2024 campaign by Fawcett Society and Benenden Health revealed: – Nearly two thirds (60%) of women in the UK believe their health issues are not taken seriously  – More than half (57%) of women have had a negative experience with a healthcare professional – The UK is losing 150 million working days each year due to women's poor health and a lack of suitable support And the Sir Michael Marmot Review from Fair Society Healthy Lives says “Health inequalities result from social inequalities. Action on health inequalities requires action across all the social determinants of health”. Improving health and wellbeing and reducing health inequality is matter of fairness and social justice, and will benefit society in so many ways. So it is vital that we support local organisations to empower individuals and local communities, not only with prevention and early intervention to help address health inequality, but with services that tackle social issues of deprivation, poverty, debt, housing, homelessness, education, isolation, loneliness and social networks. You can read more about NHS England’s National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme here: https://lnkd.in/dK3AENDS We are now closed to applications and are busy considering all the requests. We will share more information on our shortlist in the coming months and will vote to decide who gets the main grant of £15,000 at our Grant Awards Evening in June. If you are interested in becoming a member and would like to find out more, check out our website: https://lnkd.in/eTQRTax #FiveYearsOfGiving #BathWomensFund #Philanthropy #GivingCircles #JoinBathWomensFund #healthinequality

In May, we will announce the three organisations that have been shortlisted for our 2025 grants programme, which is really exciting! We have thoroughly enjoyed sharing the stories of the charities we have helped support over the past five years with grants from Bath Women’s Fund. This week we’d like to introduce a fantastic charity, Mentoring Plus - Bath & North East Somerset, who provide help and support to children and young people across Bath & North East Somerset that are facing tough challenges with school, family or their wellbeing. In 2020, we awarded them our first ever grant of £10,000. Mentoring Plus has a vision of a world where all young people can feel safe, feel heard and feel hopeful for their future. This grant went towards their Girls Group project, that provided workshops for 11-19 year old girls to engage in activities and discussion sessions, exploring issues around feminism and learning from inspirational female role models. The young people they work with are often struggling in school, or struggling to engage with peer groups, and need some adult support, and the aim of the project is to empower the girls to realise their potential and find their voice within their own communities. “I'm really proud of the work we did. It wasn't quite the work we hoped to do, which was entirely down to the circumstances we were in at the time (lockdown). But I'm particularly proud of how the professionals and the girls supported each other, which was made significantly more difficult when so much contact had gone online. It felt really significant and important to be doing that work with that group at that time.” Ruth Keily, Mentoring Plus You can read more about it here: https://lnkd.in/edHGuSDx Over the past five years we have donated over £100,000 to local organisations for projects to support women and girls. Together, we can do better! #FiveYearsOfGiving #BathWomensFund #Philanthropy #GivingCircles #JoinBathWomensFund

“I am passionate about women coming together across all ethnicities, religions and age groups, in allyship and to create impactful lasting change in a world that is crying out for community, empathy and kindness.” Welcome to Meet our Members!  This month, we’d like to introduce you to Yvonne. Yvonne joined Bath Women’s Fund when it first launched in 2018 with zero knowledge of funding circles and left feeling encouraged by what was possible. Paying it forward has since become one of her life principles and she felt aligned with the vision of Bath Women’s Fund of being stronger together. As a coach and life skills trainer, Yvonne has had a connection with the health and fitness world for 40-years. She has co-founded a business network group, co-founded a training company in Jordan, and delivers corporate training and coaching to women transitioning from employee roles to self-employment. She is passionate about women’s health and the impact our behaviours around self-care have on future generations, and believes we have a responsibility to nurture ourselves not only for our personal wellbeing but as role models. Guiding and resourcing women with the tools to build their lives, through self-care and mastering the art of growing through change, fulfils her soul. Her mission is to help women embody confidence and joy, so they can thrive and put their brilliance out into the world from a place of energy. You can read more about Yvonne here… https://lnkd.in/efAzKUiP Our members, along with local news, also feature in our newsletter – sign up here if you’d like regular updates: https://lnkd.in/eKjFECDg #FiveYearsOfGiving #BathWomensFund #Philanthropy #GivingCircles #JoinBathWomensFund

Applications now open for Big Give’s Women and Girls Match Fund campaign "The women and girls sector is grappling with rising challenges and receives only 1.8% of UK grants from Trusts and Foundations. Our campaign aims to address this by empowering women and girls charities to excel in digital fundraising. We are passionate about helping women and girls to dream freely, achieve proudly, and live boldly. By enhancing digital fundraising skills and confidence, we aim to drive greater support and recognition to these vital projects." The Women and Girls Match Fund campaign will take place across a week in the Autumn, including Give to Women and Girls Day on 11th October. Deadline for applications: 30th May 2025 Find out more about the campaign and how to get involved at: https://lnkd.in/ebPpJ7A3

What an inspiring start to the Bath Arts Collective Curious Minds Festival! Baroness Sue Campbell, The Game Changer, in conversation with Helen Donovan about her amazing career bringing the transformative power of sport to so many, from her early days as a PE Teacher to overseeing the 2012 Olympics and the Lionesses’ success as European Champions in 2022 and reaching the World Cup final in 2023 as Director of Women’s Football at the FA. Her passion and leadership in women's sport continues as Chair of England Netball. This amazing event finished with Sue's wise words from the back cover of the book: "You just have to have the courage and determination to swim upstream." Fantastic programme of events for the rest of March so don't miss the chance to get curious: https://lnkd.in/epZAwnPS #WomensSport #Leadership

Thanks to Hannah Wilson for telling us about Sandi Toksvig's Mappa Mundi Project and her brilliant “Eve’s Byte of the Apple” lecture at Darwin College, University of Cambridge. The Mappa Mundi Project is creating a global interactive digital platform telling women’s stories worldwide. Very relevant as we were walking around Bath highlighting untold history and stories of women in our city. "In this lecture, she considers how the evolution of information technology has been historically biased against women, continuing that bias to the present day. Most importantly, she asks what might be done about it." https://lnkd.in/edsPiGh8

Beautiful day for our #InternationalWomensDay walk with BANES WLN sharing stories of some of the amazing women and girls who have lived or worked in Bath. This photo is taken at the Royal Crescent, learning about the determined and talented Ann Ford (later Mrs Thicknesse) who you can read more about at https://lnkd.in/ehi_CnYs with an image of the Gainsborough portrait that caused outrage at the time. Our next Potluck Picnic event is focused on female creativity at Persephone Books, all welcome: https://lnkd.in/e2x-Q2Qm

“Through the events I’ve learnt about so much – space, slavery, trees, carers, criminal justice, creativity, mental health, the list just goes on…” Not only do our members love getting to actively take part in the grant giving process, but they also really enjoy attending our events. We host a number of events throughout the year, and it’s a way of enabling us all to get together, build our community and learn more about local organisations. We’ve held events across the city from Bath City Farm to Bath City FC Foundation, from the Egg Theatre to the Fashion Museum, and from Bath Abbey to Cleveland Pools Trust, to name but a few! This month alone we are involved in three fabulous events: On 7th March, as part of their International Women’s Day celebrations, Bath and Brew House are hosting an event with female acts performing music, with Bath Carnival in the garden, and spoken word. They will be putting on the Suffrajitsu beer and donating some of the funds to the Bath Women’s Fund grant giving pot, which is wonderful! We will also be doing a ‘Women and Girls of Bath’ Treasure Hunt on 9th March, discovering amazing women from Bath’s history, with BANES WLN. And lastly, our next Potluck Picnic is on the 24th March and it’s going to be amazing! We are delighted to have Francesca Beauman from Persephone Books, Kate Abbey from Bath Arts Collective and joanna mawdsley from the new Fashion Museum Bath talking to us about women and creativity – prepare to be inspired, it’s not to be missed! “My most favourite event was when VOICES told their story and I felt compelled to support. It quite literally changed the shape of my post paid work life.” If you are interested in finding our more about Bath Women’s Fund, then why not come along to one of our events. https://lnkd.in/dCH3WRyt #FiveYearsOfGiving #BathWomensFund #Philanthropy #GivingCircles #JoinBathWomensFund

Thanks to Huda Jawad for raising awareness about the mental health toll for small charity leaders, sharing your experience and your clear call to action. "The expectation that small charities should operate with minimal overheads while delivering crucial social justice work is both unrealistic and harmful. Philanthropy and social justice organisations need to acknowledge that investing in staff wellbeing is not a luxury but a necessity." Please read Huda's full article at: https://lnkd.in/eC9STc4j

“I am really passionate about fairness and inclusion, specifically for gender equality. I am particularly keen to advocate for girls having a kinder experience as they navigate the teen years.” Welcome to Meet our Members!  This month, we’d like to introduce you to Marsha. Marsha is the founding director of Mighty Girls CIC - a not for profit organisation that runs groups and creative workshops to support girls' wellbeing and confidence. With less than 2% of all national charitable funding going to groups specifically for women and girls, she is passionate about funding reaching girls and young women's projects and activities. Marsha believes in the power of community, and felt that joining a Giving Circle like Bath Women's Fund seemed like a dynamic way of contributing to projects locally – to help people help themselves, and find out more about the different organisations supporting and empowering girls in the Bath. You can read more about Marsha here… https://lnkd.in/eA3XKTbM Our members, along with local news, also feature in our newsletter – sign up here if you’d like regular updates: https://lnkd.in/eKjFECDg #FiveYearsOfGiving #BathWomensFund #Philanthropy #GivingCircles #JoinBathWomensFund