HOME | Womens Fund

The WBOP Women’s Fund is a group of generous locals who collectively give to support women, girls, and whanau in the Western Bay. It is where generosity meets impact, and women empower women to create a lasting ripple of change in our region.

Ka mua, ka muri - Walking backwards into the future.

Walking backwards into the future signifies the interconnectedness of past, present, and future actions, suggesting that our actions have consequences that ripple forward in time.

Creating a lasting ripple of change in our region.

Our Story in Numbers

79K

Total donated to the fund

Charities supported

30K

Total gifted to charities

126

Members

"I'm incredibly proud to be part of the Western Bay of Plenty Women's Fund and the amazing community behind it. What makes me even prouder is that we’re not just giving for today, we’re building a lasting fund for future generations of women and our community."

- Keryn Jarvis, Committee Member

Women are not waiting to be invited to the philanthropy table, they are building their own, and pulling up chairs for their friends.

Become a member!

Join our kaupapa and help make a change.

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Meet our latest recipients

Each year, the fund supports charities that support women, girls and whānau in the Western Bay of Plenty. Charities are chosen based on nominations made by the fund's members. We have now gifted a total of $30,000 over the last two years. Below are our 2026 recipients. Our 2025 recipients were: Tauranga Women's Refuge, Tauranga Living Without Violence and Mums4Mums.

St Peters House

2026 Recipient

St Peters House has been consistently supporting the Tauranga and Western Bay community since 1988. The WBOP Women's Fund grant of $5,000 will go directly towards St Peters House's women's courses.

These women-only groups provide a safe, supportive space to explore self-worth, values, boundaries, grief and self-care, running four times a year. Participants consistently emerge with greater confidence, stronger life skills and healthier relationships.

Tipu Skills for Life

2026 Recipient

Tipu Skills for Life is a long-term, early intervention therapeutic programme designed for 9 to 11-year-olds with a simple powerful vision: to empower young people with skills for life, so they can imagine and grow a positive future.

The WBOP Women's Fund grant of $5,000 will help Tipu deliver one of these programmes in a local Tauranga school, reaching tamariki and whānau who need it most.

He Kaupapa Kotahitanga Trust - Huia House

2026 Recipient

Huia House is a new transitional home for older wāhine in Tauranga who are experiencing homelessness, a group whose needs are often invisible in our community. Residents receive wraparound support including help with healthcare, budgeting, employment and reconnecting with whānau, giving them a real path to stability and independence.

The $5,000 grant from WBOP Women's Fund supported the essential set-up costs for Huia House, including whiteware, bedding and key household supplies.

Indy and Jazz are our youth representatives, bringing a fresh perspective @taurangagirlscollege and @katikati.college to the Women's Fund committee table. Enjoy hearing what their peers share about confidence, community, and what women supporting women really looks like.

Something beautiful happened at our Member Connect @the_incubator_tauranga Creative Hub in March. 🎨🖌

Members contributed to a collaborative banner, creating a piece of artwork that we now use as a symbol of who we are as a Fund: individual members, each bringing something different, working together for wāhine, girls and whānau across the Western Bay of Plenty.

Ngā mihi to everyone who picked up a paintbrush with us.

Proud to share that the WBOP Women's Fund supported Huia House with a $5,000 grant this year.

Huia House, opened by He Kaupapa Kotahitanga Trust, is a new transitional home for older wāhine in Tauranga facing homelessness. Beyond a roof, residents get support with healthcare, budgeting, employment and reconnecting with community, real tools for rebuilding independence.

Older women's homelessness is often hidden. We're glad to help change that.

Recently, a local playgroup and friends chose to make their ball a "Ball with Benefits" by supporting the Western Bay of Plenty Women's Fund. Their generosity will continue making a difference long after the last dance. 💃

If you're planning a supper club, celebration, gathering, or special event, consider incorporating a charitable element. By supporting the Women's Fund, your contribution becomes part of a permanent endowment that will keep giving to local women and girls for generations to come.

A simple act of generosity today can create opportunities far beyond your event. Thank you to these Mums for showing up for our community in the most beautiful way. 🩵

Featured: Event organisers Sonja Motus and Steph Willmann.

Want to give and build meaningful connections?

Our regular giving circle is more than a monthly donation. It's a community of women who show up for each other and for the women and whānau of the Western Bay of Plenty.

As a regular giver, you'll receive exclusive invitations to our social events throughout the year, be the first to hear our finalist announcements, and join a circle of inspiring, like-minded women making real change in our community.

Monthly giving can be set up for any amount, and every regular gift helps us plan ahead and confidently forecast how much funding we can put into our community each year.

If this sounds like your type of giving, click the link in our bio 🩵

Images: WBOP Women's Fund 2nd Anniversary of Collective Giving

Our final 2026 recipient is @awhinahouse . Awhina House provides safe transitional housing and wrap-around care for wāhine experiencing homelessness in Tauranga Moana.

A huge thank you to Roharia Borell, Operations Manager at Awhina House, for joining us on Saturday. The passion you and your kaimahi have for this kaupapa was clear to everyone in the room. You spoke so honestly and powerfully about the realities these wāhine are facing right here in our community, and we are grateful you shared that with us.

The WBOP Women's Fund grant of $5,000 will help Awhina House create a safe, functional and welcoming home environment for wāhine aged 55 and over. The funds will go towards essential set-up costs, including whiteware, bedding and key household supplies, the practical things that turn a house into a home.

Thank you, Awhina House, for opening your doors to wāhine who need it most

Our next recipient is @tipuskillsforlife! Tipu is a long-term, early intervention therapeutic programme with a simple but powerful vision: to empower young people with skills for life, so they can imagine and grow a positive future.

The programme is designed for 9 to 11 year olds, with six participants in each group, offering a safe and nurturing space to build emotional resilience, confidence, and healthy relationships. Year-round mentoring is also available for some participants beyond the programme itself.

The WBOP Women's Fund grant of $5,000 will help Tipu deliver one of these programmes in a local Tauranga school, reaching tamariki and whānau who need it most.

The feedback from whānau, participants and referees says it all:

"I learned that I am priceless, no matter what anyone says, and that I can do anything I put my mind to."
"My girl has learned how to handle her emotions and share them with her sister."
"She is not afraid to take some leadership roles and comes to school on time now, happy."

This is early intervention at its best, building skills and confidence in young girls that will serve them, their whānau and their communities for a lifetime.

Thank you, Tipu Skills for Life, for the incredible mahi you do. 🩵

We were deeply moved by the words of St Peters House manager, Cath Page, at our anniversary lunch. The organisation has been quietly and consistently showing up for the Tauranga and Western Bay community since 1988.

The WBOP Women's Fund grant of $5,000 will go directly towards St Peters House's women's courses, and we couldn't be prouder.

These women-only groups provide a safe, supportive space to explore self-worth, values, boundaries, grief and self-care, running four times a year.

The impact speaks for itself. Participants consistently emerge with greater confidence, stronger life skills and healthier relationships. Many go on to re-engage with their communities through volunteering, study or work. The ripple effects reach into families and whānau too.

As one participant shared: "Before the course, I lost all my confidence and developed fear and anxiety. Now I have a stronger sense of belonging and am building myself up again."

This is the kind of change our fund exists to support. Thank you to everyone who made it possible 🩵

#wbopwomensfund #stpetershouse #womensupportingwomen #taurangacommunity #westernbayofplenty

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@westernbaywomensfund

Creating a lasting ripple of change in our region.

Our Story in Numbers

Total donated to the fund

Charities supported

Total gifted to charities

Members

Become a member!

Meet our latest recipients

St Peters House

2026 Recipient

Tipu Skills for Life

2026 Recipient

He Kaupapa Kotahitanga Trust - Huia House

2026 Recipient

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