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Author: Anna Perry

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General

Help Share Bristol Grow – Support Our Big Give Fundraiser!

Double your impact and help us bring borrowing to more communities across Bristol.

At Share Bristol, we believe in a world where everyone can borrow instead of buy. Our Library of Things lets people borrow everything from drills to disco balls, helping reduce waste, save money, and build stronger communities. But we want to do more — and we need your help.

From midday on Monday 23rd to Monday 30th June 2025, we’re taking part in the Big Give Small Charity Week, and every donation you make will be doubled!

Make a donation through our fundraiser, or use the site to pay for your annual membership, and your £50 becomes £100! Plus your support helps us:

    • Plan towards opening our next Library of Things location in the Bristol area

    • Keep our Library of Things well-stocked with Things to borrow

    • Reach more people with affordable, sustainable borrowing

    • Keep our service accessible to everyone, no matter their income

How you can help:

    • Donate now, purchase or renew your membership, via our Big Give page: tinyurl.com/ShareBristol2025
    • To purchase or renew a membership on our Big Give Page simply make a donation for the correct amount of the membership cost, leave your contact details and we will contact you to confirm when you would like your membership/renewal to start. You will not lose out if your renewal date is not now – we will add an extra year from the date your renewal is due.
      • Membership costs:
        • Standard membership: £50 (less than a pound a week!)
        • Supporter membership: £80 (subsidises one Concession member)
        • Concession: £20, if you’re unable to afford our Standard rates

    • Share the campaign with friends, family, and colleagues

    • Tell your story—have you borrowed from us? Let others know how it helped you!

    • Together, we can make borrowing the norm and buying the exception. Let’s build a greener, fairer Bristol—one borrowed Thing at a time.

Categories
Bedminster

Sharing our space, sharing our resources

Bedminster opening
Photo credit: Titch Photographic

Everyone knows that we are all about sharing, here at Share Bristol, but we are about to take this to the next level!

We are delighted to announce that Share Bristol Bedminster will now be home to a Community Hub, offering a range of activities and resources for young people and adults. The Community Hub is one of the activities being delivered as part of the City Centre and High Streets Programme, funded by Bristol City Council and the West of England Combined Authority.

This, alongside support from the Wessex Water Environment Fund, has already resulted in us being able to extend our opening hours in Bedminster – from 1st July we have been open on Mondays from 5pm to 8pm. Our next steps involve recruiting a Community Hub Coordinator to manage all the activities that will take place, and to ask local organisations to get in touch and tell us what activities they would like to deliver from the Hub.

Our vision is that everybody shares, and we hope that by hosting this Community Hub at Share Bristol Bedminster we will bring greater awareness to the Library of Things movement and encourage more people to join our community and start sharing. And of course many of the activities will involve sharing things (including some of our Things to borrow), resources, skills, ideas and general good times.

If you would like to get involved, as our new Community Hub Coordinator, as an organisation who would like to deliver activities from the Hub, or as a volunteer, then please email us at hello@sharebristol.igocode.com.

Bristol City Council logo
West of England Combined Authority
Categories
Bedminster

Share Bristol Bedminster: Opening Party

Photo credit: Titch Photographic

On Wednesday 12th June, Share Bristol welcomed the people of Bedminster, Southville and beyond to our new Library of Things on East Street, located in the St Catherine’s Place shopping precinct. The Bedminster Library of Things is now the only occupied shop in the shopping centre, as the rest of the area is being redeveloped.

Joe Sims, of BBC Bristol was invited to cut the ribbon – but jokingly insisted he would only do the deed if he could cut it with giant shears. These were provided, as we have several pairs to lend out, but it turns out they aren’t really suited to cutting thin ribbon! He finally managed to chop through it though, to huge cheers from the assembled onlookers, who then trundled into the Share Bristol Bedminster to feast on goodies donated by Essential, Loungers and Bristol Beer Factory, with extras funded by Barcan and Kirby.

Around 70 people turned out to inspect the new location, bringing much needed life to the heart of East St.

We hope that Bedminster’s Library of Things will become the first place people think of going when they need something for around the house, garden or for a trip, but also that it becomes a true hub for the community – bringing people to the area for a variety of activities centred around sharing things, resources and knowledge.

Share Bristol Bedminster already has around a couple of hundred Things available, and more are being added every week. Many people assume that Share Bristol is primarily a tool library, but actually carpet cleaners, gazebos and pressure washers are just as popular as DIY tools.

The biggest thing donated to the charity so far is a roof box for a car, whilst the smallest is probably a tiny allen key.

We would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has helped us get to this stage and get our second Library of Things location open – too many people to list, but we are grateful to you all. 

Categories
Bedminster

Share Bristol Bedminster takes first steps

On Wednesday 1st May, a group of dedicated volunteers and our Bedminster Library Manager, Lisa, opened the doors of Share Bristol Bedminster to the public for the first time. 

Whilst getting the new location fully up to speed is still a work in progress, we wanted people in south Bristol to have access to the Things they need sooner rather than later. So whilst volunteers clean, categorise, test, repair and service Thing donations at the Library of Things in East Street, people interested in joining Share Bristol can come in for a chat, sign up and start borrowing. 

The first week of lending saw six members borrow 12 Things, but only one of those members was brand new – the others have been borrowing from Share Bristol Kingswood for a while, but find that Bedminster is more convenient now it is open. 

TJ popped in to borrow a sander, and said, “I’m doing up my house and I’ve borrowed dozens of DIY tools from Share Bristol Kingswood, which has saved me so much money. Recently I wanted to borrow a sander but the type I wanted was only available at Share Bristol Bedminster on the day I needed it. So, I headed down to East Street to check out the new location and found it just as easy and convenient as usual – and it was nice to meet some different volunteers!”

For now, the Bedminster Library of Things is open on Wednesdays from 12 to 2pm and Saturdays from 10 to 2pm and has a limited number of Things to borrow. But with a grand opening planned for the middle of June, we are hopeful that over the next month we will receive many more donations of Things and many more local people signing up to be volunteers. 

If you can help with any of this, please let us know! You can find a list of Things we need here, and details of what volunteering for Share Bristol involves and how to sign up here.

The door to Share Bristol Bedminster opens into the Library of Things
Categories
Bedminster

‘Maybe May’ for Share Bristol Bedminster

We have been talking about opening a Library of Things in Bedminster for many months – we were thinking about April, but then it seemed like it may be May, but it is now actually happening! 

Anna Ralph, one of our Trustees, says: ‘After months of preparation and hard work, we are opening the doors of Bedminster’s Library of Things for the first lending session on Wednesday 1st May. However, this is very definitely a gradual opening, so we are calling this ‘Maybe May’ for Share Bristol.’  

But what does Maybe May mean? Well it means we’re taking our first steps at running a Library of Things across two locations and it MAY not all go smoothly as we would like but MAYbe you can help us with that by volunteering some time or donating a Thing to lend out? 

So Maybe May means bear with us, we’re working hard to get Share Bristol Bedminster open as soon as possible so people can start sharing, but it isn’t going to be perfect from day one. When we opened Share Bristol Kingswood we only opened on Saturdays until we recruited more volunteers, and had about a fifth of the Things to borrow we have now! Share Bristol Bedminster is already off to a stronger start though, thanks to the fantastic support of our south Bristol volunteers and supporters. 

We’re hoping that with the doors open we will recruit even more volunteers and get more donations of Things to lend out, so do have a think about whether you can spare some time or have something in your house that you never use which could be of use to the community. 

We’re working on an official opening in June, but until then we will be open on Wednesdays from 12 to 2pm and Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. And if these opening times don’t suit you or we don’t have the Thing you want to borrow, remember that when you join Share Bristol you can borrow from Bedminster or Kingswood Library of Things – you just have to remember to pick the Thing up from the right place, and drop it back to where you got it from. 

So, MAYbe (hopefully) we will be seeing you in Bedminster soon! (Or Kingswood). And thank you so much for your patience!

Categories
Bedminster

Share Bristol has been heading south for a while….

Share Bristol Bedminster Library of Things

...but it looks like our Bedminster dreams are finally coming true

After a year in the planning, at the beginning of March we finally signed the lease for a unit in Bedminster, allowing us to finally bring the sharing experience to south Bristol. 

Probably the most common question we’ve been asked over the last few months is where the Bedminster Library of Things was going to be, but we weren’t allowed to say until everything was signed, sealed and delivered. Now we can finally reveal that the location will be 47 – 49 East St, Bedminster, BS3 4HB. To save you heading for a mapping app, this unit is more commonly known as Shoezone, at the entrance to St Catherine’s Place. 

We’re very grateful to Firmstone, the developers of the building, for granting us a lease of up to two years, the 63 people who donated to the Aviva Crowdfunder appeal last year, and Bristol City Council who have pledged a grant to help us get the unit back into a fit state. Plus all the people who have donated Things for us to lend out, and our BS3 volunteers who have been waiting patiently for this news. 

We still need more donations of Things to lend out, so please check out our wishlist, we need more volunteers to help us fix things and run lending sessions, and we need the wonderful BS3 community to support us by signing up for an annual membership, which will allow a full year of borrowing for free. 

With a fair wind behind us (by which we mean the dedication of our amazing volunteers), we plan to open Share Bristol Bedminster in April 2024, so watch this space and please help where you can! 

Categories
General Recruitment

Join our Trustee team

We’ve just become a charity and we’re looking for two new Trustees. If you’re an expert in marketing or finance, then read on! 

Share Bristol logo - square

At Share Bristol, our vision is that everybody shares. And on our Board, this means sharing responsibility for the organisation and its running. 

We are a collaborative team, with each Trustee having responsibility for a particular area or project, and a flat decision making structure, with no Chair of Trustees. We communicate frequently through our project management software so we know what each other are up to and get feedback before we act if appropriate. Whilst we make our big decisions by consensus, we aren’t a talking shop – we understand who has subject matter expertise, and trust and empower them to make decisions where needed. 

We’re looking for two people in particular to join our team:
– Finance lead – someone who is as happy paying invoices and instructing our external payroll company as they are preparing management accounts and predicting our cashflow
– Marketing and engagement lead – someone who has expertise in marketing strategy, able to take the wide view on how we persuade everyone in Bristol to borrow instead of buy, our existing members to renew their memberships year after year and to build relationships with other organisations

Of course, everyone who joins our Board of Trustees has to care about what we’re doing – being passionate about sustainability and keen to help local communities, as well as able to work effectively as part of our team. 

Although at the moment our Library is only in Kingswood, we will be opening in Bedminster soon, and have plans to expand across the city. So please don’t think you shouldn’t apply because we aren’t local to you – join us and help us open a Library in your local area as well as take the lead on one of the areas above. 

All the details of our Trustee recruitment process is on our website (here), so have a look and then get in touch and share your skills and experience! 

Categories
General Recruitment

An eye for detail?

Looking at documents

As Share Bristol steps up to be a registered charity, we need some help to ensure we are excellently run.

Do you have an eye for detail? Consider yourself a reliable, safe pair of hands? Have experience of or aspire to work with a Board of Trustees? Care about the environment and want to actually make a difference in your local area? 

We recently transitioned from a Community Interest Company to a Registered Charity (read our blog on this here), and this has increased the regulatory requirements on our small organisation. We pride ourselves on doing things well and professionally, and want to ensure we meet all the standards rightly expected of charities, and ideally exceed them. 

Our Trustee team each have a portfolio of responsibilities, such as finance or fundraising, and also spend hours each month volunteering in a Library of Things. But we don’t have anyone whose focus is on governance and compliance, and, from our experience elsewhere, we think an objective Company or Board Secretary would really help. 

Although there are some things that we definitely want this person to do for us, and with us, there are also lots of other opportunities to get involved, depending on your interests and preferences. We’re a friendly, highly collaborative team, getting involved and supporting each other when needed, and we welcome people from backgrounds that are not well represented in the charity or environmental sector. 

If you think you could work alongside our Board of Trustees, helping us to go from strength to strength and ensure more and more people across Bristol are borrowing instead of buying, please get in touch by emailing hello@sharebristol.igocode.com and telling us a bit about you. 

Categories
General

Share Bristol is changing! 

Yours, Mine, Ours

Until November, our legal name was Share Bristol CIC – with the CIC standing for Community Interest Company, a type of legal structure meaning the organisation couldn’t be used for commercial ends. It was a relatively quick and easy way to set up the organisation back in the middle of COVID-19 lockdowns, but it did have some limitations.

Over the summer, with a bit of pro bono help from the legal eagles at Bevan Brittan and lots of patience from a couple of our more detail-orientated Directors, we worked towards becoming a Registered Charity. In November, we finally got the approval – we are now a charity! So, we’ve lost the CIC from our name, but hope to gain so much more…. 

Firstly, not many people know what a CIC is, but pretty much everyone understands that a charity is there for public good, to provide a really worthwhile service, and that funds cannot be spent on anything except trying to provide that service. So we thought being a charity would be a great way to quickly communicate that we are just here to make the world a better place. 

Secondly, we rely on grants and other donations to make ends meet. As a CIC we weren’t eligible for all grants, but as a charity we should be. And as a charity we can claim Gift Aid on donations from UK taxpayers, which can add 25% to their value.

Thirdly, with plans to open our second site soon, in Bedminster, and to expand across the city after that, we’ve been really worried about the cost of business rates. We don’t have to pay them at the moment, as with one site we are too small to incur them, but that would change as soon as we opened Bedminster. As a charity, we hope to get relief from the vast majority of business rates – making the chances of each Library covering its costs much more realistic. 

So, three good reasons to change we thought. We hope you agree too and can see the sense. 

So what does it mean? 

In practice, for our members and volunteers, it doesn’t mean anything, except that we hope this change will help us be even bigger and better in future. 

For our volunteers on the Board, it changes a lot more. We’re still Directors under company law, but are also now Trustees registered with the Charity Commission, and there are more regulations, governance rules and reporting to make sure we are maintaining the high standards expected of all charities. It will take us a while to get everything updated to reflect our new name and status, and we need to be careful we’re doing everything right. 

We’re looking for a new Trustee actually, to help us with this. So if you know someone who is great with regulations, has an eye for detail and is a safe pair of hands, please let them know we are looking for someone just like them! 

Thank you for your support in helping us get this far. We look forward to the next, charitable, chapter. 

Your Board of Trustees,

Ben, Anna P, Lindsay, Josh, Anna R and Karen

Categories
Bedminster Recruitment

Job opportunity!

Ben throwing his arms up in glee in the Kingswood Library of Things

Are you a practical person who’s great with people? Passionate about reducing waste and pragmatic about how we do that? Do you want to play a key part in helping Bedminster consume less whilst doing more? 

If so, we’ve got an awesome part-time job for you! 

Share Bristol is looking for a Library Manager to look after our Bedminster Library of Things, opening soon. You will be responsible for making sure the Library runs day to day, with the support of a volunteer team, that our members are happy, and that our Things are repaired and maintained. 

We’re offering a minimum of 8 hours work a week to start, at £11 per hour, and free membership of Share Bristol. When you work is open to negotiation – you will need to be available to staff the Library once or twice a week but this will be on a rota with Trustees and volunteers. 

We welcome applications from candidates who are under-represented in the environmental and charity sector.   

To apply, please review the job description and person specification attached, and send a CV and covering letter to hello@sharebristol.igocode.com by 8pm on Wednesday 15th November. 

Library-Manager-Bedminster-JD-PSDownload