Kairos Women+

What Kairos Women+ does

Kairos Women+ is a community-led Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO, charity no. SC050926) operating from the Embroidery Mill in Paisley, Renfrewshire. Founded in 2017 as a project within Active Communities and spun out as an independent charity in August 2021, it serves women+ (inclusive of trans women and non-binary people) across Renfrewshire and beyond through a portfolio of in-person and online programmes. Its offering is organized into Support Spaces (Beautiful Women, Beautiful Me personal development programme, Wellness Group, Recovery Space, Nothing About Us Without Us disability group, ESOL Language Cafe), Social Spaces (The Drop-In, Community Soup, Kairos Kitchen, Creative Cafe), and Making Change initiatives (Equalities Collective campaigning group, Kairos Museum heritage project, A Brew and a Blether podcast, Kairos Chronicle zine, Visible Women+ housing campaign). The offering is delivered by 8 full-time staff, a 5-person Development Team, and a 7-person Trustee Board, with 1,509 volunteer hours contributed in 2024-25.

The underlying technology is intentionally minimal: a WordPress website, Eventbrite for event bookings, JustGiving for donations, Microsoft Outlook for welcome meeting scheduling, Google Analytics and CookieYes for site operations, and WeTransfer for file sharing. The competitive advantage rests on community-led governance, lived-experience staff, and proprietary content assets (the Beautiful Women curriculum licensed from Women's Community Matters, plus co-produced heritage work with Paisley Museum Reimagined and the British Museum).

Revenue is generated through a project-based grant funding model relying on trusts and government bodies (The Robertson Trust, Scottish Government Equality and Human Rights Fund, Renfrewshire Council, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Inspiring Scotland, Culture Heritage and Events Fund), individual donations via JustGiving, fee-based training delivered to external organisations (Equalities Training Package), and heritage talks. Most core services are free to participants, with a few nominal paid elements (e.g., 50p optional snacks, paid training for external teams). Engagement metrics in 2024-25 included 3,228 visits to the space, 2,634 activity attendances, 372 workshops delivered, 170 new women+ joining, and 961 portions of soup served.

Name

Kairos Women+

Legal name

Kairos Women+

Website

https://kairoswomen.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kairos Women+ is a community-led Scottish charity based in Paisley, Renfrewshire, delivering workshops, personal development programmes, peer support groups, and campaigning initiatives for women, trans women, and non-binary people across Renfrewshire. Funded primarily through charitable grants and donations, it operates a physical community space and free core services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Women's Services

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGAEAG)

Keywords

• Women's community support
• Personal development programmes
• Mental health peer support
• Community workshops
• Equalities training

Headquarters

HQ city

Paisley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Grants and Funder Support: Primary revenue stream from trusts, foundations and government bodies including The Robertson Trust, Scottish Government, Renfrewshire Council, and various charitable funds. Project-based funding for specific initiatives.
2. Individual Donations: One-off and regular donations from individuals via JustGiving platform and direct contact. Community fundraising events such as Christmas fayres.
3. Training and Consulting Services: Paid training sessions for external organisations on anti-racism, poverty, addictions, LGBTQ+ inclusivity, and human rights. Fee-based consulting with Equalities Collective for panel discussions and consultations.
4. Zine Sales: Kairos Chronicle zine sold via JustGiving with donations encouraged for copies.
5. Heritage Talks and Workshops: Fee-based presentations at heritage conferences, universities and events. Commissioned biography creation for heritage organisations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Kairos Women+ operates a community-led physical and virtual hub in Paisley, Renfrewshire, delivering free personal development programmes (Beautiful Women, Beautiful Me), peer support groups (Wellness Group, Recovery Space, Nothing About Us Without Us), social spaces (Drop-In, Community Soup, Kairos Kitchen, Creative Cafe), and campaigning and heritage projects (Equalities Collective, Visible Women+, Kairos Museum) for women inclusive of trans women and non-binary people. It also sells fee-based equalities training packages to external organisations and distributes a community-produced podcast (A Brew and a Blether) and biannual zine (Kairos Chronicle).

Product overview

Kairos Women+ is a community-led women's space operating as a single integrated service rather than a platform architecture. The organisation offers a portfolio of interconnected programmes including Support Spaces (Beautiful Women personal development programme, Wellness Group, Recovery Space, Nothing About Us Without Us disability group), Social Spaces (The Drop-In, Community Soup, Kairos Kitchen, Creative Cafe), and Making Change initiatives (Equalities Collective campaigning group, Kairos Museum heritage project, A Brew and a Blether podcast, Kairos Chronicle zine, Visible Women+ housing campaign). These are complemented by Language Cafe/ESOL classes, Walking & Wheeling Group, volunteer training, and Equalities Training Package offered to external organisations. All services centre on providing safe, inclusive spaces for women+ (inclusive of trans women and non-binary people) in Renfrewshire, Scotland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Beautiful Women, Beautiful Me A 12-session personal development programme (6 weeks, 2 hours per week) exploring identity, resilience, belonging, emotion, communication, relationships and perceptions. Delivered to groups of 8-10 women+ as a free programme.
• Wellness Group An 8-session peer support group for women+ exploring ways of managing mental illness or mental health conditions, offering wellbeing activities and shared experiences. Free to attend.
• Recovery Space A peer support group for women+ with experiences of addiction, launched with an online event and supporting WhatsApp group for women in recovery. Free to attend.
• Nothing About Us, Without Us A safe, relaxed monthly group for women+ with long-term conditions or disabilities, including autistic women, to connect and make change together. Free to attend.
• The Drop-In A weekly social space held Thursdays 12:30-2:30pm for women+ to chill, create and connect through board games, puzzles, crafts, and conversation. Free to attend.
• Community Soup A free weekly Tuesday social space (12:30-2:30pm) offering hot vegetarian soup, conversation, free pre-loved shop, and community pantry access.
• Kairos Kitchen A world food recipe sharing project bringing women+ who have migrated to Scotland together to share recipes and cooking skills from across the world, including a video series with downloadable recipes.
• Equalities Collective A campaigning group of women and non-binary people working together to make change for women+ in Scotland, focusing on issues like Women's Invisible Work, women's human rights, and housing and health rights.
• Kairos Museum A women's history group working to raise awareness of women excluded from recorded history through projects with Paisley Museum Reimagined, Glasgow Women's Library, co-produced comic books, and heritage talks.
• A Brew and a Blether A community-produced podcast hosted by Kairos volunteers exploring issues affecting women and non-binary people in Renfrewshire, produced in partnership with Erskine Music and Media Studio.
• Kairos Chronicle A biannual community-produced zine showcasing creative work of Renfrewshire-based women and non-binary people, produced collaboratively with a Chronicle Team and distributed by donation via JustGiving.
• Visible Women+ A housing and health campaign involving participatory action research led by the Equalities Collective, producing sock puppet films and reports on women's experiences of health and housing rights intersections.
• Language Cafe / ESOL Classes English as a second language classes via a Language Cafe to support employment and integration for women+.
• Walking & Wheeling Group A walking and outdoor activity group supporting women+ to get outdoors and connect through gentle physical activity.
• Equalities Training Package Fee-based training sessions developed and delivered by those with lived experience, including Understanding Anti-Racism, Understanding Poverty, Understanding Addictions, LGBTQ+ Inclusivity, Understanding Human Rights, and Facilitating Groups. Sold to external organisations via price list on request.
• Welcome Meetings An introductory 30-45 minute meeting with a staff member for new women+ to learn about Kairos, discuss access needs, and receive a tour of the space. Booked via Microsoft Outlook.
• Creative Cafe A social space where women share skills and ideas over a cup of tea, originally launched at WEvolution in Paisley and now part of the regular social spaces programme.

Quantifiable outcome

• 600 visits to Kairos space (2025-26), 3,228 visits (2024-25)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Erskine Music and Media StudiominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Production partner for community podcast 'A Brew and a Blether', providing studio facilities and technical expertise for creating episodes exploring women's experiences.
• Engage RenfrewshireminorOthers · 1 January 2021Listed as registered address c/o Engage Renfrewshire at 10 Falcon Cres, Paisley PA3 1NS, indicating a support relationship within the Renfrewshire community sector.
• Glasgow Women's LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Collaborated on Making Her Mark arts and heritage project, funded by Culture, Heritage and Events Fund at Renfrewshire Council. Joint workshops on photography, embroidery, crafts and painting.
• RAMH (Recovery Across Mental Health)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partner on Making Her Mark project alongside Glasgow Women's Library, focusing on creative skills workshops and heritage research.
• FareshareminorOthers · 1 January 2019Weekly food deliveries to Kairos as part of the Renfrewshire Food Provision Network, supporting the food packs project during Covid-19 and ongoing Community Soup programme.
• WEvolutionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Venue partner for Creative Cafe launch at their Paisley location. Women share skills and ideas over a cuppa at this social space.
• Paisley Museum ReimaginedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Long-term partnership since 2018 for co-producing museum displays related to women's history. Joint creation of comic book telling the story of women reimagining the museum. Collaboration on heritage projects including Making Her Mark.
• Women's Community Matters (Barrow-in-Furness)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Original developer of the Beautiful Women personal development programme, which Kairos licenses and delivers as the first organisation to deliver this course in Scotland.
• Belfast Women's CentresminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Visited by the Development Team in 2018 as part of learning visits to understand different approaches to women's community spaces.
• PacheduminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership with Pachedu's Women's Group including joint winter celebration event. Collaborated on Black History Month virtual celebration showcasing black talent across Scotland.
• Active CommunitiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Parent organisation that received funding from The Robertson Trust to develop Kairos as a community-led women's space. Kairos operated as a project within Active Communities until August 2021 when it became an independent organisation.
• Strathclyde UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Conducted research on the project in its initial stages, providing academic evaluation and documentation of the community-led approach.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Women's Aid Scotland: National umbrella body for domestic abuse services in Scotland. Comparable as a women's support and advocacy organisation operating across Scotland, though broader in scope and scale than Kairos.

Direct peers

• Glasgow Women's Library: A Scotland-based women's organisation providing community space, heritage work, and women's history resources. Directly comparable to Kairos as a community-led women's space with heritage co-production (Kairos partnered with them on Making Her Mark) and a similar Renfrewshire/Glasgow regional footprint.
• Amina – Muslim Women's Resource Centre: Scotland-based organisation supporting Muslim and BAME women through helpline, advocacy, and community programmes. Comparable to Kairos's work with migrant women, BAME women+, and culturally-specific support.
• Close the Gap: Scotland's policy advocacy organisation focused on women's labour market equality. Comparable in addressing women's economic inclusion and Invisible Work themes that Kairos campaigns on via Equalities Collective.
• Scottish Women's Rights Centre: Provides free legal advice and representation to women in Scotland affected by gender-based violence. Comparable as a Scotland-based women's rights organisation delivering direct services.
• Engender: Scotland's feminist policy and advocacy organisation working on gender equality. Comparable to Kairos's Equalities Collective campaigning work and women's rights advocacy from a Scottish base.
• WEvolution: A Scotland-based social enterprise supporting community-led cooperatives, including the venue for Kairos's Creative Cafe launch. Comparable community-led development model operating in Paisley/Renfrewshire.
• Women's Community Matters: A Cumbria-based women's organisation that originated the Beautiful Women personal development programme which Kairos licenses. Direct peer operating a comparable community-led women's centre model in the north of England.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Kairos_women
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCXHUOw230suWuxpenhU6w6w
• Facebookfacebook.com/KairosRenfrewshire
• Instagraminstagram.com/Kairos_women
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kairos-women

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kairos Women+