[Last updated: 4th August 2026]

On Monday 3 August 2026, we were informed by our database provider, Beacon CRM, that they had experienced a cyber-security incident. We want to reassure our supporters that we are taking this situation very seriously. We are following all guidance provided by Beacon, as well as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

What happened?

On Wednesday 29 July 2026, Beacon CRM (the software provider we use to manage supporter records) identified a cyber-security breach. An unauthorised third party gained access to and downloaded database backups. Although this data was encrypted, Beacon cannot guarantee that the third party is unable to decrypt it.

It has not been confirmed whether Baby Bank Network’s specific data was included in this backup. However, as part of our duty of care to you, we are proceeding on the assumption that our data was accessed and decrypted.

Beacon reports that there is currently no evidence of this data being shared on the dark web, and no ransom request has been received. You can track Beacon’s live updates on their website.

What data may have been accessed?

We use Beacon to store supporter information, process donation records, and reduce administrative costs.

The data potentially affected includes records for supporters who have made a financial or gift-in-kind donation since 2021 and provided their details at the time (either directly via bank transfer or through third-party platforms like JustGiving or CAF).

This may include:

• Contact details: Names, email addresses, phone numbers, and postal addresses.
• Donation history: Gift Aid status and records of past donations. We do not store bank, card, or Direct Debit details on Beacon, so no payment credentials have been compromised.
• Communication records: Notes on contact with supporters (e.g. records of sent newsletters, thank-you letters, or meeting summaries – typically kept for partners or grant funders rather than individual donors).

What are the risks?

While no financial credentials were involved, we want you to be aware of how this data could potentially be misused:

• Phishing and fraud: Personal contact details (address, email, phone number) could be used to attempt access to accounts you hold with other organisations or for identity fraud.
• Impersonation: Fraudsters with access to donation histories could attempt to impersonate Baby Bank Network to request funds, or use the data to infer financial affluence.

How to protect yourself 

With contact details potentially involved, the primary risk is that scammers or spammers could use this information to attempt phishing emails, identity fraud, or fake communications. Please keep the following security reminders in mind:

• Verify before you share: Never give out personal details, passwords, or money to anyone who contacts you unexpectedly without double-checking through an official channel that they are legitimate.
• We will never call to ask for money: Baby Bank Network will never phone you to ask for new or increased financial donations. If someone calls claiming to be from us asking for money, do not give them any details, hang up, and let us know.
• Check official contact details: We will only ever email you from an official @babybanknetwork.com address or through our official email newsletters.
• Be wary of unexpected links: If you receive suspicious emails or texts claiming to be from us – or any other organisation – do not click on links or open attachments.

What actions have we taken?

Upon learning of the breach, Baby Bank Network took swift action:

• 3 August 2026: CEO Becky Gilbert initiated our incident response protocol, consulting immediately with staff and trustees to review the technical details provided by Beacon.
• 4 August 2026: We formally reported the incident to the ICO and the Charity Commission. We directly emailed all supporters for whom we hold a valid email address and published this statement to inform our wider community.

Beacon has engaged external cyber-security experts, implemented immediate containment measures, notified law enforcement, and initiated continuous dark web monitoring.

Keeping you updated

We will update this statement on our website as new information becomes available. You can always find a link to our privacy policy in the footer of our website.

We sincerely apologise for any concern or distress this news may cause. We remain committed to protecting your data and handling this situation with complete transparency.

If you have any questions, please contact our team directly at info@babybanknetwork.com.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding.

We work with referral partners to provide support to families experiencing poverty or crisis. If you need our support, please ask your Health Visitor, social worker or other agency if they can refer you to our service

Baby Bank Network Bristol facilitates families giving to other families. We aim to provide families with items that we would use ourselves. Ask yourself whether you would pass it on to your best friend or would be happy to receive it yourself. If the answer is yes then we would love to have it! Please see our donate items page to find out what items we currently need and how to get them to us.

There are some items we can’t accept, as we cannot pass them onto families.  For details, please read our checklist of items we can and cannot take and read our blog which explains why we can’t take items such as formula, car seats, pre-loved mattresses, hand knitted items and large toys.

Please check our wishlist to see what items we currently need donated.

We don’t currently offer a collection service.

We are in need of lots of items beyond clothes and equipment. Perhaps you could donate packs of nappies or wipes? Or maybe some nice treats for the mums? We always welcome new volunteers to help in our warehouse sorting and packing bundles for families. Your financial support is also crucial to help fund the running of the service and to purchase the things we need to buy new, like cot and moses basket mattresses. Click here for information on all of the ways you can support us.

Financial donations and fundraising income is crucial – we are run solely on voluntary donations and grants. Your donations help to buy items which need to be supplied new such as mattresses and bottle teats, replacement parts for donated items and items in high demand when we do not have enough donated stock. Cash donations can also help pay for the running costs of Baby Bank Network Bristol, for example, helping us to pay for the rent of our warehouse. Find out more information or make a donation today by clicking here.

We may be able to accept smaller items by post. Please email donations@babybanknetwork.com to check if we can accept your item.

We ask everyone to get in touch before donating so we can ensure we can make the most of your donations and they are suitable for the families we help. Also, our warehouse is not always open, so we want to make sure that someone will be there to meet you.

We deliberately do not publicise our address as we don’t want people dropping items when the warehouse is shut. Our social media team are all volunteers, responding to queries whilst juggling their paid jobs and home life. We aim to respond to every query but this can take some time. You can find out everything you need to know about donating your items here and book in a slot to deliver them to us.

Baby Bank Network Bristol would simply not exist without our volunteers! We would love to welcome you to the team. Visit our volunteer page for more information or email volunteers@babybanknetwork.com

Please see this map of baby banks in the UK. If there isn’t one in your area and you would like to find out more about setting one up then please email Eva@BabyBankNetwork.com

We are based in Bristol and cover Bristol and surrounding areas and currently can only take referrals for families within this area.

To find out if there’s a Baby Bank near you, have a look at this map.

Thanks for your interest in Baby Bank Network and your request to speak to the families we support.

We don’t have direct contact with the families we help, so this isn’t something we offer. 

Sometimes, families who have used our service in the past are happy to speak publicly about the positive impact it’s had in building their confidence and resilience, and helping them provide for their young children. On these occasions, we might be able to facilitate contact via our trusted referral partners.

If you’d like to speak to a Baby Bank Network representative about our work, please email us at press@babybanknetwork.com explaining the purpose and scope of the feature, and we’ll be in touch. 

Here at Baby Bank Network Bristol we are fuelled by our supporters and we encourage and welcome open comments and interaction on all our social media channels from our supporters. We reserve the right to hide or delete any comments that do not adhere to the following guidelines:

• Keep points on-topic.
• Please don’t post messages that are not related.
• Respect other people.
• Comments should not be malicious or offensive in nature, and should not constitute a personal attack on a person’s character.
• Don’t incite hatred on the basis of race, religion, sex, nationality, sexuality or any other personal characteristic.
• Don’t reveal personal details, such as private addresses, phone numbers, email addresses or other online contact details.
• Keep your comments reasonably concise, and don’t constitute spamming of the site.
• Do not post persistent or repetitive negative messages which aim to provoke a response and/or don’t constructively add to the conversation.
• Don’t impersonate or falsely claim to represent a person or organisation.
• Don’t include swearing, hate-speech or obscenity.
• Don’t break the law – this includes libel, condoning illegal activity, and breaking copyright Comment in English – unfortunately, we do not currently have the resource to moderate comments in other languages.
• Please be patient – all our moderators on our social media channels are volunteers.
• The views expressed by any third parties including volunteers are solely theirs and are not necessarily endorsed by Baby Bank Network Bristol.