Help Keep The Latte Lounge Going 💜

Aim

Help keep The Latte Lounge free and thriving, so we can continue supporting thousands of women through menopause and midlife.

Help Keep The Latte Lounge Going

A little bit about me

Hi, I'm Katie, founder of The Latte Lounge online platform for midlife and menopause.

I'm a national midlife and menopause advocate, author, speaker and consultant — but perhaps most importantly for this Crowdfunder, I'm the woman who has spent the last decade building and looking after The Latte Lounge community.

I started The Latte Lounge because I wanted women to have somewhere they could find trusted, evidence-based information and, just as importantly, feel that they weren't navigating midlife and menopause alone.

What began as an idea on the back of my own poor experience of perimenopause, has grown into something I could never have imagined.

Over the past decade, The Latte Lounge has provided support and evidence-based information to more than 100,000 women, and today our private Facebook community alone has more than 26,000 members.

We've created articles and expert resources, newsletters, social content, podcasts and events — all designed to educate, reassure and empower women through perimenopause, menopause and midlife.

And throughout that time, I've been determined that women should be able to access our community and support for free.

Why I'm asking for your help now

This is probably one of the hardest things I've had to do.

For the last decade, The Latte Lounge has operated as a not-for-profit business.

I have never taken an income from the day-to-day running of The Latte Lounge.

Any money we've generated has gone back into paying members of my small team and covering the costs of keeping everything running.

I've also given thousands of hours of my own time to it — often working on The Latte Lounge every day, including evenings and weekends.

I've been incredibly happy to do that because I know what this community means to so many women.

But after ten years, I've reached a point where that model is simply no longer sustainable.

A new chapter

My own career has evolved and I have now moved away from operational business management to focus on my work as an independent menopause and midlife consultant, speaker and advocate.

It's work I love.

I've had the privilege of contributing to the UK Government's 10-year Women's Health Strategy, delivering menopause training to staff at No.10 Downing Street and campaigning as part of #MakeMenopauseMatter.

I'm also the author of Midlife Matters, published by DK RED in 2025, founder and host of the Midlife and Menopause Uncovered podcast and creator of The Midlife Festival.

My consultancy and speaking work is now how I earn my living.

And that has forced me to confront something I've managed to avoid for a very long time:

I can no longer personally fund The Latte Lounge or continue giving so many hours to running it without being paid for any of my time.

The easiest answer would be to close the Facebook group and gradually wind down the other free resources.

But I really, really don't want to do that.

So before making that decision, I'm asking our community to help.

What are we trying to protect?

The Latte Lounge isn't simply a Facebook group.

Behind the scenes, there is a considerable amount of work involved in keeping everything going.

Our wonderful Facebook group manager, Tracey, helps me look after a private community of more than 26,000 women.

There are website costs, newsletter and email systems, technology and software subscriptions, social channels and all the other less-visible costs involved in maintaining a community and its resources.

Our existing running costs alone are approximately £1000 every month.

And then there's the time involved in overseeing everything: supporting the community, managing content and communications, working with experts, answering emails and messages, maintaining our resources and making sure the information we share remains useful, responsible and trustworthy.

That's why this Crowdfunder isn't about creating something new.

It's about protecting what we already have — and making it sustainable for the future.

Where will your money go?

The money we raise will help us:

• Keep Tracey managing and supporting our Facebook community.

• Keep our website and existing resources online.

• Pay for our email newsletter platform and essential technology and subscriptions.

• Maintain The Latte Lounge's social channels and communications.

• Continue providing free information and support for women.

• Allow me to allocate some paid professional time each week to overseeing The Latte Lounge, rather than having to fit all of this work unpaid around my consultancy and speaking commitments.

I want to be completely transparent about that final point.

For ten years, I haven't charged The Latte Lounge for the huge amount of time I've put into it.

I'm not asking the community to suddenly pay me for every hour I work.

I'm asking for enough support to make it possible for me to continue giving The Latte Lounge a meaningful part of my working week without having to choose between earning my living and keeping this community alive.

Our first goal: £10,000

Our initial target is £10,000.

Reaching that would help cover our essential costs for this year, keep Tracey supporting the Facebook group and give The Latte Lounge some much-needed breathing space.

If we can go further, we can make the community increasingly sustainable.

£20-30,000 would help us thrive for at least a couple more years, allowing me to dedicate more regular time to The Latte Lounge and continue developing our support and resources.

And if this amazing community helped us reach £50,000, it would give The Latte Lounge a genuinely sustainable foundation for the next 3-5 years

And if we raise more than we need?

There's one more commitment I want to make.

If we are fortunate enough to raise more than is needed to cover the stated costs of running, maintaining and supporting The Latte Lounge, any surplus will be donated to the Menopause Research and Education Fund, helping further menopause research and education.

Even £1 really does matter

Please don't look at our fundraising target and think your contribution isn't big enough to make a difference.

It is.

There are more than 26,000 women in our Facebook group alone:

If every one of those women gave just £1, together we'd raise more than £26,000.

That's why I'm not asking everyone for £20 or £50.

I'm asking:

If The Latte Lounge has ever helped you, could you spare £1 to help us be here for the next woman who needs us?

Of course, if you would like to give more, that would be wonderful.

But £1 is enough to be part of this.

And if you're not in a position to donate at all, please don't worry. The whole reason I'm doing this is because I want The Latte Lounge to remain free and accessible.

Sharing this Crowdfunder with another woman or on your social channels will help us too.

Why The Latte Lounge matters

Over the last ten years I've seen women join our community feeling frightened, overwhelmed, exhausted and completely lost.

I've seen them discover information that helps them understand what is happening to them.

I've seen women ask questions they felt embarrassed to ask anywhere else.

And I've watched other members respond with extraordinary kindness:

"I've been there too."

"This is what helped me."

"You're not alone."

That, to me, is The Latte Lounge.

It's women helping women through a stage of life that for far too long wasn't talked about enough.

We've helped change that over the last decade.

I'm not ready to let it disappear simply because I can no longer afford to fund it myself.

So this is me asking our community for a little help in return.

Whether that's £1, £5, £10, £50, a larger donation or simply sharing our campaign, every bit of support helps us move closer to a sustainable future.

My vision is simple:

To keep The Latte Lounge free, trusted and here for every woman who needs it — today and for the years ahead.

Thank you for being part of our community and for helping me keep it going.

With love & lattes,

Katie x

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 20th November 2026 at 12:27pm