Our Story
Who we are and what we do:
The Liptember Foundation is the respected leader when it comes to women's mental health in Australia. We deliver an informed impact by investing in tailored women’s mental health outcomes, focusing on research, advocacy and education, while collaborating with government, industry and community.
Founded in 2010, the “Liptember” flagship fundraising campaign has encouraged people to wear lipstick throughout the month of September as a light-hearted and fun way to raise awareness and vital funds for women’s mental health, raising millions of dollars to date.
We exist to ensure every woman can achieve their optimal mental health.
Before the Liptember Foundation existed, charities supporting women were limited and women’s mental health wasn’t even on the agenda. So, two friends, Renee and Luke, committed to bringing the concept of a women’s mental health campaign to life. In 2010 Liptember was born. Over the years, Liptember evolved from a fundraising campaign into the Foundation that it is today - the trusted source and respected leader when it comes to women’s mental health.
It all started in 2009 and there was a buzz in the air around men’s health. Luke and Renee talked about a few organisations they knew already working towards broader women’s health outcomes, but it was apparent that there was nothing specifically for women’s mental health. To be sure, they talked to some researchers at the Royal Women’s Hospital and the conversation confirmed the massive gap in research and gender focused support services in regards to mental health. It was baffling that in this modern era, no-one had undertaken gender specific research and approaches to mental health support before, especially knowing how biologically different a lot of women’s issues were, like pregnancy, menstruation and menopause and how those can impact a woman’s mental health. So Renee and Luke set out to start a campaign dedicated to ensuring women’s mental health needs were addressed, raising money for programs that could be targeted and impactful.
The concept of Liptember came about as many others do in Australia – a chat amongst friends that snowballed into a few hairbrained ideas and then one great idea.
Why ‘Lip-tember’ you may ask? It was simple. There were a lot of fundraising campaigns and organisations out there that had key events in certain months of the year. But, September was free. And to give the concept the best chance of success they decided to pick a month they could dedicate to women. The ‘Lip’ part of the equation was simple too – Lips were feminine and when paired with bright, colourful lipstick they could make a statement that sparked a conversation. The power to make a difference was truly on everyone’s lips.
It took 9 months to bring Liptember from concept to reality. As with most things, Liptember started small, raising $70,000 in that first year and donating it to the Centre for Women’s Mental Health and Lifeline. In the coming years the Liptember campaign grew in popularity, raising a little bit more each year, whilst developing a strong community of likeminded women.
Along the way there were many challenges, but one personal challenge meant a change in direction for Renee. Suffering the effects of family and domestic violence after the birth of her daughter; Renee made the difficult decision to step away from her passion project of Liptember (which wasn’t paying a salary) so she could put the needs of herself and her family first – becoming a single mum, working full time to support herself and her daughter and taking the time to focus on herself and rebuild her life.
Luke stepped up, running the Liptember Foundation on his own, with Renee remaining involved as a member of the Liptember Board of Directors; and still is to this day.
"With the inspiration of our past spurring us on into the future, we will rise to the challenge to ensure every woman can achieve their optimal mental health."
- Luke Morris, CEO & Founder
However, from humble beginnings in 2010, Liptember has naturally grown and evolved to meet the needs of our community; proudly raising millions of dollars to date and funding a wide range of diverse, women’s mental health outcomes. What started as an annual fundraising campaign in September, organically evolved into the Foundation that it is today - the respected leader when it comes to women’s mental health in Australia.
Current day, we make it our responsibility to deliver an ‘informed impact’, conducting much needed research in this space and raising money year-round for our mission. We collaborate with government, industry and community; investing in tailored women’s mental health outcomes that focus on research, advocacy and education.
Our community can be confident that the funds raised are making the largest impact possible for women and their mental health; investing in what's needed most to address gaps in gender specific mental health issues.
Read more about how we are making an informed impact here
Interested to hear the story behind our branding?
On a mission to change the statistics
1 in 4
women with mental health conditions were triggered by unstable family situations and relationship conflicts.
71%
of women strongly agree there is only a surface level acceptance of mental health issues and a lot of stigma exists around speaking up/asking for help.
1 in 3
Australian women can’t afford to seek help for their mental health.
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