What Talking Taboos Foundation does

Talking Taboos Foundation is a UK-registered charity (Charity No. 1159222), founded in 2017 and headquartered in Corsham, United Kingdom, with a 5-person team. It is positioned as the only UK charity specifically dedicated to unearthing and challenging harmful taboos, operating across mental health, loneliness, SEN parenting, body size bias, sexual health, and related social stigma verticals. Its core activities combine annual "Today's Taboos" research reports, the "Talking Taboos: The Podcast" series, downloadable toolkits (notably Connect Through), and online/offline events designed to surface lived experience and open public conversation.

The foundation's underlying research methodology integrates AI-assisted social data analysis (delivered through partner discover.ai across Twitter, news, media, blogs, and forums) with Opinium-led public opinion polling of 2,000 nationally representative UK adults, supplemented by expert-by-experience interviews and contributions from specialist charities. Products include the annual reports (2023, 2024, 2026), the 2026 podcast series distributed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, the Connect Through Cooking living lab and resulting toolkit for event organizers, and targeted educational resources such as the Body Bias resource and the Talking: Self-Harm research study produced with YoungMinds.

As a registered charity, Talking Taboos Foundation is funded through grants, donations, and partnerships rather than commercial revenue. Common Collective and its partners are identified as the primary funders, with additional funding flowing from Meta via the Jo Cox Foundation's Connection Coalition. All beneficiary-facing resources — reports, toolkits, podcast content, and events — are provided free of charge, and the organization distributes primarily through self-serve digital channels (website, podcast platforms, social media) supplemented by event-based engagement.

Name

Talking Taboos Foundation

Legal name

The Talking Taboos Foundation

Website

https://talkingtaboos.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Talking Taboos Foundation is a UK-registered charity dedicated to unearthing and challenging harmful taboos through annual research reports, a podcast series, toolkits, and events. It serves individuals affected by taboos and the professionals supporting them, funded via grants and partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Impact Research & Charitable Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Rights, Privacy & Free Expression Advocacy (BPAGAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

Keywords

• Taboo research
• Charitable services
• Social impact research
• Community connection
• Mental health awareness

Headquarters

HQ city

Hereford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Charitable Funding and Grants: As a registered UK charity (Charity No. 1159222), the foundation is funded through grants, donations, and partnerships. The Common Collective and its partners fund the foundation's work, and Meta has partnered with the Connection Coalition to provide small grants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Talking Taboos Foundation is a UK registered charity (Charity No. 1159222) that conducts annual research-led identification of harmful taboos and produces a suite of free public-facing offerings. Its core deliverables include the annual "Today's Taboos" research reports, the "Talking Taboos: The Podcast" audio/video series, the "Connect Through" toolkit for community event organisers, educational resources (e.g., Body Bias), and virtual/in-person workshops and events featuring lived-experience contributors and partner charities.

Product overview

Talking Taboos Foundation operates as a research-led charitable organization offering a portfolio of products and services focused on uncovering and challenging harmful taboos. The core offerings include annual Today's Taboos research reports identifying urgent taboo topics, the Talking Taboos: The Podcast series providing audio/video content for taboo conversations, and the Connect Through toolkit enabling community organizers to facilitate connection. Additional resources include educational content on self-harm, body size bias, and SEN parenting. The organization combines research, design, and behavioral science to create products that spark conversations, promote social change, and help people feel seen and supported.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Connect Through: Cooking: A community initiative focused on forging social connections and strengthening community bonds through free, locally targeted cooking sessions
• Talking Taboos: The Podcast
• Connect Through
• @connectthrough

Products and services

• Talking Taboos: The Podcast Free podcast series featuring honest discussions with people who have lived through taboo experiences and those working to open conversations (e.g., Episode 1 with Ore Oduba on porn addiction).
• Today's Taboos Research Reports Annual research reports identifying urgent taboo topics each year, built from lived experience, public opinion polling, social media analysis, and specialist charity input.
• Connect Through: A Toolkit Free downloadable toolkit for event organisers to facilitate connection and tackle loneliness at community events, derived from the Connect Through Cooking living lab.
• Shamed SEN Parenting Online Event Online panel event unpacking taboos around parenting children with Special Educational Needs, featuring parents and professionals sharing lived and professional experiences.
• Body Bias: Challenging the Taboo Resource Educational resource providing guidance on challenging body size bias and stigma, including recommendations for media consumption, language usage, and self-care.
• Unlocking Connection Report (with Jo Cox Foundation) Collaborative report with the Jo Cox Foundation compiling learnings from the Connection Coalition grants programme, identifying 7 keys for connection grounded in community experiences.
• Talking: Self-Harm Research Study (with YoungMinds) Year-long research study with YoungMinds exploring public perceptions of young people who self-harm and barriers to providing help, with recommendations for schools, parents, and healthcare professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 in 3 people have experienced or know someone who has experienced porn addiction; rises to 1 in 2 men
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Jo Cox FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with the Jo Cox Foundation's Connection Coalition grants programme, funded by Meta. Talking Taboos acted as connection consultants throughout the grantee programme and compiled findings in the Unlocking Connection report. Also collaborated on Common Room virtual workshops and the Connect Through Cooking toolkit launch.
• YoungMindscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYear-long research partnership with teen mental health charity YoungMinds for the ground-breaking Talking: Self-Harm research study exploring society's perceptions of young people who self-harm and barriers to providing help.
• discover.aicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAI experts who curated UK-based online and social data across Twitter, news, media, blogs and forums, using AI tools to analyse data and identify emerging taboo themes for the Today's Taboos research reports.
• OpiniumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAward-winning insight agency that supported Today's Taboos 2024 and 2026 reports with public opinion polling of 2,000 nationally representative UK adults.
• Common CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary funder of the foundation's work. Collaborated on loneliness initiatives including Connect Through Cooking and shared resources on Medium about loneliness.
• The VavengersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO Sema Gornall participated as a speaker at the Today's Taboos 2023 launch event at The Conduit London.
• The Survivors TrustminorOthersContributed expertise and insights to the Today's Taboos 2024 report on taboo topics including surviving child sexual abuse.
• Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)minorOthersContributed to Today's Taboos 2024 report addressing silenced suicidal thoughts.
• SamaritansminorOthersContributed to Today's Taboos 2024 report addressing silenced suicidal thoughts.
• Obesity UKminorOthersContributed to Today's Taboos 2024 report addressing body size bias taboos.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mental Health Foundation: UK charity focused on mental health prevention and public mental health research; operates a national anti-stigma platform (e.g. Mental Health Awareness Week) that overlaps with Talking Taboos' awareness remit.
• Rethink Mental Illness: Major UK mental health charity and former co-lead of Time to Change. Operates adjacent to Talking Taboos on stigma reduction, lived-experience research, and public campaigns around severe mental illness.
• Mind (UK): The UK's largest mental health charity, running the long-standing Time to Change anti-stigma programme. Direct overlap with Talking Taboos in challenging mental health stigma and producing awareness content for UK audiences.
• Time to Change (legacy programme): The long-running England anti-mental-health-stigma programme led by Mind and Rethink; the closest historical analogue to Talking Taboos' taboo-breaking annual research and campaign model in the UK.

Direct peers

• YoungMinds: UK charity focused on young people's mental health; existing research partner of Talking Taboos on the Talking: Self-Harm study, with closely aligned content, lived-experience methodology and youth stigma-breaking goals.
• Movember Foundation: Global charity running annual awareness campaigns around men's health and previously men's mental health/suicide prevention; comparable model of annual themed report/campaign cycles targeting hard-to-talk-about topics.
• Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM): UK charity tackling suicide prevention and male mental health stigma. Already contributes expertise to Talking Taboos reports and operates similar anti-stigma and lived-experience storytelling.
• Samaritans: UK suicide-prevention charity working on silenced-suicidal-thoughts content for Talking Taboos; closely comparable in mission space around mental health stigma and confidential support.
• The Jo Cox Foundation: UK foundation running the Connection Coalition on loneliness - directly partnered with Talking Taboos. Overlaps in loneliness research, community connection programmes, and grantmaking for grassroots connection projects.

Emerging players

• Zero Suicide Alliance: UK suicide-prevention and stigma-focused training coalition; comparable audience of professionals and the public, and overlapping mission to reduce silence around suicidal thoughts.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/talkingtaboos
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Talkingtaboos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-talking-taboos-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/talkingtaboosfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Talking Taboos Foundation