CRUK fundraising income tops half a billion pounds
Melanie May | 22 July 2019 | News
Cancer Research UK raised £540m in fundraising income in the last financial year, an increase of two per cent over the previous year, in one of its most successful fundraising years so far.
According to the charity, the increase was in part down to more money raised from legacy donations, Race for Life and Stand Up To Cancer, which all raised more than the previous year, while an additional £2m was raised via Facebook charitable giving, launched towards the end of the year.
Total income for the year was £672m, an increase of 6% on the previous year, which includes fundraising income as well as £125m income from royalties, licenses and sales of innovations developed from previous research. This is the largest amount ever received, and will be reinvested in research.
As a result, more money was available for research than at almost any time in the charity’s history. Over the year, £587m was spent on charitable activities, including £546m on cancer research, and £42m on information and influencing.
Investment has continued in four key areas to drive progress: prevention, early detection and diagnosis, developing new treatments, and making treatments more effective. In the past year, Cancer Research UK has invested in its international Grand Challenge research award, funding three more teams. Between them, they will receive up to £60 million over the next five years.
Michelle Mitchell, Chief Executive at Cancer Research UK said:
“I am truly humbled by our supporters’ generosity, which has enabled us to spend more on our charitable work than almost any time in our history. I feel privileged that in my first year as CEO we are in a strong financial position, given the wider challenges and uncertainties that we face in the economy. We are well poised to take on these challenges, but we must never be complacent, as there is so much more to do.
“Today, as the UK population grows and ages, we know that the disease will cast a shadow over more of us than ever before. There’s never been more opportunity – nor more urgency – to translate research into tangible benefits for people with cancer. But to do this, we must work together with other organisations, in the UK and globally, and make sure every penny is spent wisely. It is only by doing this, and staying focused on our goals, that we will see 3 in 4 people surviving cancer for 10 years or more by 2034. We’re making good progress, but we still have so much more work to do, together, to beat cancer.”
Further key achievements are outlined in Cancer Research UK’s annual report and accounts, published on 18 July, and include three new international Grand Challenge teams awarded £20m each over the next five years, to solve long-standing mysteries in cancer research such as how the body’s microbiome is involved in cancer, and launching the Cancer Research UK City of London Centre, a £14m investment to create a world-leading cancer therapeutics research hub.
Overall, for every pound of income from donations, investments and royalties, 82p was available for the charity’s work to beat cancer.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.