Macmillan fears £20m income drop for 2020 Coffee Morning
Melanie May | 10 September 2020 | News
Macmillan’s flagship Coffee Morning event could see an income drop of £20m this year, the charity fears, due to the impact of the pandemic.
The official date for Coffee Morning is Friday 25 September, although people can participate at any time. Last year, the Macmillan Coffee Morning raised £27.5 million. At the moment however, it is on track to raise less than a third (29%) of that this year — the lowest amount in 11 years. A loss of £20m represents around 9% of the charity’s total fundraised income for 2019, and a drop this big, it warns, could see more than 80,000 cancer patients miss out on support from a Macmillan nurse next year.
Sign-ups are also expected to be down by more than two-thirds (68%) , due, Macmillan believes, to people assuming they can’t take part this year.
In response to the pandemic, Macmillan has changed the format for the first time in 30 years and is encouraging people to take part however suits them, such as by setting up a virtual coffee morning online, hosting a socially distanced Coffee Morning from their doorstep, or doing something active to raise money, like a bike ride or run.
Claire Rowney, Executive Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications at Macmillan Cancer Support, said:
“We are going through one of the biggest crises in living memory and we want the public to know that the ‘new normal’ doesn’t mean they can’t get involved with Coffee Morning this year. There are so many ways they can still show their support in whatever way they can and we’ve never needed their help more.
“Coffee Morning has thrived for 30 years thanks to the enormous generosity of our supporters — and we need to act now to ensure it can continue to raise vital funds for people living with cancer for years to come.”
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Race for Life and RBC Race for the Kids go virtual for 2020 20 August 2020
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.