Macmillan Cancer Support is to consult on 310 redundancies as it anticipates losing out on £175m of fundraising income by the end of 2022.
The charity is predicting that its fundraising income will fall by a third this year, and that ongoing difficulties will see the total loss over three years reach £175m.
Macmillan's total income for the year ending December 2018 was £235.7m. Donations accounted for £133m and legacies for £80m.
Lockdown has made much of Macmillan’s normal event fundraising activity impossible. For example, it is projecting that its flagship Coffee Morning event, which takes place on Friday, will raise just a fraction of what it would in a normal year. Last year it raised £27.5m but projections for this year stand at just £7.5m.
Like many charities, Macmillan launched an emergency appeal early in the crisis, and so far this has raised £1.5m.
‘Catastrophic impact on our finances’
Macmillan said that it is aiming to “protect critical cancer services, such as Macmillan nurses and the Macmillan support phone line, which have been heavily impacted by coronavirus”.
Its added that its priorities are restoring access to high-quality cancer care for patients and helping people with cancer get the financial support they need.
Lynda Thomas, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “I have been incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication of Macmillan employees, professionals, partners, supporters and volunteers across the UK as they have continued to provide in-depth support to 1.9 million people, whilst managing the impact of the crisis on their own lives.
“But the scale and nature of the coronavirus has had a catastrophic impact on our finances that no one could have anticipated, and we are devastated to have to make this tough decision. Our people are at the heart of everything we do and we are absolutely committed to ensuring that this is managed equitably and fairly, and that all impacted colleagues are treated with compassion and care.”
Macmillan furloughed about 30% of its staff and has taken other steps to reduce its spending such as a recruitment freeze, closing offices and suspending its annual salary review.
Related articles
