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CRUK predicts 5 per cent income drop

Fundraising | Tania Mason | 5 Nov 2008

Cancer Research UK is expecting its fundraising income to fall by 4 to 5 per cent this financial year, a drop of around £15m.

The UK's biggest charity declared the figure after a story appeared on a financial website claiming that it was planning to slash its budget by up to £643m over the next five years in preparation for a squeeze on fundraising as a result of the economic slump.

The story said CRUK has produced an internal report which blamed the "dramatic decline in the economy" over the past year, for the proposed cutbacks.

But the charity rejected the story as "incorrect and grossly misleading".

A spokesman said the internal report referred to was a "scenario planning document" produced a few months ago which outlined potential spending plans for various income estimates over the next five years, starting at a high of £2bn.

Housekeeping, not cuts

The £643m figure related to a lower estimate, said the spokesman. "We looked at if we didn't get £2bn, but we got £643m less than that, how would we spend that," he said. "It wasn't cuts, it was housekeeping."

The charity already cut its expenditure sharply last year compared to the previous year - it spent £476m in the year to March 2008, down from £553m in the year to March 2007. This was despite overall income rising slightly, from £467m in 2007 to £477 in 2008.

The most profitable form of fundraising last year was legacies (£148m), followed by donations and payroll giving (£94m). But all of these are predicted to be hit by the coming recession, as house prices fall and households cut back on unnecessary commitments.

Outlook ‘challenging'

Harpal Kumar, CRUK's chief executive (pictured), said: "The outlook for the economic climate is very challenging. At present, we are projecting that Cancer Research UK's net income from fundraising is likely to be between 4 and 5 per cent less than last year by the end of 2008/09.

"The fall in the property market is having a direct impact on our legacy income stream and people may also need to consider their level of personal giving.

"Our future planning is taking this into account, but we will not allow it to deter us from achieving our long-term vision of beating cancer. We will maintain an ambitious science agenda and continue to invest in our information and policy areas."

CRUK said the drop of 4 to 5 per cent represented £15m.

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