Lancaster cancer charity’s ongoing efforts to raise £2m a year as cost of living continues to bite
A north Lancashire and south Cumbria cancer charity which supported almost 2,000 people last year says it is having to work harder than ever to raise the money it needs, as the cost of living squeeze makes it increasingly difficult for supporters to donate.
CancerCare, which marked its 40th anniversary three years ago, provides free therapeutic cancer, life-shortening illness, and bereavement support across the bay area, with centres in Lancaster, Morecambe, Kendal and Barrow.
Unlike national cancer charities, it has no outside backing and relies entirely on fundraising to cover its costs.
“We have to fundraise for 100% of our services,” said deputy head of fundraising Kat Michaels. “We’re a really busy charity, with a large fundraising team and lots of therapists supporting people affected by cancer and bereavement.”
The charity’s approach is holistic rather than end of life care and its support extends well beyond the person directly affected by cancer or bereavement.
“We don’t just support the individual that’s going through a bereavement or cancer. We support the whole family,” Kat explained.
That holistic approach spans more than 26 different therapies, from counselling and play-based therapy to the Alexander technique, aromatherapy massage, allotments, and woodwork groups, alongside Re-Fresh, its peer support service for five to 17-year-olds.
Kat said: “We’re not a hospice – we’re here from the moment you receive a cancer diagnosis, offering support, reassurance and a listening ear when you need it most. Whether you’re coming to terms with the news, feeling overwhelmed or simply unsure of what you need, we’re here to help you navigate whatever comes next, at your own pace.”
Support is there throughout every stage of the cancer journey – from diagnosis and treatment, through recovery and beyond.
Kat described the charity’s centres as places clients often compare to “a warm hug”.
“You come in and it doesn’t feel like it’s a hospital or medical centre,” she said. “We have our lounge area full of comfy chairs and books, a small shop with handmade crafts. There’s always lots of cake, lots of tea, and people sometimes just fall asleep in our lounge area.”
But behind that calm sits a demanding fundraising operation.
“It’s really difficult to be a charity at the moment,” Kat said. “There’s lots of other charities, obviously people are struggling more. People want to fundraise, people want to give, but they are struggling to make a donation.”
Income comes from trusts and grants, our lottery, individual and in-memory giving, corporate and community fundraising and events such as sponsored walks, marathons and bake sales.
In total, the charity needs to raise almost £2m a year.
Much of that fundraising activity, from the Cross Bay Half Marathon to Christmas fairs and the charity’s own Traitors-inspired Betrayer event, is organised using the Kendal online booking platform Trybooking, which CancerCare has used for around seven years.
“Before, we would promote events on our social media and ticket sales would be offline. We would sell them at our reception or you’d be able to book over the phone with us,” said Kat.
“To have that ease of a booking system where everything’s in one place, you can happily put all your event details on there and the system also takes the payment, it really streamlined our processes.”
It allowed CancerCare to get details for its fundraising merchandise and made it easy to build an online donation option into every event while showing what that money could be used for.
“A payment of £5 could pay for a child to make a memory box,” she said. “£10 could be used to pay for supplies for the young people’s therapy for example.”
TryBooking being a local company was also an important factor in working with them.
“We try to stay local where we can, that’s really important to us,” said Kat. “We had a Woof and Wag dog event and because it was based in Kendal, I asked TryBooking if they would like to sponsor it.
“It was only a small amount, but it meant they could come on the day with their banner and their literature, and that sort of partnership is what we look for.”
TryBooking MD Joan Lind said: “At TryBooking all of our clients are important to us, but CancerCare is one that is personally close to my heart.
“A close friend who died last year was supported by the charity during their treatment.
“So we are especially pleased to be able to offer our help and expertise to CancerCare with their vital fundraising efforts.”
CancerCare’s forthcoming events highlight the broad sweep of its fundraising and include the Every Step Counts walking challenge, which runs until March, bookable through TryBooking.
Then, with Christmas on the horizon, TryBooking’s services are set to be called on even more.
The season is traditionally one of peak giving but also great demands on the charity sector, and CancerCare is no different with a Santa Dash in Lancaster on November 29 and its Christmas Grotto on December 12 and 13.
With demand continuing to grow and fundraising conditions tightening, Kat said the charity’s focus remains on reaching as many families across north Lancashire and south Cumbria as possible.
"Personally, I think we’re an amazing little charity,” she added.