Macmillan Cancer Support has cut its total reserves by more than a third as it increases spending on its fundraising operations and services.

The move also comes amid a dip in income for the charity during 2022.

According to the charity’s annual accounts its total reserves stood at £48.3m as of December 2022, compared to £74.1m the previous year.

Meanwhile, Macmillan has also announced a £10.5m boost to its fundraising operations to total £73m in 2022.

“Choosing to invest in our fundraising means we can generate more long-term income to enable us to reach more people living with cancer,” states its annual report.

It said long term income investment, increased legacy promotions and a focus on lottery player acquisition has driven this boost in fundraising spend.

“We have also seen increased fundraising spend due to the full return of third-party challenge events and inflationary event costs in 2022,” adds Macmillan’s annual report.

“We continue to keep a close eye on all our costs and fundraising activities, to ensure that we are maximising our resources.”

Macmillan said the cut in reserves is part of its strategy of operating “a liquidity rather than a reserves policy”.

It adds that its “priority continues to be to spend as much of our money as possible on services for people living with cancer”.



Macmillan said that in 2022 it was able to increase charitable spending to £178.7 million, an increase of more than £7m on 2021’s figure of £171.6 million “despite the fundraising challenges we faced”.

In 2022 it gave out £19m in one off Macmillan Grants to help people tackle the cost-of-living crisis following a cancer diagnosis. Its emergency grants appeal during year raised £2.3m to help people meet such living costs.

In addition, Macmillan’s support line spending increased in 2022 to £22.5m, up £2.3m on the previous year.

The spending boost comes amid a 1.5% fall of £3.6m in income for the charity between 2021 and 2022. Its income totalled £227.1m last year, according to the annual report. The bulk of its income (£221.2m) comes from fundraising, with only 3% from grants, charitable activities and investments.

“In 2022, the rising cost of living caused financial concerns throughout the UK, but it was particularly worrying for people living with cancer,” said Macmillan chair Richard Murley.

“A cancer diagnosis can bring a huge financial burden, and with the cost of living hitting the highest level in decades, people living with cancer turned to us more than ever for financial support, someone to talk to and to help ensure their voices are heard.

“We listened and acted quickly by making more Macmillan Grants available than ever before, supporting people with money worries, and working with partners to ease the financial pressures on people affected by cancer so they could put more energy into living life as fully as possible.”

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