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Cardiff Business Club was granted a pre-event interview with Lynda Thomas, CEO of Macmillan Cancer Support

Interview conducted by Paul MacKenzie-Cummins [CBC]
Responses from Lynda Thomas [LT]

CBC: What makes a good leader in the charity sector?

LT: The charity world is a very public place; it is a tough environment with a lot of media scrutiny. The background that I have had in fundraising has enabled me to be very resilient. For instance, being held responsible for the organisation’s P&L also means learning how to pre-empt and effectively respond to any criticism that comes the way of a CEO – many people from a services and public policy background perhaps don’t always have as much exposure to this. I don’t think there is anything there is any such thing as the ‘perfect’ charity chief executive. Whilst we once saw many of the senior positions being filled by those from outside the sector, we are increasingly seeing staff being developed from within it. Leadership is all about being with people, walking the floor, getting ‘out there’ and truly believing in what our people are capable of more than anything else. I like to refer to a particular quote, which sums this up perfectly: ‘A desk is a very dangerous place from which to view the world.’

CBC: The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development estimates that it can cost an employer anything between £8,000-£12,000 to replace a staff member who either doesn’t work out or leaves within a short period of time. In the charity sector, with the constant need to keep a tight reign on the purse strings and to always be transparent, does the pressure to keep costs down affect Macmillan Cancer Support’s recruitment strategy?

LT: The charity sector has its own unique culture. When recruiting those with commercial experience gained outside the sector, they don’t always ‘fit’ in with the charity world and “fit is perhaps the most important thing. When you are working for a charity, you have to be mindful that you don’t have lost of money to throw around. The key to ensuring a good fit is through negotiation, by getting on with people and knowing how to collaborate very well with others. Wherever possible we will look at ways in which we can retain the people we already have, by clearly communicating the career opportunities which exist within the organisation and about making it easier for people to realise their career ambitions by remaining with the charity rather than looking elsewhere. However, there are challenges to this she says – the biggest one being location. That said, the digital age will transform the charity sector, not everyone will need to be in an office anymore and people will be able to do different work in different places.

CBC: There are in excess of 165,000 registered charities in the UK and in 2014 there were almost 6,700 new applications for charity status. With competition between charities increasing apace, how does Macmillan Cancer Support retain its competitiveness?

LT: It’s tough. There is a huge amount of competition, but there is no secret to our success. We are constantly innovating and we have very good people who lead this. For me though, our focus needs to be on continuing to deliver the best possible services to people with cancer, which in turn means that people will want to support us. The changes to fundraising legislation and some of the unintended consequences are a concern if we get it wrong, especially on the issue of direct marketing. However, I am more concerned on the possible impact these changes may have on beneficiaries but providing we continue to do great things by them, we will be alright.

CBC: The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning has so far raised over £27 million, with more than 200,000 coffee mornings held in 2015. So how has Macmillan Cancer Support managed to transform something that was synonymous with housewives and the elderly getting together to bake cakes for their local charity, into what has become one of the greatest charity fundraisers?

LT: It is an incredible ‘product. People like it for a start, which obviously helps. But it’s not about the coffee; it is about getting people together. It can happen anywhere – in the house, on the high street, at work. It’s even happened on mountains, in aeroplanes and even below sea level – you name it, it’s probably been done...I’m just surprised Tim Peake hasn’t done one in space yet! More important are the improvements that have been made to the ‘supporter experience’. People no loner have to trundle off to their local bank to pay their money in, we have made it much easier and more convenient for them to do so now. And we also start the fundraising process earlier, with our recruitment packs sent out shortly after the previous event. The coffee morning is the charity’s most cost-effective fundraising initiative, as Lynda explains, for every £1 the charity spends on coffee morning it delivers £6 in return. People just love it; it has become a national treasure.

CBC: Revenues for the charity have increased from £133.6 million in 2010 to £218 million in 2015, what has been the key driver of this growth?

LT: We have become better at asking. In the past we liked being positioned as a ‘lovely’ charity but we were a little bit reluctant to ask people for money. This meant that our focus was more on engagement rather than fundraising – we needed to get better at the latter. As mentioned, we have made it easier for people to give money to us, we have become more open and better at reminding people about how the money is being spent, and we try to localise our activities as much as we can too. Above all else, 75 per cent of our supporters have experienced cancer in one way or another and it is the deep and meaningful relationships they have with their Macmillan nurses, which has a profound effect on them.

CBC: In a report conduced by the Lloyd’s Bank Foundation, 70% of charities in Wales stated difficulties in securing funding compared to just 40% in London and several other regions in England. Does this reflect Macmillan Cancer Support’s experiences here in Wales?

LT: Charities should still be able to ask for money in the same way. That said, there is certainly a different ‘giving’ demographic across the regions. The typical Macmillan supporter is white, middle class and over 55 years living in the Home Counties. In Wales, however, it is very different – most of our contributions come from those of a lower socio-economic standing. Are posh people in Wales generous enough? Food for thought anyhow. Our most successful fundraising appeal ever was for a new build at the Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil, which raised £3 million. Wealth, clearly, is no indicator of generosity.