Macmillan Cancer Support

The facts up front

Yes, Macmillan Cancer Support is a registered charity. Its registered charity number is 261017 (England and Wales), and it also holds registrations in Scotland (SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604).³ The charity was registered in 1989, though its roots run back over a century to 1911, when Douglas Macmillan founded what became the Society for the Prevention and Relief of Cancer.³ In its latest filed accounts it reported income of £245.5m.¹ Those are the facts people most often look up, stated plainly.

What it is

Macmillan describes itself as the UK’s leading cancer-support charity, doing “whatever it takes to help more people with cancer get the best care the UK has to offer.”² Its services span practical, emotional and financial support: information about cancer types and treatment, an online community, money and work guidance, and a free helpline open 8am–8pm daily.²

This is a support charity, not primarily a research funder. That distinction matters when you decide what your donation is buying.

Where the money actually goes

The latest filed accounts cover the year ending 31 December 2024. Income was £245.5m and total spending was £225.9m, leaving a surplus of £19.6m for the year.¹ That is a charity living within its means and building, or at least not draining, its reserves. Among the five large UK charities reviewed in this set, it is the only one whose latest filed year shows income comfortably ahead of expenditure.

The charity employs 1,782 staff and draws on 11,634 volunteers, governed by 11 trustees.¹ Its Charity Commission reporting is current.

Effectiveness

The hard part with a support charity is measurement. Lives saved per pound is the wrong yardstick here; Macmillan’s output is care, information, and financial relief for people already living with a cancer diagnosis. Those are real and valuable, but they resist the clean cost-per-outcome figures that global-health charities can publish. A donor should give to Macmillan because they value that kind of support, not because they expect a lives-saved receipt.

What can be said with confidence is that the organisation is financially sound, well-staffed, well-volunteered, and reporting cleanly.¹

The bottom line

Financially healthy, clearly governed, and doing exactly what it claims: supporting people affected by cancer across the UK. The surplus year and clean reporting are reassuring. If supporting cancer patients in the UK is your goal, give with confidence. If you specifically want research or maximum measurable impact per pound, the alternatives below are the better fit.