Yet I can’t help feeling the volume of support seems in contrast to that received by the 230+ local NHS hospital charities scattered across the country. I spent over five years working in fundraising and communications for an NHS charity. There were plenty of highs yet at times it left me incredibly frustrated.
The biggest challenge? Few knew we existed. And others felt we shouldn’t exist at all. “Isn’t that what we pay our taxes for?” was a common (rhetorical) question. And I know from fellow NHS charity bods, it was a shared challenge.
Our answer in a nutshell was always – the NHS provides the cake and we put the icing on the top. (Esther Wakeman, CEO of Leeds Cares shares an expanded explanation in a Yorkshire Evening Post article.)
Yet those who do believe in NHS charities supported us wholeheartedly, without question and driven by an immense appreciation for what the hospital team had done for them or their loved ones.
If I were to guess, I’d say those who’ve already given to their local hospital charity, likely gave to the national appeal too. And I’d suggest many of the naysayers got behind the COVID-19 Appeal. I’d bet my life that most donors had never heard of NHS charities before they gave their gift.