About us

About The Christie Charity

Originally founded in 1996 following a long history of charitable donations to The Christie hospital, The Christie Charity became independent in 2023. Its formal governing document lodged with the Charity Commission explains that it exists solely to support the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and to ‘further the investigation of the causes of cancer and the prevention, treatment, cure and defeat of cancer in all its forms’. We are the largest NHS charity in the northwest, and the fourth largest nationally with an annual income of £20.8 million generated in 2024/25.

The purposes, or objects, of The Christie Charity are therefore to support the development of cancer prevention, treatment, research, and education through:

• Improving the patient and carer experience
• Facilitating high quality research programmes
• Encouraging and supporting innovation in the development of services
• Promoting and supporting the training and personal development of staff

The Christie Charity achieves its purpose by funding both capital and ongoing projects which:

• Provide patient services and care beyond that which would be affordable under NHS tariffs
• Ensure Christie patients are served by the highest calibre staff by committing funds to enhance the education and development of Christie staff and develop The Christie NHS Foundation Trust as a place of learning
• Enhance the hospital environment
• Improve the quality and quantity of clinical research
• Improve the quality of the patient journey and hospital experience

The use of our funds is restricted by the governing document which established The Christie Charity to exclusively fund The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. 

The Charity works in close partnership with the Trust, complementing its role by building long-term relationships with supporters and engaging with the wider community. We continue the connections first established by clinical staff, ensuring these relationships are nurtured over time and often inspiring people to support us through regular giving, taking part in fundraising events, volunteering their time, building corporate partnerships, donating, or leaving a gift in their will. Together, these acts of generosity provide the hospital with the investment it needs to place cancer patients at the heart of everything we do, delivering exceptional, patient-centred care beyond what the NHS alone can provide while continuing to advance research and enhance education long into the future. 

Our Strategic Priorities

As the Charity moves into its third year as an independent organisation, our key strategic objectives for 2025/28 are to:

1. Grow our income to provide funds to the Trust to ensure cancer patients receive the highest level of treatment and care and have access to world leading research and technology thus ensuring they have the best possible experience and outcomes.
2. Continue to support the delivery of the Trust’s five-year strategy 2023/28 which was built from integrating its clinical, education, research and innovation, and improving outcomes strategies.
3. Continue to explore alternative means of generating new income streams for the Charity including developing social investment opportunities, which are in line with our charitable objectives, and which directly support or align with the Charity’s mission and purpose.
4. Continue to be an excellent employer that attracts and retains top talent in a competitive market by fostering a productive and supportive working environment. Through a culture of recognition and appreciation, staff will feel valued, fulfilled, and empowered to grow and develop their skills.

These strategic priorities are underpinned by more detailed operational delivery plans and strategies including finance, fundraising, marketing and communications, social media, digital, and people and culture.

Strategic Priority 1

Grow our income to provide funds to the Trust to ensure cancer patients receive the highest level of treatment and care and have access to world leading research and technology thus ensuring they have the best possible experience and outcomes.

To grow sustainable income, we will:

• Diversify income streams across philanthropy, corporate, community, events, grants, legacies, and social investments
• Increase unrestricted income to enable agile response to Trust priorities
• Strengthen relationships with donors through transparent reporting and impact stories

Strategic Priority 2

Continue to support the delivery of the Trust’s five-year strategy 2023/28 which was built from integrating its clinical, education, research and innovation, and improving outcomes strategies.

The five-year strategy sets out how the Trust will continue to deliver its mission to care, discover and teach through four main themes:

1. Leading cancer care
2. The Christie experience
3. Local and specialist care
4. Best outcomes

To support the delivery of Trust’s five-year strategy the Charity will continue to:

• Provide funding for the Trust’s research and innovation 2023/28 strategy to pioneer transformational and life-changing treatments
• Support the Trust’s education strategy to develop professionals in all disciplines through the Charity grant
• Help drive forward the Trust’s clinical outcomes strategy to use data to drive improvements and introduce innovative technologies such as the total body PET-CT and 4D CT scanners

Strategic Priority 3

Continue to explore alternative means of generating new income streams for the Charity including developing social investment opportunities, which are in line with our charitable objectives, and which directly support or align with the Charity’s mission and purpose.

To develop new income streams, we will:

• Expand our fundraising reach geographically by strengthening presence and supporter engagement beyond our traditional footprint, building new networks of donors, communities, and corporate partners
• Invest in high-impact social infrastructure projects, such as development of a pathology unit, that generate sustainable income while directly improving patient care
• Pursue innovative partnerships with academic and corporate organisations to create new funding models aligned to our mission

Strategic Priority 4

Continue to be an excellent employer that attracts and retains top talent in a competitive market by fostering a productive and supportive working environment. Through a culture of recognition and appreciation, staff will feel valued, fulfilled, and empowered to grow and develop their skills.

As we moved towards independence our values were those of the Trust:

• Act with Kindness - we care for people and our environment
• Connect with People - we are inclusive and work together as one team
• Make a Difference - we are courageous, try new ideas, and take responsibility

The Charity has a culture that respects and values the contributions made by all staff, and the diversity that the different backgrounds and abilities of current Charity staff bring. It underpins the delivery of our ambitions in the next three years.

To remain an excellent employer with happy and fulfilled staff, we will:

• Continue to build a culture of recognition linked to our values and behaviours
• Regularly review our reward principles of market alignment, flexibility, fairness and transparency
• Further develop our people and culture strategy incorporating our training and development plans, PDR process, talent management, and retention and succession planning

Ambitions for the future

Over the next three years, our ambition is to ensure the Charity continues to accelerate world-leading cancer care, research and innovation, education, and clinical outcomes at the Trust. We aim to do this through provision of funding above and beyond what the NHS can deliver.

We will grow our income so we can fund pioneering treatments, breakthrough research, and state-of-the-art facilities that make a lasting difference to patients and their families. This will be achieved through developing innovative and sustainable income streams, while broadening our reach across Greater Manchester and the Northwest to engage new supporters, partners, and communities. At the same time, we will invest in our people and culture so that the Charity is known as a great place to work and a trusted organisation to support.

Through the generosity of our supporters and the strength of our network, we want to ensure the Trust remains at the forefront of cancer treatment and care, and our commitment is to ensure every pound raised delivers the greatest possible impact for patients, families, and the communities we serve.

By working alongside the Trust, we help to strengthen its reputation, support the development of the Christie brand, and ensure that the quality of our communications and supporter care reflects the same high standards as the hospital’s own services.

Most importantly, our work helps to safeguard the future of the hospital by generating essential funds that would not otherwise be available. These resources enable the hospital to invest in enhanced patient services, pioneering research, world-class education, and the delivery of ever-improving clinical outcomes. In doing so, the Charity not only enhances the hospital’s ability to provide exceptional care today but also ensures it can continue to innovate, grow, and remain a leader in cancer treatment and care for generations to come.

Enablers of Success

Delivery of the strategy will be supported through our enabling plans and strategies for finance, fundraising, marketing and communications, social media, digital, and people and culture. Together these strategies describe how we will fulfil our commitment to our stakeholders including supporters, fundraisers, patients, families, and our staff and trustees.

• Finance – We will diversify and grow our income to achieve financial sustainability and secure the long-term delivery of our mission.
• Fundraising – We will develop fundraising objectives and activities to ensure we meet both our overall income target and individual income stream targets.
• Marketing and Communications – We will proactively plan our communication and engagement activities crafting messages that resonate with the target audience and effectively convey the Charity's purpose and achievements. We will also manage and enhance the Charity's brand.
• Social Media – We will use our range of social media platforms to share the stories of those who fundraise for us, and of those who benefit from that support.
• Digital – We will invest in technology that strengthens supporter engagement, demonstrates our impact with clarity, and drives innovation in fundraising.
• People and Culture – We are committed to building an inclusive, high-performing team of staff and volunteers who embody our values in everything we do.

Measuring our impact

Our overall vision is to deliver the greatest possible impact to people with cancer. Measuring impact is important to gain a meaningful insight and understanding of whether the projects that the Charity supports have made a difference in people’s lives and improved their outcomes.

Applications to the Charity for funding must demonstrate they meet our objectives and clearly show quantifiable success and demonstrable outcome criteria measures. This is vital to show transparency about how the money raised has been spent.

Data and evidence are collected from a range of sources:

• Business cases submitted to the Board of Trustees for funding
• Updates from the Trust’s research, education and operational divisions on specific approved projects
• Trust patient surveys and quality report
• Trust statistics
• Patient case studies

Feedback to donors and supporters is also crucial and the Charity provides updates through a wide variety of opportunities including high quality personal stewardship from the Charity staff.

Other ways the Charity communicates its impact include:

• Annual Impact Report
• Annual Report of The Trustees of The Christie Charity
• Project reports
• ‘Thank you’ events
• News stories
• Email newsletters
• Direct mailings
• Website
• Social media

As a large but local charity, our position is unique and allows us to combine the reach and influence of a major organisation with the deep community connections of a local cause. This dual perspective allows us to secure significant investment for patient treatment and care, pioneering research, and enhanced education, while sustaining the personal and meaningful relationships with our supporters that make every contribution count. By consistently evidencing the tangible impact of this support, we demonstrate how strategic charitable giving not only drives innovation but also transforms lives, reinforcing our commitment to supporting the development of cancer prevention, treatment, research, and education.