Frequently asked questions

There are several ways you can make a donation to Breast Cancer Now. 

• Donate through our secure online form.
• Send a cheque made payable to Breast Cancer Now, Fifth Floor, IbexHouse, 42-47 Minories, London EC3N 1DY. If you do send a cheque, please make sure you enclose a brief note with your contact details and let us know how you raised the money so we can get in touch and thank you.
• Contact our Supporter Care team on 0333 20 70 300 and donate over the phone using a credit or debit card.
• Pay the money in directly at a Barclays bank. All you need to do is contact our Supporter Engagement team by email at hello@breastcancernow.org or by phone on 0333 20 70 300 and request a paying-in slip. We’ll send it out to you and you can then use it to pay cash and cheques directly into our account.

Yes, through our secure online form.

All the transactional areas of Breast Cancer Now’s websites are on a secure server and use encryption security software in areas where online payment details are accepted.

If you'd rather set up a direct debit by post, you can download and print off our direct debit form and return it to us at the address shown on the form.

Please contact our Supporter Care team on 0333 20 70 300 or email them at hello@breastcancernow.org and they will be happy to help you.

If possible, and to help make this quicker for you, please have to hand your supporter number (if known), full name and postcode.

Unfortunately donations and payments which fail may still show up on your bank account.

Rest assured it won’t be taken from you, but the amount will show up in your pending transactions until it is removed by your bank, which can take up to 10 working days.

The most common reasons for a rejected payment are your billing address postcode or card CVV number not matching, so check them carefully before trying again.

Please contact our Supporter Care team on 0333 20 70 300 or email them at hello@breastcancernow.org and they will be happy to help you.

If possible, and to help make this quicker for you, please have to hand your supporter number (if known), full name and postcode.

If you would like to change any of your details, then please contact our Supporter Care team who will be happy to help.

You can contact them by email at hello@breastcancernow.org, on the telephone on 0333 20 70 300, or write to us at Breast Cancer Now, Fifth Floor, Ibex House, 42-47 Minories, London EC3N 1DY.

When emailing or writing, please quote your supporter number (if known), full name and postcode so we can help you as quickly as possible

Gift Aid allows Breast Cancer Now to claim tax back from HM Revenue & Customs on all your donations. For every £1 you give, we will receive 25p through Gift Aid, giving us a total amount of £1.25.

It doesn’t cost you a penny more and the additional support will help to fund Breast Cancer Now’s vital work; making a difference to the lives of even more people affected by breast cancer.

To qualify for Gift Aid you must be a UK tax payer and pay an amount of Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax each tax year (6 April – 5 April) at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities you donate to will reclaim on your gifts for that tax year. Other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify. Breast Cancer Now will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that you have given.

To find out more about Gift Aid visit the HMRC website. 

You can let us know at any time whether you are eligible for Gift Aid or not by getting in touch with our Supporter Care team via email at hello@breastcancernow.org or by phoning 0333 20 70 300.

All you need to do is ask sponsors/donors to complete in full the boxes on your sponsorship form – this includes their name, address and postcode and, if they are eligible, to tick the Gift Aid box.

If you have not received a sponsorship form from us, all you need to do is contact our Supporter Care team by email at hello@breastcancernow.org or over the phone on 0333 20 70 300 and request it.

To qualify for Gift Aid your sponsor/donor must be a UK tax payer and pay an amount of Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax each tax year (6 April-5 April) at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities they donate to will reclaim on their gifts for that tax year. Other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify.

Breast Cancer Now will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that they have given. If you set up a Virgin Money Giving/Just Giving online page, all your donors will be asked about Gift Aid when they donate.

Remember Gift Aid is only claimable on voluntary donations, so if you are selling tickets or organising raffles ask for ‘suggested donations’ instead of the ticket sales.

Yes, Find out more about payroll giving. 

Yes. Find out more by visiting our Funds in Memory website. 

Yes. Donations we receive in memory of a loved one are very special to us. Find out more about giving in memory.

Yes. Many people choose to leave us a legacy in their will. Find out more about leaving a gift in your will. 

Wherever you are in the UK, we can help you with your fundraising. We have regional fundraising groups who would love to help you, or you can even set up your own group. Get in touch with our team at community@breastcancernow.org.

If you have questions about our face-to-face fundraising you can visit our face-to-face fundraising page or contact our Supporter Care team at hello@breastcancernow.org or by telephone on 0333 20 70 300.

At Breast Cancer Now we use door-to-door fundraising and private site fundraising (where fundraisers work in locations such as shopping centres and train stations). This means that you may speak to one of our fundraisers; either at your door or whilst you are out and about.

This type of fundraising - and the thousands of people who choose to support us in this way – brings in vital funds that we need to carry on our life-saving work. It’s an extremely efficient and cost effective way of generating income and has raised millions of pounds for Breast Cancer Now since we started this public fundraising in 2007.

We use it because, put simply, it raises lots of money for us so we can fund our life saving breast cancer research.

It's a great way to talk to people about what we do and enables us to reach people who may not otherwise have the opportunity to support us. It also usually generates higher value donations. Some people prefer this form of fundraising as it gives them the opportunity to ask questions about our work and discuss the different ways in which they can donate.

The organisation that regulates face-to-face fundraising (Fundraising Regulator) has a code of conduct that states that face-to-face fundraisers must "always end a conversation in a polite and respectful manner as soon as they are asked to".

It also states that fundraisers should "never say anything that could pressure or harass people" and should "not use manipulative techniques." Our fundraisers follow this code. 

Once approval has been granted, we inform our external agencies who then decide where the fundraisers will work.

Find out more about our face-to-face fundraising.

We don't visit people in a no cold calling zone. 

Breast Cancer Now adheres to the Fundraising Regulator's Codes of Practice. If you feel that you have been visited and shouldn’t have been, then please contact our Supporter Care team at hello@breastcancernow.org, or call us on 0333 20 70 300.

The telephone is a great way for us to develop a relationship with our donors. We use it to welcome new donors and thank people for supporting us. It is also one of the most effective ways of raising steady income and essential funding for our life-saving research and life-changing care. 

We carry out full training with every telephone agency that we work with, and deliver regular training throughout a specific fundraising campaign.

We carry out regular call listening to ensure the content and integrity of the calls being made on our behalf. All calls are also recorded.

Yes. Breast Cancer Now is an organisational member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising.

We are also a member of the Fundraising Regulator and commit to following the Code of Fundraising Practice.

Yes.

All of our fundraisers are professionally trained throughout the year, as we want them to be knowledgeable ambassadors who confidently represent Breast Cancer Now, and are trained to be compliant with the Fundraising Regulator's Code of Practice.

We constantly monitor our fundraisers' behaviour and performance through mystery shopping, shadowing and other ways of monitoring.

We want to ensure they represent Breast Cancer Now's values when talking to the public and adhere to all the regulations and codes of practice set out by the Fundraising Regulator.

Every complaint is taken very seriously and individually dealt with, and actions are taken to prevent it from happening again. Breast Cancer Now is an organisational member of the CIOF, and we will only work with agencies who are also members of the CIOF and therefore committed to adhering to the codes. 

If you are visited by one of our fundraisers or see them when you are out and want to make sure they are working for us, the following will tell you how you can identify them and where they are currently working.

Our door-to-door fundraisers:

• carry an ID card with their name, photograph, employee number and details of the agency the fundraiser works for
• wear a pink Breast Cancer Now branded t-shirt
• carry up-to-date Breast Cancer Now materials including information sheets and 'Thank you for Listening' cards

Our private-site fundraisers (working most commonly in shopping centres or train stations):

• are wearing pink Breast Cancer Now branded T-shirts
• stand near a large Breast Cancer Now banner or stand
• carry up-to-date Breast Cancer Now materials including information sheets and Touch, Look, Check (TLC) breast awareness guides.

To see if our door-to-door fundraisers are working in your area, please check our face to face fundraising page. 

If you have any concerns about fundraisers in your area, please call our dedicated Supporter Care team on 0333 20 70 300 or email them on hello@breastcancernow.org.

We do not make fundraising calls to people who are registered with the Telephone Preference Service unless they have specifically asked to hear from us in this way.

If you are newly registered with the Telephone Preference Service, it may take up to twenty-eight days for your registration to take affect but you should not receive fundraising calls from us after that date.

We may still call you for administrative purposes, for example if there is a problem with your Direct Debit or if you have won the Pink Ribbon Lottery.

Yes.

We send mailings to existing supporters throughout the year unless they have told us that they do not wish to hear from us via mail.

If you want to stop receiving mailings from Breast Cancer Now, then please contact our Supporter Care team on hello@breastcancernow.org, telephone us on 0333 20 70 300 or write to us at Breast Cancer Now, Fifth Floor, Ibex House, 42-47 Minories, London EC4N 1DY.

We do send mailings to existing supporters unless they have told us that they do not wish to hear from us via direct mail.

If you are an existing supporter and want to stop receiving mailings from Breast Cancer Now, then please contact our Supporter Care team on hello@breastcancernow.org, telephone us on 0333 20 70 300 or write to us at Breast Cancer Now, Fifth Floor, Ibex House, 42-47 Minories, London EC4N 1DY.

No.

We will not, and have never, shared our supporter data with other organisations for marketing purposes.

Breast Cancer Now aims to maintain high standards in all of its work but we recognise that we can sometimes get things wrong, despite our best intentions. We are committed to establishing and maintaining good relations with all supporters, campaigners, donors, partners, volunteers and members of the public and we aim to always treat people with respect.

Breast Cancer Now is a member of the Fundraising Standards Board and as such, complies with the six key pledges in the Fundraising Promise.

At Breast Cancer Now, we openly welcome feedback, comments, suggestions and complaints. We actively encourage you to contact us with your feedback, whether good or bad.

Complaints are especially important to us as they may help us to see where our procedures or activities might be improved. Without your feedback on these occasions we would not be able to improve the service we offer to you in the future, and therefore we value and take seriously any feedback you provide. We promise to take all complaints seriously and to deal with them in a timely manner.

To find out more, please see our Complaints Policy.

Thank you for deciding you would like to hold an event for Breast Cancer Now. Whatever fundraising event you have in mind, we are here to help and support you every step of the way, and are available to help with any questions you may have.  

If you are unsure about what sort of fundraising event you would like to hold, visit our do your own fundraising page or email community@breastcancernow.org.

Breast Cancer Now promotes numerous fantastic events all year round. To take a look at what’s on offer, visit our sports and adventure page. 

If you would like to find out more about any of our promoted events, or if you'd like to take part in an event not advertised on our website, please do get in touch with our Events team at sports@breastcancernow.org or call 0345 092 0804.

We will provide you with a fundraising pack full of ideas on how to reach your target. You will also have the support of the events team. However, if you do not manage to raise the minimum sponsorship, you will have the opportunity to make up the shortfall yourself.

As a rule of thumb, you should aim to have received 80% of your fundraising at least two weeks before your event.

Just let us know by contacting our Supporter Care team by email at hello@breastcancernow.org or over the phone on 0333 20 70 300.

Please be aware if you are taking part in an event using a Breast Cancer Now guaranteed place, we may incur a cost (depending on how close the event is) and we will offer you the opportunity to make a donation to cover this cost.

You should make clear to the people that have sponsored you that their money is a donation to us and not refundable if you pull out of the event.

Please call us on 0333 20 70 300 to discuss this scenario.

Like other medical research charities, we acknowledge that despite recent scientific developments there are times when potentially life-saving research still depends on the use of animals.

We don’t take this issue lightly. Our researchers are always looking for ways to avoid using them or use fewer animals in research. But for now, all new medicines no matter what they are, need to be tested on animals by law.

We’re a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), and we adhere to the AMRC position on the use of animals in medical research. It means we won’t fund animal research unless there’s no alternative.

Our scientists carry out the majority of their research on computers or on cells in a laboratory. They may also use tissue samples donated by patients or ask them to get involved in research, where appropriate. But if we’re all working to stop people dying from breast cancer, we need to explore every available avenue, which might one day lead to new drugs, treatments and cures.

We receive several calls each week from laboratories, universities, individual researchers and heads of department – all looking for funding.

All applicants fill in a detailed form, which then goes out to two members of our Grants Committee.

If they deem the application worthy, it is then sent out to recognised experts across the world in the field for their review and comments, in line with Association of Medical Research (AMRC) guidelines. A professional in the same field will know where to look for inconsistencies and flaws, and will also be able to judge whether the budget for the project is reasonable.

It highlights project duplication, where a team has a poor track record or a line of research which others have proved to be of no value. All comments received are then reviewed by members of our Grants Committe, who will recommend to the charity’s Board of Trustees which projects should receive funding. Only those projects of the highest quality will receive funding.

Find out more about our research.

We want everyone to have the care they deserve, whether they have concerns, have just been diagnosed, or have finished treatment. Our free services offer tailored information and support to anyone affected by breast cancer.

Find out more about the support we offer. 

We benchmark all our salary ranges against the sector every year; our CEO’s salary of £116k per annum is within 10% of the median pay range for similar-sized charities. The chief executive’s salary is decided very carefully, and entirely transparently, by our board of trustees.

CEO and senior management salaries are, of course, also included in the annual review. Our chief executive is responsible for all major decisions concerning the income and investments of a charity with annual commitments amounting to around £25 million, which funds worldwide research seeking a cure for breast cancer. She manages and engages with stakeholders, supporters, parliamentarians and the media in order to ensure we make a difference to all those affected.

Breast Cancer Now is absolutely dedicated to investing in our employees and growing as an organisation to ensure we achieve our ambition of finally putting an end to breast cancer. We will continue to monitor our expenditure versus our income to ensure we are in the best possible position to help the thousands of families devastated by this disease every year.

If you would like to inform us of a change in your details, please contact our Supporter Care team by email at hello@breastcancernow.org or by phone on 0333 20 70 300 and we will be happy to amend your details for you.

When emailing, please ensure that you quote your supporter number (if known), full name and postcode.

Volunteering for Breast Cancer Now is a fantastic experience. Find out more about volunteering with us. 

Thank you for choosing to support Breast Cancer Now. We cannot always guarantee that we will have someone available to attend your event but will do our best to arrange it.

Please get in touch with our Supporter Care team by emailing hello@breastcancernow.org and supplying the following information:

• the date are you holding your event and what time would you like a representative to arrive
• what would you like a representative to do, for example, accept a cheque or help at the event
• where are you holding the event

Thank you for your interest in helping us raise awareness for our cause.

We would be very grateful if you could get in touch with our Supporter Care team as we would love to find out more about your fundraising plans and ideas.

You can get in touch either by emailing hello@breastcancernow.org or by calling 0333 20 70 300.