Daffodil Day is back in clover

The Irish Cancer Society (ICS) has recovered from the one-day deluge that cost it more than €500,000 in 2013 to return to profit last year.

According to the society’s 2014 annual report, last year it generated €3.43m from its annual daffodil day fundraiser — €700,000 more than the rain-soaked collection in 2013 that contributed to the ICS recording a €1.2m loss that year.

The recovery of the Daffodil Day monies resulted in the Irish Cancer Society recording a profit of €359,000 for 2014 — a positive swing of €1.59m on the €1.23m loss in 2013.

The accounts disclose that the amount received from last year’s Daffodil Day was also a 6% up on the funding raised by the 2012 Daffodil Day.

Another major contributor to the turnaround in fortunes for the ICS was the €1.5m generated from the ‘nomakeup’ selfie viral campaign and the Paint it Pink campaign.

The directors said it was a challenging year for fundraising events with the annual ‘Movember’ fundraiser down €900,000 on 2013 and this was in line with international trends.

The society is the largest voluntary funder of cancer research in Ireland and last year spent €16m across research and advocacy with the largest amount spent under the heading of breast cancer at €2.96m.

An additional €4.5m was spent on ‘generating funds’.

The directors state that “some other fundraising activities achieved income growth compared with 2013, including donations from the society’s regular giving and direct marketing supporters”.

Last year, the society’s income topped €20.6m— €400,000 higher than what was achieved in 2013 — with 92% of the society’s income coming through fundraising.