I was a latecomer to the world of philanthropy. My involvement in the charity sector is probably somewhat unusual as there has been no family history or childhood influences. I was introduced to the sector through corporate sponsorship and my journey has taken me through many highs and lows, periods of frustration and periods of high achievement.

For me, philanthropy means not just giving but also using my business skills to help those who are most in need. The sector is so much in need of business people to become actively involved. It is overwhelmed by people who mean so well but do not have the business experience to deliver. My message to my business colleagues is, if you know people that need help and you are in a position to help you should. Therefore my motto is: “If you can you should”.

I grew up in the Scottish Highlands which was a privilege; the local school had less than 300 pupils and teaching quality very high. I did not appreciate the quality of life in the Highlands until I chose to spread my wings. After school I studied Civil Engineering at Edinburgh University, a fantastic institution. Civil Engineering was a very focused degree that taught me how to solve problems and get things done; skills that were to prove very beneficial throughout my career.

My father had been a prisoner of war in Germany throughout World War II having been captured by Rommel’s army in June 1940 and was not to return home until the day before peace was declared in 1945. He survived terrible hardships of internment and hard labour - something that he did not talk about as I am sure he was aware that so many others had suffered even more hardships.  What he learned in the POW camp I can only speculate but on his return he used his skills and determination to set up a business in the construction sector; a business that 50 years later covered all sectors of construction, working both in the UK and overseas.  I joined my father’s business in 1974 when its geographical reach was Inverness and North.    

My responsibilities were varied and challenging allowing me to develop the key management skills that are necessary to run any business and that served me well when I became directly involved in the charity sector.

Appreciating the difference you can make 

My initial introduction to the charity sector was supporting the Sargent Cancer Care for Children’s series of UK wide carol concerts through a connection of my brother who worked alongside me in the family business. 

Over a period of two years I got to know the Sargent charity, its trustees and executives and was eventually invited to become a trustee.

This role gave me the opportunity to meet the children and their families as they struggled through their cancer journey. When you meet those on the journey you realise how dependent they are on the charity sector and you quickly appreciate that you can make a difference. I am so fortunate that I have no direct or family involvement in childhood cancer.

I think it was at my first trustees’ meeting that I realised how much the sector needed business involvement. I was surprised by how poorly run the charity was and expressed my concerns. Funds were not being used efficiently; expenditure was exceeding income and governance was not given the correct attention. I started to ask some necessary and difficult questions which I am sure made me very unpopular. I was amazed to observe that difficult issues were pushed to one side and heads remained in the sand.   

Eventually and probably inevitably I was asked to take on the role of Chairman and set about sorting the 'business'. The solutions were straightforward and quick - it was just that the sector was not accustomed to taking the tough decisions.

Being, by then, fairly hands on I decided to challenge a Government Minister on the support they were giving the non-medical aspects of child cancer care. My meeting was little more than 15 minutess long but the message was very clear. “Come back and discuss when I was able to represent the sector”. This was a sector that was represented by so many charities. I was therefore taking on a major challenge - I was used to that.

Emotion not pounds

I knew that I would be unable to reach any kind of consensus across the sector so I decided that the only way I could deliver was to merge Sargent with another large player in the sector to create the largest child cancer charity in the UK. This was with a background of very few large mergers in the UK charity sector. I think, at that time, the only reference point was the creation of Cancer Research UK.

My selling skills came to the fore as I knocked on the door of charity chairmen that I had never met before. Before long it became obvious that a charity called CLIC, that very much complimented Sargent, would be my target merger partner.  Business acquisitions and mergers was something in which I had experience. The difference was that in the charity world the currency is emotion not pounds. It was an incredibly difficult journey and so often I had to remind those around the table that we were there to help children and not to help careers, whether voluntary or otherwise.

CLIC Sargent became the UK’s largest children’s cancer charity in 2006 with an annual income of £15m. The Government minister was true to his word as after the merger we were successful in persuading the Government to take on some of the salary costs of healthcare professionals (specialist nurses, social workers, and play specialists) to free up valuable income to use on other services.  

After 12 months as Chairman of CLIC Sargent I stood down in order to allow a new team to take the charity forward.  Bringing in fresh blood was always part of my plan as I knew I would always have been seen as having too many emotional ties with one of the merged charities.

Setting up an international charity

This gave me space to contemplate a new challenge offered to me by a good friend - setting up an international child cancer charity. Until that point I was passionate about restricting my philanthropic activity to needy causes in the UK. From a purely business perspective I had real concerns about getting aid efficiently to the international cause I may choose to support. I did however keep an open mind and before I knew it, I was boarding a plane to Bangladesh for a trip that was going to open my eyes to the reality and scale of need in the world. Accompanied by Geoff Thaxter, an inspirational philanthropist and friend who sadly lost his own battle with a brain tumour in 2008, we, during a four-day stay spoke at a conference, met senior government representatives and visited seven hospitals including the only paediatric oncology centre in Bangladesh – one in a country of 160m people. 

During the visit I saw children dying from easily curable cancers with only paracetemol, if that, to ease their pain. I learned that many child cancers can be cured even in low income countries in Bangladesh providing the doctors and nurses have adequate training and there is sufficient funding for drugs. So much could be done with very little funding! 

That trip was life-changing and I realised that by becoming involved I could personally have a direct impact on saving the lives of so many children.  

In the developing world small money can create big change.  In Bangladesh, treating a child with cancer costs £100 to £200 compared to over £100,000 in the UK.  The difference lies in the survival rates – the child in Bangladesh will have a 50% chance of survival whilst the child in the UK about 80%.  But a 50% chance of survival is better than 0%.   

Like the sector itself, I am still learning.  Charitable work in these countries presents huge challenges but also huge opportunities, yet too often philanthropic organisations lack the commercial confidence they need to be truly effective.  Philanthropic organisations must follow best practice as seen in the best corporations – risks must be understood and the management must be ruthlessly focussed.  

My trip to Bangladesh made me realise that what matters is saving the life and reducing the suffering of a child. The culture, the colour, the religion, the country of birth has no relevance. On my return I agreed to become Chairman of World Child Cancer and set about laying out plans that were to make a real difference.

I maintain: “If you can, you should”

At the time, World Child Cancer was a completely new charity so the challenge was to get projects off the ground whilst raising income to sustain them.  We’ve learnt a lot in the five years since the charity was formed and come a long way. Raising money for a cause in a developing country, when we had not, at the time, done anything was challenging. Equally difficult was persuading my trustees to commit to five year funding when we only had 12 months in the bank. We did understand the risks but equally we were determined to succeed. You therefore find solutions. 

We facilitated the treatment of our first child in 2009 and by 2011 we were helping over 1,000 children by improving diagnosis, treatment and care and provided training for more than 750 healthcare professionals across six projects in three continents.  

Whilst my local vision almost stopped me from taking on the World Child Cancer challenge, I now believe large is more effective than small and international equal to local.

There is a strong future for philanthropy in the UK, with considerable scope to increase the level of philanthropy in line with the American experience. When benefit in kind is used efficiently and particularly in terms of skilled people’s time, it can be far more valuable than money. There needs to be more recognition of this. We are still a young organisation with a lot to learn and achieve. I don’t want World Child Cancer to be ‘just another charity’, I want it to continue to grow and become more effective at delivering help to the thousands of children that so desperately need it. 100,000 children die totally of cancer each year and many in severe pain.

Alongside helping charities to become more efficient and grow through direct involvement, I have been very fortunate to have been able to financially support charitable work through my own charitable trust. More people need to experience firsthand the gift of giving, it is so rewarding.

Involvement in the charity sector is not of course plain sailing. The sector needs more people that can do, as opposed to people that talk about doing and this cannot be generated from within the sector. Most in the sector are so passionate about what they do, but they must be prepared to learn lessons from successful business and sweat their assets. I have proven that it can be done. I have been very fortune to have had considerable influence on the success of two charities an involvement that has been very time consuming but has given immense pleasure and has been extremely satisfying. 

Gordon is a businessman and entrepreneur. Previously, he was a Director and a major shareholder in Morrison plc, a facilities management, property and construction company, from 1975 to 2000. Following the sale of Morrison, Gordon became a Director of AWG plc, the public utility, until 2001. He is currently Chairman of the Chaldean Group, a diverse company with interests in farming, property,business management and venture capital investment and Chairman of Richardson Ltd, a business involved in construction services, facilities management, affordable housing and IT services. He also holds Non Executive Directorships in a number of companies. Gordon is Honorary President and ex-Chairman of CLIC Sargent – for which he co-ordinated the merger of CLIC and Sargent o create the UK’s largest children’s cancer charity. He is Chairman of World Child Cancer. He lives in Hertfordshire and has two grown-up children.

PIcture caption: Gordon, wife and grandaughter at a recent fundraising event.

www.worldchildcancer.org