The Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund works to fight childhood cancer and ensures that affected children, teens and their families receive the care and the support they need.
The Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund works to prevent and combat childhood cancers. We also work to achieve better care and to improve quality of life for children with cancer and their families. We work actively to achieve our vision of eradicating childhood cancer. This is how we use your donation.
The majority of the funds we raise are used to finance research. This is a long-term and absolutely vital contribution to preventing, and eventually eradicating, childhood cancers. At the same time, we work actively to provide advice and support measures for children with cancer and their families, as well as to raise awareness and increase knowledge in the community about these diseases.
For this reason, we always carefully assess our initiatives to ensure the greatest benefit from the funds we raise.
This is how donations are spent
Research and training
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Development of unique paediatric tumour bank that stores sensitive cellular tissues |
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Sweden’s first research initiative into brain stem glioma, a tumour that to date has been incurable |
Fundraising work
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The Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund’s Hope events get people involved and promote fundraising through physical activity
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The 2018 Childhood Cancer Gala honours affected little heroes while helping to recruit thousands of new Child Supporters
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Information
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Focus on opinion formation raises awareness of and concern for the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund’s issues |
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The 2018 Childhood Cancer Report summarises the status of ongoing research and helps to raise awareness of childhood cancer |
Advice and support
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Increased investments in specialist nurses and sibling support coordinators at paediatric oncology centres |
*Please note that the Swedish Fundraising Control's calculations of the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund’s income reached a slightly higher amount than shown above. The reason is that the calculation model includes interest income and similar income items from the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund’s long-term security holdings.
Three missions help to eradicate childhood cancer
To achieve our vision of eradicating childhood cancer, we need to provide more resources to research. It is also important that those suffering from childhood cancer – both the children and their families – get the advice and support they need and are entitled to. Our third mission, information, is crucial for the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund to continue to fund research and provide vital advice and support. The information mission raises awareness and increases knowledge about childhood cancer and why your donation is important.
Research and training
The Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund is the single largest financier of research into childhood cancer in Sweden. We also support the development of new treatment methods and professional training in paediatric oncology.
The Fund granted a total of SEK 274 million in 2018 to causes such as:
- This year, 170 paediatric nurses and nurses’ aides, non-paediatric nurses and doctors were trained in paediatric oncology nursing.
- SEK 137 million was granted in the autumn call for proposals. This is a significant increase over last year, allowing the funding of a record number of research projects.
- To increase recruiting to paediatric oncology and to allow a greater number of clinical research projects, 13 registrar positions in the field of childhood cancer were funded at the end of the year.
- Co-funding of the Haematological Oncological Clinical Trials Unit (HOPE) at the New Karolinska Hospital for early clinical pharmaceutical trials.
- Funded 16 placements – an initiative for doctors and nurses in other institutions to do a placement in a paediatric oncology centre.
- Distributed SEK 62 million to researcher positions in the field of childhood cancer.
- Distributed SEK 10 million among five grants in the field of medical technology.
Advice and support
We plan, arrange, and further develop important advice and support measures to children with cancer and their families. This contributes to providing children and their families an opportunity for rehabilitation and much-needed recreation.
Initiatives in the area, amounting to about SEK 43 million in 2018, went to, among other things:
- The former Postcode Lottery funded project Maxa Livet has now become a permanent activity. Maxa Livet is a programme for adult survivors of childhood cancer aiming to improve their life situation and give them strength.
- Held five get-togethers for grandparents of children with cancer, headed by Lennart Björklund, psychotherapist and qualified social worker.
- Hosted 400 people over the course of the year at Almers Hus for a few days’ or a week’s relaxation and socialisation with others in a similar situation.
- Ågrenska competence centre held seven stays for families of children with cancer, offering them knowledge about their child’s diagnosis as well as recreation and exchange of experiences with other families.
- Continuous operations, such as consulting nurses, sibling support coordinators and youth camps and other residential activities.
Information
We work actively to produce and distribute important information and to influence public opinion regarding the issue of cancers in children and teens, which includes initiatives to raise awareness and increase knowledge.
The information mission has used its 2018 budget of SEK 58 million for the following initiatives, among others:
- The opinion drive “The Minister’s Promise”, a follow-up of last year’s drive, “If I were Minister for Health and Social Affairs”.
- Arranged a seminar during Almedalen Week in which all governing parties agreed on special initiatives in paediatric cancer care.
- Highlighted current research in childhood cancer as well as current and future challenges for researchers through the 2018 Childhood Cancer Report.
- Arranged the highly appreciated telethon “The Childhood Cancer Gala – The Swedish Humour Prize”.
- Provided information about childhood cancers and the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund’s operations in our own channels, such as social media, our website and our publications, as well as in the press and media.
- Launched Swedish versions of the Imaginary Friend Society films from the US Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
- Published the book Livet på paus (“Life on Hold”), a book for teenagers being treated for cancer. The book was supplemented with a YouTube series featuring three teenagers with cancer.
We ensure that your donation is used where it is needed most
The Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund has been assigned a ‘90 account’ by the Swedish Fundraising Control. One of the main requirements to obtain such an account is that not less than 75 per cent of the organisation’s total income must be spent on mission-related initiatives. In addition, administration and fundraising expenses may not exceed 25 per cent. In 2018 the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund allocated 85 per cent of funds to mission-related initiatives and 15 per cent went to administrative expenses and bolstered fundraising activities.
The Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund also belongs to the Swedish Fundraising Council (FRII) and is therefore required to publish an annual quality code report. Apart from matters encompassed by the FRII quality code, we work with additional documents to regulate the operations and ensure that your donation is used where it is needed most. These include a staff manual, special job descriptions, authorisation procedures and a number of mission-critical policies and guidelines.
Quality-assured research process
A systematic, meticulous approach subject to external review is crucial to ensure an independent and qualitative research funding process. The Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund constantly reviews its procedures and guidelines to actively avoid conflicts of interest and to ensure that we fund the right research projects.
1. Call for applications
The Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund secretariat presents recommendations regarding research opportunities to be announced during the year. The Board decides and application deadlines are set.
2. Applications are received and preliminarily reviewed
Applications are initially reviewed to ensure that they meet all requirements and to determine whether any conflict of interest is involved before they are distributed to the responsible research committee. The proper expertise must be represented in the committee and a decision taken on whether to involve an external reviewer.
3. Research committee review
The responsible research committee assesses the applications based on scientific quality, research team expertise and relevance to childhood cancer. Additional opinions may be requested from external specialists and representatives from the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund’s layman group.
4. Decision on allocation
The chairperson of the research committee (not a member of individual research committees) takes the final decision, in consultation with Secretary-General of the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund, on allocation of grants based on recommendations from the research committee.
5. Payment
Approved grants are reported as liabilities and contracts with research funding recipients are signed. Payments are made throughout the entire research project period, usually 1–3 years.
Long-term research projects
Several of the research projects funded by the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund are conducted over several years. Completed research projects also often provide the basis for extended and in-depth research. It is therefore not uncommon for research groups working with childhood cancer diseases to participate in new calls for applications when funded research projects are completed.
Continual follow-up
Funded research projects are continually monitored and evaluated. Research grant recipients are required to submit an annual report presenting full evidence supporting compliance with the research plan. A complete final report demonstrating fulfillment of previously established research goals must be submitted at the end of the research project.
Management of our assets
Research projects funded by the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund generally take several years to complete. In practice, this means that when a research project is approved, the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund undertakes to pay out funds for several years. In order to ensure that the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund can live up to these commitments, even in times of reduced donations, some of the assets are managed in various types of financial instruments. To support the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund’s asset management the Board has a Finance Committee consisting of individuals outside the Foundation’s own organisation who possess strong knowledge of the capital markets. The Finance Committee is tasked with tracking the return on capital and ensuring that asset management complies with the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund’s investment policies. More information about asset management and the Finance Committee can be found in the Administration report.