When Meghann Parker CA saw a post on social media in 2014 from a stranger calling for people to come together and “do something positive” about cancer, she decided to get involved. A friend in his early 30s had just passed away from the disease and friends of her husband had also recently been diagnosed.

“It seemed like cancer was getting a bit close to home and I wanted to do something,” says Parker. “I wasn’t setting out to start a charity, but I did want to see how I could help.”

Eight strangers answered the initial call and formed a fundraising group under the banner Fight on the Beaches with a simple goal: to raise money for cancer research through the established charity Cure Cancer Australia. Parker explains that in its first year, the group aimed for A$50,000 – a target they ended up doubling.

As their efforts gained traction, they began to identify a critical gap in the system: early detection programs were significantly underfunded and underdeveloped.

“We felt really strongly that prevention and early intervention were just as important as research,” Parker says. “Unfortunately, Cure Cancer’s constitution didn’t allow for that. The funds we raised could only be used for research through their organisation, which meant we couldn’t support other essential projects.”

The group went on to establish Fight for a Cure – a fully registered charity that has raised more than A$3 million through local community events and direct donations. It funds early detection programs, cancer screening clinics and practical support services for patients undergoing treatment.

Filling a critical gap in cancer support

Parker now serves as a director of the charity and says the decision to transition from a grassroots fundraising group to charity was to directly meet a gap in the market.

“The reason we set up our own charity was because we wanted to do something that existing organisations simply weren’t doing,” she says. “We now run cancer screening clinics on the Northern Beaches in Sydney, which we’ve been able to fund independently. This is the kind of service we couldn’t offer under another organisation’s banner.”

With strong local support, Fight for a Cure aims to become the charity of choice in the Northern Beaches community and is well on its way through ongoing events and initiatives.

Building a charity: structure, governance and expertise

Parker’s advice to anyone considering starting a charity is simple: don’t try to reinvent the wheel.

“If there’s already a group doing the kind of work you’re passionate about, take the time to figure out what your end goal is and see if it aligns with an existing organisation.

“You might be able to plug into their infrastructure and have their support, while still fundraising and directing the money toward your area of interest,” she says.

It is advice grounded in experience. The team behind Fight for a Cure was “very lucky” to have had support from members of their original partner charity’s board, says Parker.

With that support, they established a formal structure: a committee responsible for generating ideas and handling hands-on operations, and a board of directors – required under their constitution – to oversee corporate governance.

“Without that support, the legal set-up would have been really expensive,” she says.

Board members contribute a range of professional expertise, including Parker’s husband Tim Parker CA, principal at Acclime, who brings experience in both board leadership and charity governance to Fight for a Cure.

Navigating a crowded charitable landscape

Fight for a Cure’s success has come despite a crowded landscape. Australia’s population is sitting at about 27.5 million with more than 60,000 registered charities. That works out to be one charity for every 458 people.

In New Zealand, there are more than 29,000 registered charities in a population of about five million – roughly one charity for every 173 people.

With so many organisations in both countries, there is intense competition for a limited pool of donations and often several similar charities are appealing to the same donors, says Parker.

“We’re finding that as we approach businesses for support ahead of our big event this year, many of them are already being approached by multiple charities,” she says. “They’re all good causes, which makes it even harder to stand out.

“My advice is to really consider why you want to start a charity, be really clear about it and if there is already a group doing the same thing, see how you can support them before you go down the path of setting up another one.”