'It should be about the cause': Neurosurgeon reveals why he left his own charity
Globally renowned Australian neurosurgeon Professor Charlie Teo has revealed the reason behind his decision to leave his own charity, saying there's a huge amount of money being spent on administration, and not enough on where it's needed most.
Professor Teo established his charity the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation in 2003.
He says he wants to slash costs and donate more of the money raised to finding a cure for brain cancer.
Earlier this year, Professor Teo led an investigation in to how much goes where in terms of charitable donations.
He said when looking at the financial statements of most of Australian charities, some of the profits are as high as 98 per cent.
"The defence is they need to spend this amount of money to run the charity. I can tell you I think that is untrue," he said on Weekend Sunrise.
"The public would object if they knew the CEOs were driving a company car, putting it in company space, travelling first class, doing any travel at all.
"It is all about volunteerism. It is all about the cause, not the running of the charity itself. There is no reason why these cannot run lean."
Professor Teo said he doesn't believe enough money is going where it should for the brain cancer charity leading him to decide to start his own foundation.
"For brain cancer, we're talking millions of dollars needed," he said.
"If the government was to decide to donate $1 billion, it is terrible if 90 per cent of it goes to the mechanisms rather than the scientists. It is a conversation that needs to be started.
"I am hoping by starting my foundation and stepping away from the corporate charities, hopefully that will lead to better results."
Professor Teo said the decision to walk away from his own charity wasn't easy.
"It was a pretty sad decision. It was a great foundation, I was happy with what it had done," he said.
"65 per cent they would spend on overheads is very comparable and good compared with other large charities.
"Again, that is wrong. It is wrong that 65 per cent should be good. It should be around 10 to 15 per cent."
Professor Teo said it would hurt anyone to know their donation may not be going to what they think it is.
"When you donate, you donate for good reasons and you are hoping the money goes to whatever you donate to," he said.
"It hurts me, so I can imagine it would hurt anyone that the money is not going to where it is meant to be going.
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But the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation disputed Prof Teo's claims that nearly two thirds of funding was going to administrative costs.
In a statement provided to Yahoo7, the foundation's CEO Michelle Stewart said in the past year "we have funded the biggest research push in Australian history with more than 62 cents in every dollar raised being directly invested into the cause, which is world-class brain cancer research, advocacy, and awareness".
“We work hard to keep our administration costs low, at just 15 per cent – not 65 per cent, as has been implied. And while there are also some costs associated with our fundraising, this investment ultimately allows us to generate more revenue, which means more funding for potentially lifesaving research," the statement said.
Ms Stewart said brain cancer was a "national priority" and in order to beat "we must work together as a team to ensure it succeeds, rather than competing".
“Whether that’s lobbying government, encouraging pharmaceutical companies to focus on brain cancer, funding international research collaborations, or backing fundraising campaigns to generate more funds for research, we must do it, if it will lead to increased survival," the foundation boss said in the statement.
But for the erstwhile foundation member now setting out on his own, Prof Teo said it's his patients that keep him going.
"My courage is in my patients. They come in and we tell them they are going to die. We cannot say we can cure you and we cannot say we can buy you significant time, it's unfair," he said.
"They don't complain, they march on and stay hopeful. Every day, I see their patients and it gives me patience."
Teo’s new fund, The Charlie Teo Foundation, has applied for charitable status in hopes of launching in March next year.
The low-cost charity aims to raise $100 million a year to boost the fight against brain cancer and slash the percentage of donations spent on overhead costs to just 10-15 per cent.
