Interview with Doris Kiefhaber
| Ms Doris Kiefhaber is the Managing Director of the Austrian Cancer Aid, since 2000. |
1. Can you tell me more about the work your organization does and what are the main drivers behind the establishment of Österreichischen Krebshilfe? The Austrian Cancer Aid has been founded in 1910 under the personal auspices of the Emperor. We have been and we still are a private Non-profit-Organization, beyond any political influence and solely dedicated to the Austrian population and people living in Austria. We are currently supporting approx. 30.000 cancer patients and relatives in our 66 cancer-centers in Austria. We offer a wide range of free of charge support, from psychological support, nutrition consultancy, social and legal consultancy, special programs for children of mothers and fathers suffering from cancer and more and more financial support for those facing financial problems due to cancer. We also run awareness campaigns to stress the importance of early detection of cancer types such as Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Colon Cancer, Gynaecological Cancer, Lung Cancer and the importance of HPV-vaccines. 2. What are your goals and priorities for the next three to five years? We are working on the implementation of further screening models (colon cancer and lung cancer) and the much-needed expansion of palliative care. We need more facilities, more beds, more experienced caregivers and financial support for family caregivers. 3. And what the biggest hurdles are in your way? Never before in our 112 years history, we have been facing such a huge challenge. The pandemic caused an increase of 40% of patients looking for help and support. As a consequence we need more financial resources – but we are facing a historic decrease of donations as many companies are hesitating due to unsecure economic times. 4. Please, tell us who are your main long term supporters and partners? We really appreciate the ongoing support from the Austrian media, industry and private people. This is the basic for our daily work. 5. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, how do you think the fundraising sector has changed? The fundraising sector has changed dramatically. We could not organize Charity Events for 2 years. Also private people and companies can not afford donations like they used to. 6. At WOF we aim to create a platform where business meets charity and so to create a positive difference in the world. What is your opinion on bridging the business events and charities? We have very good experiences with bridging business & charity. Besides company CSR-traditions (and necessities) it is always a win-win-situation. Cancer affects private life as well as business life, independently if you are an employer or an employee. We offer support and services not „only“ for patients but also consultancy for employers and collegues to better help a collegue diagnosed with cancer. 7. How easy is to bring on the board – business companies or individual charity donors? There is no easy fundraising. Specially for us. We have strict ethical rules for running charity campaigns, i.g. we do not „use“ pictures of (bold) cancer patients to attract attention (although every fundraising expert would advise to do so). We can count on a big group of true donors – mostly former patients who once received help and support from us when they needed it most. |
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The Austrian Cancer Aid has been founded in 1910 under the personal auspices of the Emperor. We have been and we still are a private Non-profit-Organization, beyond any political influence and solely dedicated to the Austrian population and people living in Austria. We are currently supporting approx. 30.000 cancer patients and relatives in our 66 cancer-centers in Austria. We offer a wide range of free of charge support, from psychological support, nutrition consultancy, social and legal consultancy, special programs for children of mothers and fathers suffering from cancer and more and more financial support for those facing financial problems due to cancer.
www.krebshilfe.net |