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Who are their major competitors?

No other charity has the same charitable objectives, and in that sense, the Foundation does not have a competitor. There are several other charities associated with meningitis in the UK, the most well known of which is probably the Meningitis Trust based not far from Meningitis Research Foundation, in Gloucestershire. This could be seen by some as a direct competitor, but the two charities would say that the fight to end meningitis and septicaemia is an excellent cause whatever charity you choose to support in that goal, and to that end they often collaborate in aspects of work.

It is possible to break down public support for charities into a number of different segments - charities to do with illness and disease like meningitis, cancer, leukaemia, and heart disease for example, charities concerned with animals, such as the WorldWide Fund for Nature, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), charities associated with specific causes such as natural disasters and so on. Each charity has a certain group of people who associate themselves with that charity for a variety of reasons. The challenge for charities is to find and capture the relevant market segment - in the case of the Foundation, those who feel a need to give to a charity concerning human health.

It could be argued that Meningitis Research Foundation has to compete with other charities in the same segment, or indeed all the other charities that exist in the UK, for the public's money. Giving to charities is likely to be related to income - elastic and normal. If incomes rise by (for example 5%) donations to charities might be expected to rise by possibly more than 5%. This also means that charities such as Meningitis Research Foundation are susceptible to changes in the economy - if incomes are rising slowly, donations might also rise slowly or even fall. This underlying uncertainty in income makes for difficulties in long term planning by charities reliant on the public's generosity.

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