Fundraisers are too bound up by red tape which prevents them innovating, an audience of senior fundraisers heard this week.

Speaking this week at a Showcase of Fundrasing Innovation and Inspiration (Sofii) conference, entitled I Wish I’d Thought of That, Unicef deputy executive director of fundraising, Catherine Cottrell said that sign-off procedures prevent fundraisers from launching innovative campaigns and that more charities should allow them to run with creative new ideas.

Cottrell said Cancer Research UK’s No Makeup Selfie campaign was able to overcome these barriers to allow fundraisers to take advantage of the social media trend.

She said that while the origins of the No Makeup Selfie remain a mystery, Cancer Research UK was able to harness the popularity of the public mood to create a lucrative fundraising campaign.

The No Makeup Selfie campaign went viral in the UK and raised over £2m for Cancer Research in the first 48 hours and £8m within a month. The £8m funds were used to test ten new clinical trials.