Macmillan Cancer Support has today launched a social media fundraising initiative which allows people to ask friends to set them up through Facebook.

The site, My Mate, Your Date, raises money by supporters donating to Macmillan every time a date is suggested to them. Single people choose friends to suggest dates for them over a 30-day period, reviewing dates and requesting information if they are interested. All money collected at the end of the month will go to Macmillan.

My Mate Your Date does not have a specific fundraising target for its first year of operations.

A spokeswoman for the charity said that Macmillan is always looking to develop new and innovative ways to raise money, which includes investment in new fundraising products. However the charity does not disclose expenditure around specific campaigns.

The charity has published a report on online dating in the UK to coincide with the launch. Research conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Macmillan showed that out of 2,000 women and men asked, nine out of ten people think online dating has become more acceptable in the past three years. However, 84 per cent don’t believe it is the best way to meet a long-term partner.

The online dating site has been launched alongside the research which has revealed that 69 per cent of people would be happy for a friend to suggest dates through Facebook.

Model Amy Willerton, who appeared on ITV’s 'I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!' last year, is supporting the launch of the campaign.

She said: “I’m so excited to be involved in My Mate Your Date. Dating for charity is such a clever idea- I  love setting people up so I can’t wait to encourage all my friends to get involved and raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, to help make sure no-one faces cancer alone.”

My Mate Your Date is free to sign up to and participants can suggest the amount they want to pay per date suggested.

Macmillan's Coffee Morning was a huge success last year. The flagship fundraising event smashed its own record to raise £20m in 2013.