Macmillan Cancer Support raised £186.9m in 2013 – an increase of £34.1m on the previous year, according to the charity’s latest annual report.

The majority of Macmillan’s total income of £189.7m, which was up 22 per cent on the 2012 figure, came from voluntary sources with the remaining 2 per cent from investments and grants.

Last year’s voluntary income included £20m raised by Macmillan’s flagship fundraising event, World’s Biggest Coffee Morning, beating the previous record set in 2012 by £5m.

Macmillan’s annual report, published last week, says the money raised by supporters enabled it to spend a record £121.7m on its services, an increase of 9 per cent on 2012.

It says the charity has strong growth plans and will continue to invest in fundraising to achieve them. Last year, £58.1m was spent on fundraising.

Macmillan’s biggest source of income is legacies with £59.2m raised by gifts in wills in 2013, an increase of 16 per cent on the previous year.

Direct marketing raised £38.5m, up £6.1m, and events raised £37.2m, up from £25.9m.

Money from trusts and corporate partnerships was also up, increasing 22 per cent to £21.5m, as were unsolicited donations made by the public, which grew by £3.2m to £19m.

Grant income was down to £445,000 from £656,000 in 2012. 

“We have strong charitable expenditure growth plans and continue to invest in our fundraising in order to deliver our ambitious plans. Our ambition to increase our reach, therefore, sits alongside the need to take time to ensure we get any new ways of funding right,” the report says.

“We are not dependent on government money and we have a strong and diverse portfolio of fundraising streams, having consistently invested in fundraising for many years now.”

Macmillan has one unnamed employee in its highest wage bracket of £170,001 to £180,000.