Cancer charity CLIC Sargent has received a donation windfall courtesy of the #nomakeupselfie craze. Its fundraising director Lucy Caldicott is delighted, but highlights that it is essential that charities now plan for such eventualities.

We can all dream, can't we?

For Cancer Research UK, that dream came true last week when, seemingly, out of nowhere not one, but £8m and counting, was donated through the #nomakeupselfies. Tens of thousands of pounds were donated to lots of other cancer charities, including CLIC Sargent, where I work. I'm sure all of us will be putting these funds to good use immediately in our respective organisations.

It might seem strange but it's not always obvious what charities would do if they received an unexpected windfall. Clearly, there are choices which range between bumping up reserves, investing in fundraising, piloting a new service, or scaling up an existing one.

I think it's vital that all charities have a clear answer to the question what would they do with an extra million.

I don't think this is necessary simply because you should always plan for the unexpected.

The reason I think this is so important is because if you can't answer the question, it really means that you don't have a long-term plan. The absence of a long-term plan actually damages your ability to raise more money because without one you can't make a robust and compelling case for extra funds.

If you haven't got a long-term plan involving services growth maybe you don't even need more money. Maybe the amount you're raising now is enough.

I've been known to point this fact out to bosses in the past who've asked me to increase fundraised income.

My first question was what do you need the money for?

In the absence of an answer, frankly, you're just being greedy.