A fundraising challenge, organised by prominent legal firm Franklins Solicitors, has set a new record with more than £35,000 raised in this year’s Apprentice-style challenge.
Forty teams from across Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes took part in the challenge and raised a total of £35,733 for eight local charities – smashing last year’s total of £20,000. The teams received £50 seed funding from Franklins in February and had three months to turn the £50 into as much money as possible for their chosen charity.
An awards ceremony took place on Wednesday 19 June to celebrate the achievements of the teams who used their entrepreneurial skills to come up with creative ways of fundraising, including retro movie nights, stone-baked pizza lunches, 12-hour bike rides, football tournaments, lawn-mowing, bake sales, raffles and much more.
Nick Hewer, Lord Sugar’s former right-hand man and Apprentice star, presented awards to the top five fundraising teams with a team from the John Lewis Partnership in first place, raising £2,922 before Gift Aid. The top five fundraising teams also included MIXXOS Group, Travis Perkins, Amazon BHX3 Daventry and Commsave Credit Union.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Nick Hewer said: “I was intrigued by the challenge and excited by it because it’s clever and it works! From 40 teams, £50 each, that’s a £2,000 investment and the return was extraordinary – they raised £35,000 between them for local charities. I think it’s tremendous community spirited work and I’ve got nothing but admiration for the people that turned that £50 into thousands – and for Franklins for actually driving it forward and turning it into such a success.”
Andrea Smith, Partner at Franklins Solicitors, said: “We are so delighted that this year’s challenge has been a record-breaking year and are incredibly proud that, since it began in 2018, the Franklins £50 Challenge has now raised more than £135,000 for local charities – and that’s including a break during lockdown. At the very heart of this year’s challenge was our desire to fight hunger, fuel wellness and change local lives and we hope that the money raised for the eight local charities will bring a positive impact to people throughout Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes.”
The eight charities benefitting from this year’s challenge are Cynthia Spencer Hospice, Northampton Hope Centre, The Lewis Foundation, Northamptonshire Community Foundation, Willen Hospice, MK Act, Harry’s Rainbow and YMCA – MK.
Awards were also given for all teams raising more that £1,000 and the following categories:
- Small Business Superstar – Sophisticake Creations
- Best Community Initiative – LOL Theatre Company
- Most Creative Fundraising Idea – Aiimi
- Best Example of Teamwork –Soiltechnics
- Best Use of Social Media – Commsave Credit Union
More information about how the challenge can be found at: www.franklins50.co.uk
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