Nick Hewer Backs the 2025 Franklins £50 Challenge for Second Year

Star of The Apprentice and Countdown, Nick Hewer, has shown his support for the Franklins £50 Challenge for the second year running by appearing in a new social media video to help launch this year’s campaign.

The launch video features Nick Hewer, former right-hand man to Lord Sugar, encouraging local teams to sign up for the Apprentice-style challenge, organised by leading law firm Franklins Solicitors LLP. The challenge provides teams across Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes with £50 in seed funding and gives them three months to turn that £50 into as much money as possible for their chosen charity.

12 Charities Set to Benefit in 2025

This year’s campaign supports a record number of 12 charities, with a strong focus on delivering local help and hope to every generation. The selected charities are:

• Cynthia Spencer Hospice
• Northampton Hope Centre
• The Lewis Foundation
• Willen Hospice
• YMCA
• Shay’s Smiles
• Milton Keynes Hospital Charity
• Age UK Milton Keynes
• The Air Ambulance Service
• Arthur Ellis Mental Health Support
• Headway Milton Keynes
• Rainbows Hospice

Andrea Smith, Partner at Franklins Solicitors LLP, commented:

“Last year’s campaign was a record-breaking year with more than £35,000 raised for eight local charities. This year, with a record 12 charities set to benefit, we’re hoping we can raise even more money and really make a difference by bringing help and hope to as many people as possible across Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes.”

Nick Hewer said:

“I first became involved in the Franklins £50 Challenge last year and I’m delighted to lend my support again this year as it’s such a brilliant initiative to spur people on to fundraise and ignite entrepreneurial thinking and flair. I’m looking forward to discovering the creative ways teams choose to turn one £50 note into hundreds, or hopefully thousands of pounds to benefit the charities that help so many people in our local communities.”

A Proven Format with Impact

Last year’s participants raised money through a wide variety of fundraising activities including bake sales, raffles, retro movie nights, pizza lunches, 12-hour bike rides, football tournaments and even lawn mowing services. The creativity and community spirit behind each fundraiser continues to drive the challenge’s success and growing popularity.

How to Get Involved

The Franklins £50 Challenge 2025 runs from Monday 24 February to Friday 23 May. Teams can sign up or learn more at www.franklins50.co.uk.

For media enquiries or interview requests, please contact:

• Rosanna Stimson, Marketing Manager at Franklins Solicitors LLP
• Phone: 01908 660966
• Email: rosanna.stimson@franklins-sols.co.uk

Franklins £50 Challenge 2025 Welcomes Record Number of Charity Partners

Milton Keynes and Northampton are poised to see a significant boost in charitable support thanks to the Franklins £50 Challenge, an innovative fundraising initiative inspired by the Apprentice. Franklins Solicitors LLP has selected a record 12 charities from over 40 applicants to benefit from the 2025 campaign, including seven new partners that are joining the initiative for the first time.

The participating charity partners for 2025 include:

• Northampton Hope Centre
• Cynthia Spencer Hospice
• The Lewis Foundation
• Willen Hospice
• YMCA

New additions to this year’s line-up are:

• Age UK Milton Keynes
• The Air Ambulance Service
• The Arthur Ellis Mental Health Foundation
• Headway
• Milton Keynes Hospital Charity
• Rainbows Hospice
• Shay’s Smiles

The Franklins £50 Challenge invites local businesses to form teams that each receive £50 seed funding from Franklins Solicitors. Over the course of three months, these teams are tasked with creatively transforming their initial investment into substantial funds for their chosen charities. Participants can employ a variety of fundraising methods, from bake sales to barbecues, auctions, car washes and more.

Since its inception in 2018, the Franklins £50 Challenge has successfully raised over £135,000 for local charities while shining a spotlight on their invaluable contributions to the community. The 2025 challenge will run from February 24th to May 23rd, under the tagline: “Local Help and Hope for Every Generation.”

Andrea Smith, Partner at Franklins Solicitors, said:

“Each year, the £50 Challenge continues to grow and attract more participation. We received over 40 applications from charities who wanted to be part of the 2025 campaign. It was an extremely difficult decision to narrow this down. So much so, that we decided to select 12 charity partners, a 25% increase from last year.

We’re really excited to be working with local charities who do amazing work in our communities and rely on public support to help make this happen. We hope to see as many businesses as possible signing up to make a difference. As well as raising money to help make a positive impact in the local community, it’s a collaborative opportunity for teambuilding, networking, getting creative and having fun.”

Franklins is encouraging companies and organisations to sign up to take part in the 2025 £50 Challenge. To register as a team visit: www.franklins50.co.uk.

Franklins £50 Challenge Breaks Fundraising Record with Over £35,000 Raised

We are delighted to announce that the annual Franklins £50 Challenge 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.

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
• YMCA – MK

Awards were also given for all teams raising more than £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