MASTER Cutler Gordon Bridge is handing out thousands of pounds to companies from across the Sheffield region tonight – on the understanding that he wants it all back, with interest.
Around 100 companies have signed up for the Master Cutler's Challenge and pledged to use their entrepreneurial skills to raise money for St Luke's Hospice in Sheffield and Rotherham Hospice.
Fundraising teams from each company will receive a crisp £50 note at a reception in the Cutlers' Hall tonight and take up the challenge to use their ingenuity to turn it into as much money as possible.
Mr Bridge says he's had a fantastic response to the challenge.
"There are few rules and even fewer restrictions, giving every team, ethically, a chance to do exactly what they want, whether this is a sponsored event or a money raising function but I'd rather it was NOT a flutter on the 3.30 at York," he said.
What do you think? Post your comments below.Teams will receive their starting cash at a champagne reception, sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland, where they will also get a chance to hear about the challenges faced by companies and individuals from a number of celebrity speakers, including new Liberal Democrat leader and Hallam MP Nick Clegg.
Mr Bridge said: "I am anxious to raise as much as possible for St Luke's Hospice and the Rotherham Hospice and this seemed a good way of doing that – one that would also help build teamwork and initiative at the companies taking part. I am grateful to venture capital group 3i plc for funding the launch with a donation of £5,000.
Hopes are that the challenge will raise more than £150,000 – the sum raised when the Sheffield office of law firm Halliwells staged a similar, but shorter, challenge last year.
Organisers say a number of companies used the previous challenge as a team building exercise. Many succeeded in using their £50 to raise more than £1,000.
The Master Cutler is staging his own personal challenge as part of the fundraising drive by organising a sweepstake based on the time it takes him to run a mile.
The 63-year-old chief executive of Rotherham mechanical seal maker AESSEAL was timed running a mile at the start of his term of office and will repeat the feat at the end. Sweepstake entrants must guess how much faster or slower he will be after a year of attending functions and dinners.
READ MORELatest appointments.Your Business channel video bulletins.Business diary. The full article contains 428 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
