Grand President
HRH The Duke of Kent KG
Grand Master
President
Richard Hone QC
Deputy President and Chairman
James H. Newman
Trustees
Charles Akle
John Boyington CBE
Michael Codd
Charles Cunnington
Jean-Paul da Costa
Tim Dallas-Chapman
Simon Duckworth OBE, DL
Adrian Flook
Tony Harvey
Chris Head
Mike Heenan
John Hornblow
Andrew Ross OBE
Ian Sabin
Sandy Stewart TD
Nigel Vaughan
David Watson
Andrew Wauchope
Chris White
Sir Paul Williams OBE, DL
Mike Woodcock
Chief Executive
David Innes
Chief Operating Officer
Les Hutchinson
60 Great Queen Street
London, WC2B 5AZ
020 3146 3333
/theMCF
@masonic_charity
/MasonicCharitableFoundation
Charity number 1164703. Company number 09751836.
For Freemasons, for families, for everyone
The Masonic Charitable Foundation builds better lives by enabling opportunity, advancing healthcare and education and promoting independence for Freemasons, their families and the wider community.
Funded entirely through the generosity of Freemasons and their families, the Masonic Charitable Foundation is one of the largest grant-making charities in the country.
The origins of the MCF
The Masonic Charitable Foundation became operational in 2016 to provide a wide range of financial, health, family and care support to Freemasons, their families and the wider community.
The Foundation brings together the work of The Freemasons’ Grand Charity, the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys, the Masonic Samaritan Fund and the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution. These charities existed separately under various names from the 18th Century and provided specific types of support to Freemasons and their families.
How does the MCF help?
A wide range of help and support is available for financial, health and family related needs, including:
Financial
• Essential daily living costs
• Help through a personal crisis
• Funeral bills
• Emergency home repairs
Health
• Medical treatment
• Mobility aids and essential home adaptations
• Counselling
Family – Children in full-time education
• Educational expenses for children
• University scholarships
• Support for exceptional talent in sport, music or the performing arts
Care
• Respite care
• Masonic care homes – including nursing, residential and dementia care
• UK holidays
• Guidance and support from professional advisers
Practical assistance
The Advice & Support Team offer confidential, impartial and practical guidance about the help available. The Team can also help with applications for state and local authority benefits and can put you in touch with other organisations who can give advice on care, employment and education.
Who is eligible?
Those seeking support must demonstrate the following:
A Masonic connection
Those seeking support must be a Freemason or have a strong family connection to a Freemason under the United GrandLodge of England. The Freemason doesnot necessarily need to be a currentlysubscribing member, but he must havejoined before the need arose.
A financial, health, family or care need
Many needs follow a decrease in household income, but they may also arise because of a life-changing event such as a medical diagnosis, changing care needs, family breakdown or the death of a family member.
Can the MCF help you?
If you would like to speak tosomeone about the range ofsupport available to Freemasonsand their families, please speakto your Lodge Almoner or call the MCF’sdedicated freephone enquiry line:
0800 035 60 90
Enquiries can also be sent to:
Write to:
Masonic Charitable Foundation
60 Great Queen Street
London WC2B 5AZ
Charity Grants
In addition to the support the MCF provides to Freemasons and their families, the Masonic Charitable Foundation looks beyond Freemasonry, making significant financial grants to charities that help people to live happy fulfilled lives and to participate actively in society.
To achieve this aim, grants are awarded to registered charities that provide support in the following areas:
- Financial hardship for those in poverty, debt or unemployment
- Health and disability for people experiencing chronic or life-limiting conditions and disabilities
- Education and employability for disadvantaged children and young people
- Social exclusion and disadvantage for those facing barriers to participating in society
The MCF also provides funding to:
- Advance medical and social research
- Hospices throughout England and Wales
- Air ambulance and rescue services
Funding is also provided to support major natural disaster relief appeals at the discretion of the President.
The charities supported by the MCF make a significant and lasting difference to people in need and aim to benefit as many people as possible and further those causes about which Freemasons and their families are most concerned.
To find out more about the MCF’s Charity Grants, please visit: mcf.org.uk/community
Alongside the thousands of people helped bythe MCF’sCharity Grants programme, the MCF has also helped to improve the lives of around 9,000 life-limited, disabled children through support for Lifelites, a charity which provides educational and fun technology packages for every baby and children’s hospice in the British Isles. Founded as a Masonic initiative, Lifelites has become a well-established charity in its own right and fundraises from Freemasons and other sources. The MCF helps by providing office premises and administrative services meaning Lifelites can focus on delivering its life-enhancing technology.
Support by Masonic Province
Province / Last five years (£) / Last 12 months (£) / Grants awarded to individuals during last 12 monthsBedfordshire / 488,061 / 94,201 / 31
Berkshire / 1,441,034 / 174,618 / 77
Bristol / 493,935 / 81,669 / 26
Buckinghamshire / 1,150,106 / 126,518 / 57
Cambridgeshire / 506,489 / 80,045 / 25
Cheshire / 1,826,491 / 300,167 / 109
Cornwall / 1,905,926 / 324,611 / 86
Cumberland and Westmorland / 706,531 / 69,147 / 36
Derbyshire / 949,474 / 155,645 / 55
Devonshire / 2,345,575 / 389,397 / 124
Dorset / 1,363,392 / 330,734 / 81
Durham / 1,956,985 / 330,463 / 140
East Kent / 2,066,224 / 314,884 / 135
East Lancashire / 3,093,650 / 506,191 / 195
Essex / 4,380,039 / 702,937 / 207
Gloucestershire / 1,282,060 / 187,705 / 74
Guernsey and Alderney / 3,610 / 3,610 / 2
Hampshire and Isle of Wight / 2,955,802 / 484,607 / 154
Herefordshire / 487,191 / 72,645 / 23
Hertfordshire / 1,955,288 / 330,791 / 81
Isle of Man / 43,099 / 4,505 / 3
Jersey / 105,386 / 3,827 / 1
Leicestershire and Rutland / 1,517,725 / 235,856 / 58
Lincolnshire / 1,269,565 / 158,118 / 62
London / 12,631,925 / 1,920,141 / 490
Middlesex / 2,099,937 / 335,962 / 97
Monmouthshire / 644,533 / 71,210 / 34
Norfolk / 927,329 / 243,033 / 48
North Wales / 1,548,498 / 311,341 / 74
Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire / 1,376,244 / 185,391 / 67
Northumberland / 2,295,236 / 340,583 / 105
Nottinghamshire / 790,901 / 165,974 / 40
Oxfordshire / 355,786 / 57,524 / 22
Shropshire / 292,123 / 52,012 / 19
Somerset / 969,022 / 147,566 / 55
South Wales / 4,372,910 / 733,728 / 217
Staffordshire / 693,841 / 83,869 / 35
Suffolk / 1,650,848 / 372,801 / 68
Surrey / 3,949,299 / 607,537 / 151
Sussex / 3,159,037 / 487,806 / 161
Warwickshire / 1,318,682 / 259,189 / 63
West Kent / 2,233,294 / 393,472 / 106
West Lancashire / 5,931,013 / 871,875 / 356
West Wales / 882,045 / 70,057 / 24
Wiltshire / 558,985 / 54,039 / 28
Worcestershire / 922,807 / 166,463 / 62
Yorkshire, North and East Ridings / 2,061,593 / 327,505 / 122
Yorkshire, West Riding / 2,756,505 / 544,909 / 150
Total / 88,716,031 / 14,266,878 / 4,436
Figures for 12 months show April 2016 – March 2017; Figures for 5 years show Jan 2011 – Dec 2016.
Fundraising
The MCF relies upon the generosity of Freemasons and their families to fund its range of charitable support and does not fundraise from members of the public or use street collections.
Festival Appeals
Each year, four Masonic Provinces hold a Festival to celebrate raising funds for the MCF’s work. During the years leading up to the Festival, fundraising events and activities take place that make a significant contribution to the charity’s income. There are many ways to fundraise including sponsored challenges and social events. The MCF is extremely grateful to all supporters.
2017 / Sussex (Grand Charity)North Wales (RMTGB)
Yorkshire, West Riding (RMBI)
Wiltshire (MSF)
2018 / Gloucestershire (Grand Charity)
Nottinghamshire (RMTGB)
Yorkshire, North & East Ridings (MSF)
2019 / Shropshire (Grand Charity)
Hertfordshire (RMTGB)
Suffolk (RMBI)
Surrey (RMBI)
Bristol (MSF)
2020 / Somerset (Grand Charity)
Middlesex (RMTGB)
Northumberland (RMBI)
Herefordshire (MSF)
2021 / Buckinghamshire (MCF)
West Lancashire (MCF)
Durham (RMTGB)
South Wales (RMBI)
2022 / Leicestershire and Rutland (MCF)
Worcestershire (MCF)
Oxfordshire (MCF)
Essex (MCF)
Donating to Festivals
To find out how to make a donation to your Province’s Festival Appeal,please visit mcf.org.uk or call 020 3146 3333.
Legacies
Legacy gifts make an important contribution to the funding of the MCF’s work. Every gift, large or small, can help to make a difference to those assisted through the MCF’s grant-making programmes.
The Relief Chest Scheme
The Relief Chest Scheme is a free service that Lodges, Chapters, Provinces and other recognised Masonic organisations can use to manage their charitable giving efficiently.
The Relief Chest Scheme holds the funds in a dedicated account and uses its charitable status to provide a range of benefits to the donor, including reclaiming Gift Aid. The services provided by the Relief Chest Scheme relieve the chest holders of the burden of administration of charity funds, therefore saving time and resources and allowing them to concentrate on fundraising.
For further information, or to open a Relief Chest for your Lodge, Chapter or Appeal, please visit:
OTHER MASONIC CHARITIES
In addition to the Masonic Charitable Foundation, there are numerous other charities organisedand run by Freemasons. There are far too many to list, but they include Provincial Benevolent Funds,Provincial Education and Relief Funds, Trusts set upand administered within individual Provinces, Funds associated with residential housing or supportingparticular RMBI Homes, and sundry other organisationsbig and small, all concerned with caring for others.