Charity
What many people may not know is that Freemasonry is a great contributor of charitable donations – second only to the National Lottery in the United Kingdom – and is solely funded through the generosity of Freemasons and their families.
Built upon the founding precepts of helping those who are less fortunate, this work continues today amongst not only it’s members and their dependents, but the wider community with over 50% of funds raised being given to non-masonic national and local charities in support of their work for local communities and society in general. This includes long-term funding for medical research such as prostate and ovarian cancer.
Recently, the Masonic Charitable Foundation was set up to bring together the four national Masonic charities which have operated under different names since the 18th century, these being:
- The Freemasons’ Grand Charity
- The Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys
- The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution
- The Masonic Samaritan Fund
During their time of operation, the four charities each provided a specific type of support to meet various charitable aims in support of Freemasons and their families.
All of the funds disbursed by these Masonic charities are raised directly by local Lodge members and their families. All charity contributions are at the sole discretion of individual members with no contributions being collected from the public. Each of the national and local Masonic charities has its own charitable objects for specific purposes.
