11 minute read
Charity and the Craft
Community spirit
An update from Masonic Charitable Foundation Chief Executive Les Hutchinson
It has been another busy year so far at the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF, the Freemasons’ charity) as we have responded to a number of events and launched new projects and partnerships, as well as maintaining the smooth running of our operations under hybrid working arrangements.
At the beginning of the year, we launched a fundraising appeal on behalf of Freemasonry to tackle the growing humanitarian and refugee situation in Ukraine. We reacted within days of the invasion with a grant of £50,000 to the British Red Cross. The MCF and UGLE then launched an appeal, which reached £500,000 very quickly – and now stands at more than £1.1 million. Five major grants have already been made to leading aid agencies and further such awards will follow. It has been incredible to see how much Freemasonry has stepped up in response to this crisis.
In April, we welcomed our new President, Right Worshipful James Long, and said goodbye to Right Worshipful Richard Hone, who has served the MCF, and previously the Freemasons’ Grand Charity, for more than 19 years. We are incredibly grateful for the enormous contribution made by Richard over many years and look forward to working closely with James.
To further support charities across England and Wales, the MCF has launched a new strategic partnership with Cranfi eld Trust (see page 74). Funded by a £228,000 grant, this will support smaller charities identifi ed by Provinces and Metropolitan Grand Lodge by providing pro bono management consultancy and mentoring. The partnership will also spearhead a major national study into the professional development and training needs of frontline charity managers. The MCF and Freemasonry have been long-standing cash donors for many charities and causes, but this new partnership will see Freemasonry funding practical help that will benefi t the charities and their leaders for many years.
At our summer trustee board meeting, we were pleased to welcome representatives of Age UK. They provided an update on the impact that our major grant of £1.2 million is having on older people across the country through our ‘later life goals’ initiative. It was reported that an astonishing 10,000 older people had received support and the project also identifi ed £18.74 million in hitherto unclaimed benefi ts for older people. That’s an additional £4,000 of income on average for every person supported by the project. This extra money will be making all the diff erence as prices continue to rise.
I’m very pleased that following the various lockdowns, Festival activities are now back up and running. These include many innovative and, in some cases, daring, fundraising events that have taken place over recent months, as well as the fi nal appeal celebrations in Essex, Leicestershire and Rutland, Durham and Oxfordshire. We remain immensely grateful to all those who have done so much to support our work; it is much appreciated.
This year, the MCF celebrates its sixth birthday. In just 72 months we have awarded grants on behalf of Freemasonry amounting to more than £110 million – or £60,000 per day – comprising more than 18,000 grants to individuals in need and more than 3,700 grants to charities. This is only possible thanks to the generosity of Freemasons, their families and friends, who continue to enthusiastically support our work.
In 2022, we will have come to the end of our fi rst fi ve-year strategy and have started to develop plans that will direct the MCF over the next few years. We look forward to consulting and discussing these proposals with key groups within Freemasonry as this process develops.
As always, the MCF remains here to help with a range of fi nancial, family, health and care needs. We are very much open for business. If you or someone you know might benefi t from our support, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thanks for your ongoing support.
Take ten
Freemason and Prestonian lecturer Tony Harvey celebrates a decade of delivery for Freemasonry, Scouting and charity
Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) Trustee Tony Harvey is celebrating a decade of delivering his 2012 Prestonian Lecture, ‘Scouting and Freemasonry: two parallel organisations?’ In addition to reaching this milestone, Tony has also raised more than £100,000 for charities since 2012 from his various Masonic books and talks.
The annual Prestonian Lecture is the only lecture held under the authority of UGLE as a memorial to William Preston (1742-1818), the foremost Masonic educator of his age, who left a legacy to Grand Lodge to provide for an annual lectureship. Each year, the Board of General Purposes nominates lecturers to the Trustees of the Prestonian Fund who then make the appointment.
Tony has now delivered his 2012 lecture on 132 occasions across London and all 47 Provinces, as well as in five overseas Districts. During the pandemic, technology stepped in to allow the lecture and Tony’s other talks to continue, and he delivered these online to audiences around the world 141 times.
The 2012 Prestonian Lecture starts by outlining the many parallels between Scouting and Freemasonry as values-based membership organisations, as well as key differences. It then draws upon Tony’s original research about Robert Baden-Powell and his links to the Craft. Based on this foundation, the lecture continues with examples of how Scouting and Freemasonry are working together today and the potential for a mutually beneficial relationship between the two organisations.
Tony’s growing list of other talks on Freemasonry combine historical analysis with an understanding of the development of people and organisations, to promote a forward-thinking approach to Freemasonry. They include his 2018 Cornwallis Lecture, ‘The future of Freemasonry: evolution and change’, and ‘Seven habits of highly successful Lodges’. Tony has developed the latter into a book, to be published this year by Lewis Masonic. In total, £102,575 has been raised from Tony’s books and talks. This has been supplemented by Tony’s personal fundraising activities, which have added a further £13,433 – including a rainy and rather windswept walk to the summit of the Old Man of Coniston in the Lake District on Tony’s 60th birthday.
Several charities within Freemasonry, including the MCF and its predecessor charities, and the Mark Benevolent Fund, have received a total of £76,871 over the past 10 years – £38,000 has gone to support Scouting and especially its heritage work. It has funded the installation of a climate control system in the national archives, the digitisation of the Baden-Powell archive and the first-ever donation to The Scout Association’s Heritage Centre at Gilwell Park, the Scouts’ national headquarters, in Essex.
Looking back on his decade of delivering the lecture, Tony says, ‘I am very proud to belong to both Freemasonry and the Scouting movement and I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to visit so many places and meet so many people by delivering this lecture.
‘It has now been 10 years and I continue to receive many requests from Lodges and other groups to deliver the lecture, as well as other talks. It is a privilege to be able to keep sharing my passion for the positive work of these two wonderful organisations, which have added so much to my life and the lives of so many others.’
To find out more, visit prestonian2012.org.uk
Tony Harvey has raised an incredible £102,575 from his books and talks
RMBI Care Co. staff receive British Citizen Award in praise of efforts during the pandemic
Care home managers at RMBI Care Co. have received a British Citizen Corporate Award in recognition of their leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, all staff members at the homes, which provide older people with residential care, nursing care and residential dementia support, have been awarded a British Citizen Award Certificate of Recognition for their ‘exceptional endeavours in the Workplace Community’. Regional, national and head office staff have also been awarded the same certificate.
Mark LLoyd, managing director at RMBI Care Co., said, ‘Our care homes, head office and national teams have worked tirelessly to ensure that our residents have received exceptional care and remained safe.’
The 180-year-old charity provides care and support to older Freemasons, their families and people in the wider community across 18 care homes in England and Wales.
Mark added, ‘I am delighted that our home managers have been personally recognised for their contribution, as they have demonstrated tremendous leadership and have all risen to the challenge and ensured their residents, their relatives and staff have been kept up to date with the ongoing unprecedented and changing situation.’
Receiving the award, Beverley Roberts, home manager at Prince Michael of Kent Court in Watford, said, ‘It’s a real honour to be recognised for the work that we do, as well as each of our staff members, who go over and above every day to support the residents within our care. It has been a challenging few years, but we have emerged stronger and closer as a team.’
The British Citizen Awards help to recognise individuals doing extraordinary things in the local community. Anyone can be nominated for an award, providing they have had a meaningful impact on those around them.
Staff member Christobel Barrow, home manager Beverley Roberts and staff member Barbara Augusty with their certificates and medal at RMBI Care Co. Home, Prince Michael of Kent Court, Watford
Activities coordinator Fee Collins and resident Sheila Cocks cycle side by side at RMBI Care Co. Home Devonshire Court in Leicester. All staff members at the homes have been awarded a British Citizen Award Certificate of Recognition for their ‘exceptional endeavours in the Workplace Community’.
MCF forges links with new partner
Cranfield Trust receives partnership grant to aid small charities
The Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF, the Freemasons’ charity) has awarded Cranfield Trust a strategic partnership grant of £228,000, which will fund the crucial management support of 60 small charities.
This grant from the MCF, on behalf of Freemasons, will help provide essential social welfare services to the people who need them at this most challenging time. Smaller charities will benefit from intensive consultancy or leadership development support in areas such as business planning and strategy, governance, marketing or financial processes.
Amanda Tincknell CBE, chief executive of Cranfield Trust, said, ‘We’re delighted to be working with the Masonic Charitable Foundation to support vital, frontline charities across the country. This generous grant will enable Cranfield Trust to link highly skilled volunteers with frontline welfare charities and organisations to provide essential consultancy and mentoring services. This partnership will provide tailored professional support to meet the needs of smaller charities and, as a result, local communities will benefit from even better charity services.’
Sixty small charities and other not-for-profit organisations from across England and Wales will be able to access essential training and expert help from Cranfield Trust. At least one charity will be nominated by the Metropolitan Grand Lodge and every Province across England and Wales to receive intensive support, while 12 more will be nominated by MCF’s very own Charity Grants team. The partnership will also include a programme of learning events and activities to thousands of other charities.
Drawing on Cranfield Trust’s model of skilled volunteering, charity leaders and managers will benefit from the support of exceptional consultants and mentors.
The partnership will also spearhead a major national study into the professional development and training needs of frontline charity managers, to build a management training programme for thousands more local charities in the future.
‘This important partnership with Cranfield Trust will help 60 small charities to become more effective and improve the delivery of services to people in need. It’s another demonstration of charity being at the heart of Freemasonry,’ said Les Hutchinson, Chief Executive of MCF.
Cranfield Trust’s CEO Amanda Tincknell CBE with the MCF’s Les Hutchinson
Stilz_autumn22.indd 1 29/07/2022 11:06
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