Introducing the Grand Charity - Fact Sheet

Introducing The Freemasons’ Grand Charity The Freemasons’ Grand Charity is dedicated to helping people in need, and has donated over £100 million since 1980.

Helping thousands of people each year The Freemasons’ Grand Charity is a grant-making charity dedicated to supporting people in need. The Charity provides relief grants for hundreds of individuals who are experiencing financial difficulty, as well as donating millions of pounds to nationwide charitable projects and services.

The Grand Charity makes financial grants to support: Freemasons and their families who are experiencing financial hardship Medical research Youth opportunities Support for vulnerable people Hospice services Air ambulance services Worldwide disaster relief

Each year The Freemasons’ Grand Charity provides financial help for hundreds of Freemasons and their dependants who are facing financial difficulties. These difficulties occur for many reasons, not least the current economic crisis, and the Charity seeks to improve the quality of life of those who find themselves in financial need for whatever reason.

In addition, the Grand Charity funds hundreds of nationwide charities each year. These charities are supported because they aim to make a significant difference to people in need, provide maximum impact by benefitting as many people as possible and support issues that Freemasons and their families are concerned about.

The Charity is continuing a commitment to charitable support that began nearly 300 years ago.

Nationwide in 2012, £5.1 million was approved in financial grants to help individuals in need, assisting over 2,000 people. Over 100 charities received a share of £1.7 million, 239 hospices received a total of £600,000 and 22 air rescue charities received a share of £192,000 meaning a grand total of £7,757,758 was donated in 2012.

Case Study Mrs Sue Hammond was widowed last year. Aged 75, she has been living on a small pension and government benefits. Sue has found it difficult to make ends meet, which has caused her upset and worry.

Sue’s late husband’s Lodge Almoner contacted her to find out how she was coping and upon visiting her he immediately began the Grand Charity application process. Soon, Sue received a grant to help with her living costs.

In a recent letter Sue said, “I am so grateful to Freemasonry for helping me, it was such unexpected, wonderful news”.

The Grand Charity helps hundreds of widows like Sue every year, who are struggling to get by on small, fixed incomes.

Providing support for Freemasons & their families The Grand Charity provides assistance for Freemasons and their dependants who are experiencing financial hardship or need.

Grants are made towards: Essential daily living costs (eg utility bills and food) Unexpected needs (eg hardship faced following an accident, redundancy, or other personal crisis) During 2012, £5.1m was approved in total to assist Freemasons and their families in need.

Whilst the majority of those assisted are beyond retirement age and finding it difficult to cope on a low income, there has been a continued increase in the number of younger applicants.

These applicants have often lost their jobs or businesses due to the economic downturn and are struggling financially. We also assist many individuals who suffer from health issues that have left them unable to support themselves financially.

Demonstrating the sometimes life-changing impact of our grants can be difficult as numbers and statistics often do not paint a true picture of an individual’s circumstances. However, the assistance provided by the Charity can go a long way to improving the quality of a person’s life by removing financial concerns during difficult times.

Who can apply?

1. Masonic qualification Grants are awarded to individuals with a Masonic connection who are experiencing financial hardship. Those eligible for consideration include: • Freemasons • The widows, partners and some other immediate dependants of deceased Freemasons 2. Financial qualification The applicant’s savings and income levels will be taken into account in assessing the application.

Certain incomes are disregarded when calculating a grant, for example: attendance allowance, disability living allowance or a war disability pension, but details of these are still required.

Do you need help?

If you would like to apply for financial assistance or if you have a healthcare or family need you should speak to your Lodge Almoner, Provincial Grand Almoner, the Grand Charity office, or telephone Freemasonry Cares on 0800 035 6090

© Devon Air Ambulance Trust

© Breast Cancer Care

Funding nationwide charitable projects and services Each year The Freemasons’ Grand Charity provides financial grants to support hundreds of registered national charities. In 2012, £2.5 million was donated to help people in a variety of difficult situations.

Charities can apply for either a minor or major grant: Minor grant: Up to £5,000 for the core funding of a small, nationwide charity (with an income less than £1 million annually).

Major grant: More than £5,000 for a specific project or activity of a large, nationwide charity (with an income of more than £1 million annually).

The Grand Charity also provides annual funding for the following: Hospice services Air ambulances and equivalent rescue services Emergency grants for disaster relief Please visit www.grandcharity.org for further information

Hospice giving Each year grants are available for all hospice services in England and Wales that receive less than 60% of their income from the National Health Service. Hospice grants are awarded for running costs only and no contributions are made to capital appeals - this means the money goes direct to caring.

In 2012, a further £600,000 was distributed amongst 239 hospice services, bringing the total to £9.9 million since 1984.

£1.3 million for Air Ambulances 2012 marked the giving of more than £1 million in total donations for air ambulance services since 2007. Every air ambulance charity in England and Wales has received funding.

These charities are considered to be the busiest voluntary emergency services in the country. Operating almost entirely from donations, air ambulance services save thousands of lives each year by getting doctors to patients in emergency situations as quickly as possible.

In 2013, each Provincial and Metropolitan Grand Lodge has been given £4,000 to present to an air ambulance or similar rescue service in its region, with a total of £192,000 distributed.

In regions where no air ambulances operate, the Grand Charity has supported other rescue services, including Channel Islands Air Search, the RNLI and St John Ambulance.

Introducing The Freemasons’ Grand Charity

Helping people in need Here are some examples of Grand Charity funded projects: Treating multiple sclerosis Last year it was announced that trials into the drug alemtuzumab have been successful - establishing that this is an effective treatment for multiple sclerosis patients.

The Grand Charity gave £100,000 towards this research in 2010, at the University of Cambridge.

Helping to reduce youth unemployment In 2012, the Grand Charity donated £566,000 through its youth opportunities programme. Many of the projects funded aim to help disadvantaged young people into employment or education. Charities that received funding include The Prince’s Trust, Tomorrow’s People and Buttle UK.

Supporting ex-members of the Armed Services In 2012, Help for Heroes received £50,000 to develop therapeutic gardens at recovery centres for injured and sick service personnel & Combat Stress received £55,000 to help fund its community outreach service.

Supporting Scouting Over 7,000 young people have been able to join the Scouting movement in recent years, thanks to a £500,000 Grand Charity donation. Our start-up grants provide funds for regions where there is a desire among young people to join Scouting, but insufficient resources and adult provision means that they have been unable to take part.

Other Help Available

Freemasonry Cares offers confidential guidance on the financial, healthcare and family help available to Freemasons and their dependants.

Contact your Lodge Almoner or 0800 035 60 90 for advice on: • The support available • Who qualifies for assistance • How to apply The service is free and confidential so please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have a query. www.freemasonrycares.org

The Freemasons’ Grand Charity is a grant-making charity that supports: • Freemasons and their dependants who are in financial need • National charities serving England & Wales • Other Masonic charities

Further information about grants in all these areas can be found at www.grandcharity.org

The Freemasons’ Grand Charity, 60 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AZ T: 020 7395 9261 | F: 020 7395 9295 | Registered Charity No. 281942 E: info@the-grand-charity.org | www.grandcharity.org | @TheGrandCharity |

The Freemasons’ Grand Charity