Charity
Freemasonry is one of the largest donors to charity in Great Britain, donating on average £30 million each year to good causes. Freemasons do this through their four charitable foundations, as well as making significant donations to non-Masonic charities and international disaster funds.
The three Great Principles by which we stand are Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. Freemasons are taught to practice charity and to care, not only for their own, but also for the community as a whole – both by charitable giving, and by voluntary efforts and works as individuals.
Masonic charity is exercised at every level: individual Lodges make gifts and give aid to their own members and their communities. Every Province also gives large sums of money to regional causes, examples of which in 2019 are the £75,000 granted to the community in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire which suffered from severe flooding and £65,000 to AGE UK Lindsey, which supports vulnerable people in their older years.
Masonic Charitable Foundation (the MCF)
“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 through the generosity of Freemasons and their families, the MCF is one of the largest grant-making charities in the country. A wide range of help and support is available for Freemasons, their wives, partners, widows children and grandchildren.
The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution (RMBI)
The RMBI has been caring for older Freemasons and their dependants for over 160 years.
We operate 17 residential care homes across England and Wales offering high quality care. Many of our Homes are registered for both residential and nursing care and a number offer specialist dementia care. All of our Homes can offer places to people with dementia, following as assessment of their needs. Connaught Court in Fulford, York, offers care for approximately 90 residents, 30 of whom require specialist care due to dementia.
The Freemasons Fund for Surgical Research
The Freemasons Fund for Surgical Research is a UK Charity with the aim of supporting the Royal College of Surgeons of England. For many years, it has supported the College by funding Research Fellowships.
The fund was set up by donation raised as part of the 250th Anniversary celebrations of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1967 and received a second significant sum in 2014 from Supreme Grand Chapter to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Royal Arch.
Friendship
Freemasonry offers its members a chance to make new friends and meet in a social environment. Our fraternity engages people of all ages, from tradesmen to monarchs. Whatever your status in life, Freemasonry provides an invaluable network of likeminded people never short of a social event to attend.
Charity
From its very earliest days Freemasonry has actively supported charity. Across 2018/19, charitable giving at lodge and provincial level totalled £45M, including the £18M awarded through the Masonic Charitable Foundation. Freemasons also undertook five million hours of volunteering across the same period.
Personal Development
As you progress through the degrees of freemasonry, the personal development can be very rewarding. Whilst Freemasonry can help good men become better men, only men of upstanding character are permitted to join. Why not take a look at our national magazine, 'Freemasonry Today'.