Foundation Lodge – MMC Air Ambulance Appeal
Vice Patron Metropolitan Grand Master’s Tercentenary Appeal
Foundation Lodge of the MMC London Fire Brigade Appeal
Toothbrushes for Kids
Our support for charity is evidenced by the notations above, but we have also sought to support good causes which our members have suggested, particularly smaller charities which might not expect masonic support.
One initiative that members have been proud to support is “Toothbrushes for Kids”. Started by a member after a visit to a Children’s’ Hospital where he found out that many children did not have this basic item critical to their health, he provided toothbrushes to needy children, the Lodge backed him, it was taken up by MetGL and now has grown to the “Smile” campaign which is a very positive force for children’s oral health.
Masonic Charity in London
Charity has always been a core principle of Freemasonry. Individuals can make an important contribution at local, national and global level by giving both their time and money.
Freemasonry is one of the largest charitable givers in the country, contributing £51.1m to deserving causes in 2020 alone. Freemasons do not only donate money – more than 18.5 million hours of volunteer work are undertaken by Freemasons every year.
At the Annual General Meeting of Metropolitan Grand Lodge on 1st March 2023 the Metropolitan Grand Master, Sir Michael Synder, announced the London Freemasons’ 2023 Appeal.
“London’s Air Ambulance Service has just opened an appeal to raise the funds to renew their fleet of two helicopters as their current ones will relatively soon have to be taken out of service due to their age. The charity is genuinely ‘Up Against Time’ to raise the £15 million needed to replace the two helicopters and get the new ones flying by October 2024.
The London Air Ambulance Service – entirely funded by donations – is there for patients who are so seriously injured that saving their lives is dependent on specialist medical care being delivered on site before they are even considered for transfer to hospital.
The new helicopters will deliver emergency consultants, paramedics and A&E equipment to anywhere in London in 11 minutes, enabling them to give lifesaving treatment at the scene. For many this is a case of life or death.
As a charity well known and supported by London Freemasons, I am launching this appeal for London Freemasons to be, once again, the cornerstone funder for these life-saving helicopters. We will be the first big, or I should say enormous, donation for the London Air Ambulance ‘Up Against Time’ appeal. We, as an organization, will be able to look up into the skies of London and know that, because of us, London has this vital service. I have pledged that we will raise £3 million for this appeal. What better gift can London’s Freemasons give to helping keep the people of London safe.
We have supported London Air Ambulance over many years and we are their biggest single voluntary organisation donor. We previously helped them to purchase their second helicopter in 2016 and we have providing record support for their entire fleet of cars. Your donations so far have enabled the charity to be there for 11,000 Londoners. With your generous support, London Freemasons will be there to help many thousands more.
Today we are giving the LAA £100,000 as a pledge. We now have to find the rest over the next eighteen months. This is truly an important and a most exciting challenge!”
For Lodges and Chapters to ensure you are entered into the Appeal Awards scheme please use on of the following methods
Individual donations can also be made via this LINK.
Information on our Charities
The London Freemasons Charity
The London Freemasons’ Charity, formerly known as The Metropolitan Masonic Charity, is a grant making charity run by Freemasons under the banner of Metropolitan Grand Lodge of London. The funds are raised through the huge generosity of the members in London. This generosity has enabled many grants, of varying sizes, to be made for the benefit of London and its residents.
Guidance for Applicants.
While not discounting larger established charities, the LFC looks more kindly towards smaller registered charities and organisations which reflect charitable purpose.
For an application from a registered charity the request must be accompanied by the latest Charity Commission return and accounts. For unregistered charities or other charitable purpose, then a similar set of accounts must be submitted showing income, expenses and reserves.
As the focus of the LFC is for smaller London Charities, if a larger established charity applies then it must be shown that the project is for the benefit of London and the residents of London.
Applications are welcomed from charities supported by individual London Lodges and Chapters through their member, but the application must be made by the charity.
Applications will generally be looked upon more favourably if a specific project or requirement is identified rather than a donation into general charity funds.
Request for grants for anything outside London are unlikely to succeed.
Charity and LFC should be embraced. A member of Metropolitan Grand Lodge PR team may be in touch with regard to any grant made.
Procedure for applying for a LFC grant:
All applications for a grant must be received via email. Please see the guidance list below and include as much of that as able.
If additional information is required, the charity will be contacted before the application is considered by the Trustees. You are also be asked to supply the bank details as the LFC would use the BACS system for payments. A copy of a voided cheque or a paying in slip will be required to be uploaded, showing clearly the charity name.
Masonic Charity Nationally
The Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF), the Freemasons’ Charity, builds better lives by encouraging opportunity, promoting independence and improving for Freemasons, their families and the wider community.
Funded entirely through the generosity of Freemasons and their families, the MCF helps to improve the lives of thousands of people every year in England, Wales and overseas by working in partnership with some of the country’s biggest charities as well as local causes across England and Wales. The MCF also helps to fund the vital work of hospices, funds medical research and regularly contributes to appeals for humanitarian or disaster relief worldwide.
The MCF aims to be a force for good by providing support, care and services to Freemasons and their families in need, and supporting other charities to help the most disadvantaged people in society.
Through the work of the MCF, Freemasonry is helping to tackle some of society’s most important issues through grants to local and national charities, and partnerships with leading organisations in the sector.
With grants totalling around £5.5 million each year, the MCF helps thousands of disadvantaged and vulnerable people to live happy, fulfilling lives and participate actively in society.
The MCF’s grant programmes for charities target funding where it is most needed, within the areas about which Freemasons care most passionately. The target areas are currently:
To ensure Freemasonry’s funding has the greatest impact possible, the MCF awards grants to a range of local and national charities. To assist its funding, the MCF has formed partnerships with leading organisations in the charity sector, including Hospice UK, Home-Start UK, the Cranfield Trust, Age UK, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and medical research.
Since its inception in April 2016, from the four long standing Freemasons’ Charities, the MCF has given around 5,000 grants to local and national charities on behalf of Freemasons and their families totalling around £50,000,000.
Find out about the MCF’s work in your area
In addition, funding has been provided to over 40 disaster relief appeals in England, Wales and overseas in response, to flooding, earthquakes and other natural disasters. Freemasonry, through the MCF’s work, has continued to champion groundbreaking research and the scientists of tomorrow, by funding PhD studentships in partnership with leading charities and organisations that are creating a brighter future for many people affected by degenerative diseases.
To commemorate 300 years of Freemasonry in 2017, the MCF awarded an additional £3m to local charities in addition to its main grant-making programmes, inviting members of the public to vote on the distribution of funds.
In response to Covid-19, the MCF has worked in partnership with UGLE and local Freemasons to allocate £3.6m to projects and charities that have responded to, or been affected by, the pandemic.
Read some of the remarkable stories from across the country of how our members came together during the Covid-19 pandemic to help their communities.
Did you know?
All of the MCF’s funding comes from donations from Freemasons past and present, with about £24m donated to support the MCF’s work each year.
The MCF’s Relief Chest Scheme, which allows Lodges and Freemasons to manage their charitable giving, in the last year has been used to make donations worth more than £20m to thousands of charities.
The bears are often used by staff to calm children down, reward them for being brave, and – in some cases – demonstrate procedures. The TLC teddy has become a useful tool for medical professionals and a real comfort for children. Most of the money raised to purchase and distribute the teddies comes from Freemasons themselves through lodge donations and fundraising events.
Visit Teddies for Loving Care website
Lifelites is a charity with its roots in Freemasonry as it was originally started as a millennium project of the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys.
Since it became a charity in its own right in 2006, Lifelites has worked to ensure that children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions using palliative care services throughout the British Isles have access to specialist assistive technologies to help them to play, to create, and to communicate.
