Charity

Funded entirely through the generosity of Freemasons and their families, the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) is one of the largest grant-making charities in the country.
Most of the support provided by the MCF takes the form of financial grants to individuals and families to assist with daily living costs. We can also award grants to provide specific items or services.
A range of health and care needs, including medical and dental treatments, counselling and mobility aids or home adaptations are supported, with funding also available for respite, residential, nursing and dementia care.
Our professional Advice and Support team offers confidential and practical guidance about the support available from the MCF and many other organisations.
In addition to the support we provide to Freemasons and their families, the MCF awards millions of pounds each year to local and national charities that help vulnerable people, advance medical research and provide opportunities for young people.
We also help to fund vital services such as hospices and air ambulances and regularly contribute to worldwide appeals for disaster relief. In total, our support helps to improve the lives of thousands of people every year in England, Wales and internationally.
The Foundation brings together the work of four national Charities which had been operating separately under various names since the early 18th Century.
These charities are The Freemasons’ Grand Charity, the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys and the Masonic Samaritan Fund; the fourth charity, the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institute also exists as a leading care home provider.
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.

Each Province is asked once every eleven years to collect funds for the MCF.  The Festival system under the United Grand Lodge of England has been developed to rotate specific fund raising evenly around the Provinces.  There are forty four Provinces in the system.  Previously each Province supported all of the previous four Masonic Charities.

A Festival culminates in a year decided by the MCF, currently 2026 for Bedfordshire, which enables a Province to determine when a Festival will start and our Provincial Grand Master has decided that we will start in early 2021 and thereby providing us with some seventy months to raise the funds.

Our lodges’ fundraising activities need to be directed towards the Festival during the above period to ensure that we not only meet but exceed our Provincial target.  We are however not asking you to stop donating to other worthy causes but our main focus should be on the festival so that we can give back to the charity that supports us so well.

Use this link to view the MCF web site.

Home page - The Masonic Charitable Foundation (mcf.org.uk)