Matched Funding Grants

The Charity wishes to ensure that it makes grants to goods causes that have the wholehearted support of its members.  After a successful pilot scheme, The Freemasons' Grand Charity Matched Funding Scheme has been introduced.

The Scheme provides matched funding of up to £5,000 per Province on a rolling four-year programme so that twelve Provinces participate each year.    

List of Provinces for the next four years

The Provincial Grand Lodge will decide which donations will be put forward to The Freemasons' Grand Charity for matched funding.  No requests for matched funding should be sent to The Freemasons' Grand Charity other than through the Provincial Grand Lodge.

Matched funding will only be available as follows:

  • To match money raised by Lodges for national non-Masonic charities or for a branch of a national charity in the region.  A national charity is one whose work is carried out or whose beneficiaries are located across England and Wales and not just in one region. 
  • Hospices, hospitals and churches are not eligible.  
  • The recipient charity does not have to be located in the Province but must be registered as a charity with the Charities Commission and must be located in England or Wales. 
  • The focus of the national charity must fall within the current guidelines for grants made by The Freemasons' Grand Charity.  These include medical research, youth opportunities and support for vulnerable people. 
  • Matched funding will also be available for charities that are registered and based in England or Wales but whose beneficiaries are overseas. 
  • Matched funding will not be made for grants to charities that are registered overseas.

Recent example: 

In 2010, the Province of Yorkshire West Riding selected Guide Dogs for the Blind as their recipient charity for their matched funding grant. A cheque presentation took place at a fundraising event held at the Grand Theatre Leeds, a special evening reception of the play "A Bedroom Farce", starring Ms. Juliet Mills.

Photo from the cheque presentation: Pictured in the photo from left to right: Colin Dent, Assistant Provincial Grand Master; Ms. Alison Parker, Major Donor Fundraiser (North) for Guide Dogs for the Blind; Mr Stephen Kirk, Director of Operations for Guide Dogs for the Blind and W. Bro. Michael Green.