Frequently Asked Questions: Non-Masonic Grants
Please note the following questions and answers refer to applications for a Major or Minor Non-Masonic Grant. For more information on emergency grants for disaster relief and hospice grants please refer to the relevant page of the website.
Q1: Is our project eligible for a grant?
Capital projects: The Trustees will not normally recommend a contribution towards a major capital expenditure project (for example, a multi-million pound national appeal), but they might recommend a contribution towards a specific part of a smaller capital project (for example, an extension for a residential home for disabled people) in the Provinces.
Salaries: The Freemasons' Grand Charity does fund salaries, but does not usually fund campaigning or public policy departments.
Ongoing projects: A project does not have to be a new project to attract funding.
Q2: How much should we apply for?
The Trustees are unlikely to recommend a large grant for a small charity that has not previously received a grant from The Freemasons' Grand Charity. As a rough guide, if you are a charity with an income of less than £1 million, you are probably more likely to be successful if your first application is for a minor grant. If you are a slightly larger charity, but you have not previously received a grant from The Freemasons' Grand Charity, you might apply for between £20,000 and £50,000.
Q3: We have an income of less than £1 million. Does that mean that we cannot apply for a major grant?
If your charity has an income of less than £1 million you are still eligible to apply for a major grant. However, if you have an income of £125,000, do not apply for a grant of £75,000. Please see the answer to 'How much should we apply for?' .
Q4: We serve a local or regional area but we are affiliated to a national charity. Can we apply to The Freemasons' Grand Charity?
The key test here is whether your charity is registered with the Charities Commission under a separate charity number from the national charity. If it has its own charity number, it is considered to be a local/regional charity and is not eligible to apply. Does your charity have its own board of Trustees? This will normally indicate that it is a separate charity. For example, local Age Concern and MIND charities each have a separate charity number and so are not eligible.
Q5: We are a UK registered charity helping people from overseas in the UK and/or in their home country. Are we eligible?
No. The beneficiaries of the charity must be in England and Wales. Grants are not made to charities that help beneficiaries overseas or that support beneficiaries from overseas, such as students, who are temporarily in this country.
Q6: When is the deadline for applications?
Please see Major Grants / Minor Grants pages for the current deadline. As a general rule, the deadline for completed applications will be about two months before the date of the Trustees' meeting.
Q7: Our application was rejected this year. When can we apply again?
You can apply again next year.
Q8: We received a grant last year. Can we apply again this year?
The Trustees prefer to leave a gap of at least a year between grants. For example, if you received a grant cheque in 2008 (whether a one-off grant or the final instalment of a three-year grant) you will not generally be eligible for a further grant until 2010. It is very unusual for the Trustees to recommend follow-on funding, other than where the original grant is made for a period of years.
Q9: Why doesn't the minor grants application form include space for me to detail how the funding will be spent?
Minor grants are for general purposes or ‘core funding'. You can therefore use it to pay for overheads, salaries or projects - whatever you most need.
Q10: Can I submit the application electronically?
No. Applications must be submitted by post together with the charity's latest annual report and accounts, although copies will be accepted by email.
Q11: How will I know you have received my application?
You will receive an acknowledgement letter, usually within a couple of weeks of receipt of your application. We have a very small staff, so please do not call the office to tell us that you have sent the application or to ask if we have received it, unless you have not heard from us within a month of submission.
Q12: Can I apply for a major grant and a minor grant at the same time?
You can, but we would not recommend it.
Q13: Does the application have to be submitted by a Mason? Do I need a letter from a Mason supporting the application?
Not at all. Any supporting letters will be filed with the application but will not affect the outcome of the Trustees' deliberations.
Q14: Our charity is not a member of the AMRC. Can we still apply for a medical research grant?
You can apply, but you will need to show evidence in your application that the project for which you are applying has gone through a peer review process that is at least as rigorous as that required by the AMRC.