Chief Executive’s Column – September 2024
“Earlier in the year, I was delighted to speak at the MCF’s summer Members’ Meeting, which was kindly hosted by the Province of Shropshire. In addition to the usual operational updates, the meeting provided an opportunity to thank and acknowledge the retirement of Sir Paul Williams, our previous Chairman and Deputy President, and a motion to appoint him with the honorific title of Grand Vice-Patron was unanimously approved. We have also welcomed Edward Goodchild as our new Deputy President and two new Trustees, David Stockdale and David Hudd, and thanked Chris Head, the last of the original MCF Trustees for his many years of service to the central charities as he retired in June.
At the Members’ Meeting, I highlighted our strategy for community support, which currently focuses on Later Life and Disadvantaged Children & Young People. This year, charity applications have reached unprecedented levels, leading us to revamp our processes to support smaller charities more effectively. Last year, we provided 451 grants totalling £6.8 million to local and national charities.
These grants mean we can actively promote Freemasonry’s positive societal impact in partnership with Provincial Communications Officers, as well as through social media, and publications like our Impact Report and Better Lives magazine. As a result, a steady stream of positive news articles and radio broadcast coverage follows these grants, contributing to a favourable perception of the relevant Province and Freemasonry more widely.
We recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of Volunteers Week, honouring our 400 dedicated visiting volunteers who significantly support our operations by visiting applicants and processing enquiries as well as those who make the work of the MCF possible, such as Almoners, Charity Stewards and fundraisers. We also promoted Free Wills Month, leading to a notable increase in referrals to our will-writing service – a free service that we offer to anyone all year round.
The MCF’s Relief Chest Scheme continues to be a powerful tool to support Freemasons raising funds; there is around £20 million currently held in Relief Chests and available to support good causes. I am pleased to announce that £1 million has now been raised through the use of digital donation QR codes which are an efficient alternative to gift aid envelopes allowing Lodges to ‘bank’ alms donations immediately and with no paperwork, meaning donations can be made to chosen local charities far more quickly. We also had a great response to our request that holders of ‘dormant’ Relief Chests disburse their funds so that these charitable funds were put to good use at a time when many small, local charities are struggling.
The RMBI Care Co. is updating its care home in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, replacing the ageing Cornwallis Court. Construction is underway for this modern facility, which will support up to 64 residents, and is expected to be completed by 2026. The RMBI Care Co. was pleased to welcome the Past Deputy Grand Master, Sir David Wootton, to ‘break ground’ in June.
In May, the Province of Yorkshire North and East Ridings launched its 2029 Festival at York Racecourse. The Province had already raised £327,000 in their pre-launch campaign so are off to a great start. In the same month, the MCF President and I attended the annual meeting of the Province of Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire, where I announced that they had exceeded their festival target by £500,000, achieving a magnificent total of £2.5million. I am delighted that, despite increasingly tough economic times, Freemasons continue to support us enthusiastically, with per capita donations to MCF Festivals now averaging £737.
Our approach of hosting the MCF Ball away from London is continuing to be successful. This year’s Ball, ably hosted by the Province of Lincolnshire, was a sell-out, raising £17,000 during an enjoyable and memorable night. The total raised by the Ball since 1973 is a remarkable £860,000. We look forward to next year’s event in Sussex.
Our investment in impact and evaluation programmes continues to help ensure that we are maximising the benefits of your donations. We systematically measure the outcomes of all our grants using newly created Theory of Change frameworks. Similarly, we have reviewed our costs and are working to reduce our overhead costs without a detrimental impact on our support or services. We have also been working hard to ensure that our property portfolio continues to generate and diversify our income with a number of new tenants moving into our Great Queen Street properties, some of which have been empty since the pandemic.
Alongside the excellent work being undertaken internally to make the MCF more effective, UGLE’s Third Pillar Review is also exploring the role that the MCF can play in supporting The Strategy for Freemasonry and the membership challenge. The MCF Trustees will respond positively and constructively to the review and I know that the Senior Leadership Team and everyone at the MCF will do the same, recognising that UGLE’s success is our success.
Thank you for your ongoing support.”