Charity is a fundamental and vitally important part of masonry. Its practice is a cardinal commitment that we all made on the day of our initiation. The four central charities, each with their separate objects, are the best way that we can pool our resources to discharge that commitment. Each has benefited to a remarkable extent from the generosity of the generations that have gone before us. That has enabled the Charities to take on a long-term commitment to our beneficiaries. This generation must not let the side down. We must pass on these charities as we received them, enhanced and strengthened by our endeavours.
    In the mid-1980s two national charities, the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls and the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys, became the Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys, from May 2003, the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys. Their aim is to relieve poverty and advance the education of children of all ages.
    The girls’ charity was set up in 1788. The trust deeds allowed for legitimate daughters of, and female children adopted by, Freemasons who, from some unexpected calamity, were driven into poverty, to be educated at the School. The boys' charity followed in 1798, although there was no boys’ masonic school for another 60 years. This school was closed and the property sold in 1977. The money realised is now used for supporting boys at whatever school is best suited to their needs. The Girls’ School continues, but in 1982 was made a separate foundation as a girls’ independent school. It continues to provide a boarding education and about 50 of our Petition Girls attend out of a total of 790 pupils.
    The mission is ‘to continue to relieve poverty and provide an education and preparation for life for the children of the family of a Freemason and, where funds permit, for any children, as their fathers would have done, had they been able so to do.’ The Trust is divided into three separate and distinct funds. The Girls’ Fund and the Boys’ Fund are both closed funds and are used to support girls and boys broadly in accordance with the original trusts of the two Institutions. All money received by the Trust since it was established is held in the General Fund which can benefit both boys and girls.
    Primarily, the Trust looks after the children of the family of a Freemason: that is, any child who is being looked after by a Freemason as if that child were his own. This is not restricted to children whose masonic father has died. We regularly consider cases of distress resulting from desertion, disability or short-term financial difficulty. In all cases the dominant consideration is the interests of the child.
    Since 1986, when the Trust assumed its full responsibilities, there has been a steady increase in assistance equally for girls and boys, from 749 to over 3000. The cost of that support has gone from £3 million a year to £9 million. The increase reflects the greater number of younger people entering further education so we are now helping more young people for longer. When the Trust accepts a child under its protection the commitment will remain until either the child has completed his or her education or until the financial circumstances of the family have improved sufficiently. If the Trust accepts a child at a very young age, support could last for more than 20 years. Both girls and boys go to whatever school is best suited to their needs. Normally they will be supported at the school they would have attended had calamity not struck.
    The staff of the Trust oversee all 3,000 or more cases, manage the finances, and provide administrative support. They have over 1,000 Case Almoners - Freemasons giving freely of their time to look after the families in distress in their area who are the ears and eyes of the Trust. The Trust relies heavily on their reports on how the families are progressing.
    The Trust directs our funds to achieve the maximum benefit for the family and ultimately the dependent child. One of a qualified welfare team will visit all potential cases and revisit families where additional support is required, perhaps to assist with untangling complicated financial affairs or to provide psychological support to deal with the loss of a family member.
    Poverty has to be proven before assistance can be given: only families with an income of £5,000 or less gain the maximum support that the Trust gives. Thereafter the support given is steadily scaled down having regard to the family income. Nearly 70% of the children attend state schools and are supported with maintenance grants only. It is easy to appreciate how a summer holiday grant, a Christmas grant or an allowance towards child minding costs that enable a mother or father to get back into the workplace can make a difference.
    Four years ago the Trust responded to the increasingly heavy financial burden of higher education: UndergradAid was launched to assist young people at university - during 2002, bursaries were awarded to 919 children of Freemasons - and towards the end of 2001, TalentAid, a new scheme to foster the talents of gifted children of the families of Freemasons, appeared. In 2002, 75 grants were awarded: some were for recurring grants for fees at specialist schools and colleges, and others one-off grants for sports coaching, advanced music lessons and the purchase of instruments or equipment.

Examples of beneficiaries

A Freemason and his wife had four children. He was self-employed. A building project failed and his business debts mounted. His wife became dissatisfied and deserted the family for another man. The father became very depressed and committed suicide by hanging at the family home. The youngest child was at home at the time and found his father. The eldest boy now looks after the youngest with the help of the Trust. If we had been told of the tragedy earlier, the Trust could have helped sooner.
    A woman whose father died when she was still a young girl, went to the Royal Masonic School for Girls and received a good and happy education. She later married and had two children, a boy and a girl. Her husband (not a Freemason) was imprisoned for gross sexual abuse of them. They are still both suffering severe emotional and physical problems. For the second time in her life the mother found herself in the care of the Trust. She later met and married her second husband and they had two children, a girl and a boy. A few years later the second husband was involved in a road traffic accident and was killed. The two children were not expected to survive their injuries, but somehow they lived. The mother now has four disabled children and has returned to the Trust’s care for the third time.

Subsidiary and non-masonic funds

There are a number of subsidiary funds administered by the Trust. There are discretionary funds available to the Secretary to give immediate relief in an emergency. There are also scholarships, bursaries and travelling fellowships, all awarded on merit. Each of these has its own eligibility criteria but generally they assist a student with post-graduate type education, enable them to prepare to enter a profession or trade or broaden their experiences through travel overseas. A third category includes Ruspini and Burwood Houses that offer safe inner-city accommodation for the children of Freemasons who are studying, job training or job seeking in London. All these funds are separately endowed and include very sizeable donations from the Empire Lodge, Globe Lodge, Prince of Wales’s Lodge, Canada Lodge, St Alban’s Lodge and many others on a smaller but regular basis.
    The second objective is to help children not connected with masonic families with two principal schemes: there are bursaries in place at twenty-two Cathedrals, Collegiate Churches and Chapels in England and Wales so that children from poor families have the chance to take part in the great choral traditions of our country. The second is the Lifelites project which supports the children’s hospice movement, providing hardware, software and expertise to maintain Information Technology systems in all children’s hospices in England and Wales. There are currently twenty-five hospices participating and a further eight new hospices due to join. The Trust provides televisions, computers and unlimited access to the Internet (through our firewall). Educational and recreational software is provided and an intranet with video conferencing facilities that enables children in different hospices to talk to one another.
    Since 1986 the Trust has made six major grants, including a grant of £500,000 to CARE, in cooperation with the Grand Charity and substantial grants to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, The Caldecott Foundation and Buckmore Park, Chatham.
    The current level of assistance costs the Trust well over £9 million annually. Donations during the year average £2 million mainly from Festivals and legacies, so the Trust’s funds must produce over £7 million from the total return on the Trust’s investments. The heady return on capital of the 1990’s has been dramatically reversed. Most funds with long term liabilities are now under pressure
    The contribution that is made by the Provinces is vital to all four of the main Masonic Charities. Without the contributions made by the Provinces under the Festival system and the contributions from London and Overseas, the Trust would be unable to continue to function in its present form
    For over 200 years, the RMTGB and its predecessor charities have been caring for masonic children. It is one of the great success stories of the Craft and a jewel in the Crown of Freemasonry. Long may the Trust continue. n

We can only assist if cases of distress are brought to our attention. Firstly talk to your Lodge Almoner. For queries, contact the Trust directly. Website: www.rmtgb.org

Adapted from a talk given to Grand Lodge by A. J. F. Stebbings and Lt. Col. J. C. Chambers.