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Over the next five years Freemasons will share up to £10m from a Community Fund to charities throughout England and Wales to encourage inclusive community engagement.
The money will come from the Freemasons’ Charity – formerly the Masonic Charitable Foundation – which will invest up to £2m every year for Provinces to award grants to charities of their choice, aiming to strengthen local connections by supporting initiatives that encourage opportunities.
The Community Fund programme aims to help Freemasonry build stronger relationships with charities in their communities, while creating new opportunities for Freemasons to support community projects through volunteering, fundraising and practical assistance. So far, 26 charities across England and Wales have received a share of £1.6 million following the first round of applications to the Freemasons’ Charity’s Community Fund.
Les Hutchinson, Chief Executive of the Freemasons’ Charity, said: “We were delighted by both the number and quality of applications received in the first year of the Community Fund. Provinces clearly embraced the opportunity to build meaningful partnerships with local charities, creating projects that combine funding with volunteering and community engagement. These grants will support a diverse range of initiatives that are making a real difference in communities across England and Wales. We look forward to receiving the next round of applications and helping even more charities and communities benefit from this important programme in the years ahead.”
These partnerships are already making a positive impact on hundreds of people across communities in England and Wales. In Hertfordshire Freemasons are working with Felix, London’s largest food redistribution charity. The grant funded a range of fresh food that local people collected free , while many Hertfordshire Freemasons volunteered to manage distribution on the day. As well as tackling the widespread issue of food insecurity, the project also supported Felix’s environmental mission of preventing good food from going to waste.
Rachel May, Head of Community Engagement at Felix said: “The event couldn’t have gone better, especially considering how hot it was. It was smiles all round as tonnes of the sweetest cherry tomatoes, shiny aubergines and crisp cabbages and other fresh produce were taken home by over 300 local people. It is one of our highest attended markets yet, and I hope we will be able to offer this to the community of Watford again.”
In Nottinghamshire the ‘In This Together – Stop the Bleed’ campaign, featuring Nottinghamshire Freemasons, ATTFE College, CPTED-UK Ltd, and citizenAID, aims to provide immediate, life-saving assistance in the critical moments following traumatic injuries involving severe bleeding.
Recent distressing incidents of knife crime in Nottinghamshire prompted Nottinghamshire Freemasons to consider how they could make an immediate contribution. They decided to offer their Masonic Halls as venues for training sessions and make charitable donations to fund bleed kits.
This funding will ensure that all 577 East Midlands Ambulance Service publicly accessible defibrillators across Nottinghamshire are equipped with specialist ‘Stop the Bleed’ kits by the end of August.
The ‘In This Together’ campaign reflects a broader ethos of partnership between charitable organisations, education providers, and emergency services. Nottinghamshire Freemasons have been at the forefront of this collaborative effort, demonstrating a sustained commitment to improving public health outcomes and resilience.
