The Freemasons’ Charity, the working name of the Masonic Charitable Foundation, is the national charity of Freemasonry under the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE). It is one of the largest grant-making charities in the country. Its aim is to make a positive impact in society by supporting causes and charities that help disadvantaged people, through grants to charities.
Our Charity Grants programme is open to registered charities in England and Wales working with any of our three main priority groups:
- Early years (0-5), with a focus on poverty and neglect
- Children affected by domestic abuse
- Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
SMALL GRANT
These grants are for smaller charities whose annual income is between £25,000 and £500,000, according to the latest published accounts.
Small grants are unrestricted and do not have to be used on a specific purpose, although we do ask grant recipients to report on how they used the funding.
Small grants range from £1,000 – £5,000 per year, for up to three years
The total amount of the grant requested must not exceed 20 per cent of the total income of the charity, averaged over the past two years.
LARGE GRANT
These grants are for larger charities whose annual income is between £500,000 and £5 million, according to the latest published accounts.
Large grants are restricted for specific projects with defined goals and budgets, and may be spent on, for example, salaries, equipment, training, monitoring and administration.
Large grants usually range from £10,000 to £60,000 in total spread over one to three years. The MCF has a preference for multiyear funding (for example, £20,000 per year for three years or £30,000 per year for two years). We will consider one year grants only in exceptional circumstances such as for pilot projects.
Charity eligibility requirements
Grants are only made to charities / projects whose beneficiaries are in England and Wales
Charities must be registered with the Charity Commission or relevant Central registry of the respective Guernsey, Jersey or Isle of Man’s government
Charities must have at least one year of independently examined or audited accounts published on the Charity Commission website for the registered charity number they are applying from
If your charity meets our eligibility criteria, you will be invited to complete a short online expression of interest which will be reviewed by the Charity Grants team.