Our income comes from the generosity and efforts of Freemasons, their families and friends, past and present
Around 60 per cent of our income comes from the contributions of today’s Freemasons, the majority of which is raised through festival appeals, a unique fundraising system where Freemasons in selected Provinces focus their collective efforts on raising funds for the MCF over a period of five or six years.
Gifts in wills also contributed a significant amount to our income, increasing by £1.2 million compared to the previous year. We are incredibly grateful to those who wish to continue making a difference to our life-changing work by leaving a legacy donation.
As always, we worked hard to ensure that we spent these donations as efficiently and effectively as possible.
For every pound donated, 85 pence was paid out in grants and support services for Freemasons or their families facing difficulty and charities that work directly with vulnerable and disadvantaged members of society. As last year, just seven pence of every pound was spent on the administration, a low amount compared to the sector.
Breakdown
Donations – festival fundraising appeals (37%)
Annual contributions (12%)
Donations – other (12%)
Investment income (17%)
Legacies (13%)
Rental income (9%)
Breakdown
Grants (78%)*
Support services (7%)
£2.81M Generating funds (8%)
Charitable overheads (7%)
* includes £5.1M support grant to RMBI Care Co. and grants to charities made through the Relief Chest Scheme.
A great deal of fundraising is carried out using our Relief Chest Scheme, a free service that helps Freemasons raise and disburse money for their chosen charitable causes, through pioneering technology and donor-advised funds. The Relief Chest Scheme also makes it simple to reclaim Gift Aid tax relief on eligible donations.
The Relief Chest Scheme offers a range of useful tools such as statements, reports and an online fundraising platform to keep track of donations and ensures that charitable giving adheres to all legal and HMRC regulations.
was donated by Freemasons into Relief Chests.
As of March 2020, there were over
Relief Chests.
reclaimed by the Relief Chest Scheme in Gift Aid from HMRC
was paid from the Scheme to charitable causes including our own activities.
The distribution of that which went to other charities is shown below.
Health, disability, care and support
Education
Other charitable causes
Medical research
Hospice care
Rescue services and the Armed Forces
Environment, conservation and heritage
Disaster Relief