Structure of donations

Monies donated to charities through the Provincial Grand Lodge are all collected from the members of the lodges in the Province. Sometimes these are regular collections at our meetings; sometimes through covenants (which are encouraged because they are tax-efficient); and sometimes through special, organised events. All donations are in the form of cash - we do not count pledges as real donations. The following figures summarise the donations in the period January to June of 2005.

Our donations this year are structured in four parts:

• Provincial Grants. This is money collected by the Province and dispensed to charities during the year. Some of this money is donated to the charity appeals of other Provinces, in return for which we receive donations for our own appeals. The dispensations are determined by the Provincial committees, according to the expressed wishes of members of the Provice. These donations are made in the name of the Province.
• Local Community Grants. Each year a sum of money (£2000 in 2005) from the Provincial charity funds is assigned to each lodge, for them to specify where that money should be dispensed. The lodges say where the money is to go, and the Province makes the donations in their names. This system permits the members of each lodge to have a democratic influence over the dispensation of the money they donate. These funds are often donated for particular purposes, to institutions which are local to their members or which have provided valued support to members in need.
• Tsunami Appeal. In response to the extraordinary circumstances, the lodges independently decided to collect on behalf of this appeal. The collected money is being held in trust by the Grand Charity for future use in the education and development of children.
• Monmouthshire Masonic Trust Fund - 1997. This is money that has been collected in earlier years and invested to provide an ongoing source of funds. Each year the income from these investments is allocated to public charities.

Provincial Grants