Page 16 - Essex Mason (Issue 87) Online Version

Provincial Charity Steward

Festival 2022 Update

Let’s hit that £6 million target
By W.Bro Colin Felton ProvChStwd

Festival Thermometer
Your chance to boost your local communities and charities
£6m
he Essex Freemasons Community Fund has now been officially launched – it’s ready to
£5m
£5m make a massive difference across the entire Province - and it’s ready to ‘match fund’ and
Tsupport your Lodge or Chapter.
£4m
The charity, part of a major new community initiative by the PGM, RW Bro Rodney Lister Bass OBE, has
£3.2m been set up to work with Essex Freemasons by supporting the good causes that really matter to you,
in your local towns and villages.
£3m
So what does this mean? In real terms we would ask you to approach the local charities that you like
to support and ask them what would make a real difference. All charities need cash so general funding
£2m
would not qualify – we are talking here about clearly identifiable projects – where we as Freemasons
can take ownership. Ideally, smaller charities that frequently fail to attract funding and especially those
that work with children or young people, would be considered first.
£1m
We also ask that members of your Lodge or Chapter be prepared to put your hands in your own
pockets. This means that if you are willing to give money then we as a Community Fund will consider
match funding or even providing the balance of what is needed to deliver that project and make it
happen for the local charities that you support.
We cannot guarantee to be able to provide for every application, but be assured that all requests will be considered by the team of
trustees and grants will be awarded based on the overall benefit that will be given to the local community.
The Essex Freemasons Community Fund has been set up with savings made by introducing new efficiency measures at the Provincial
HQ in Wickford. This has enabled a generous fund of around £80,000 to be made available for good causes and it is expected that
similar amounts will be transferred over on an annual basis.
The charity will work alongside the established Essex Provincial Charity Fund which has been reformulated into a modern CIO, which
can be run in a similar way to a limited company but is still policed by the Charity Commission. In short it means that money can be
made available from both charities – so what are you waiting for?
Essex Festival 2022
The launch of both charities comes when we are asking Essex Freemasons to dig deep to support the Essex Festival2022. At the time
of writing we have banked £3.2 million towards our target of £6 million – a fantastic effort, but still a long way to go and with just two
years left.
The secret of delivering our target is dependent on Essex Freemasons committing to a regular payments – one which can still be
spread over five years. You will see inserted into this edition of Essex Mason a letter from the PGM asking for your support and a
regular payment form which I hope you will fill in and return to me at my home: 73, Quorn Gardens, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex SS9 2TA
We only ask for £8.50 a month – more if you can afford it – which equates to £500 over a five year period and if you add
Gift Aid it becomes £625. Do this and you immediately qualify for a Festival Jewel which will be posted by return – and
which I hope you will wear with pride.
If enough of you return forms then we shall easily hit our £6 million target, money which is coming back into Essex at an
incredible rate in charitable donations. Every year we receive nearly £500,000 to help distressed Freemasons and their
families across the Province. We also receive a similar amount for local charities.

In recent weeks we have given £72,000 to a
Rape Crisis Centre in Colchester, £50,000 to a children’s
charity in Chelmsford along with numerous other charities in
every part of Essex. The MCF is our local charity and you can
work with them and the good causes that you support to ask
for grants – talk to me if you need more information because
remember - what’s raised in Essex stays in Essex.
Finally I would like to thank all those Masons who have gone
that extra mile to support our various charities and the Festival
in particular. I am truly humbled by your generosity and ongoing
commitment.

W.Bro Colin Felton, PAGDC, ProvChStwd

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