Masonic Province of South Wales, Eastern Division

United Grand Lodge
of Antient, Free and Accepted Masons
of England

Province of
South Wales Eastern Division

The Grand Charity

The Grand Charity:

A proud record of
responding to emergencies around the world

88 Grants totalling £1,490,951 since 1981

The Grand Charity is a major channel by which Freemasons in England and Wales provide assistance to "non-Masonic" causes on a National and International scale. And, apart from the National Lottery, the Grand Charity is the UK's biggest charity donor. This is all the more remarkable when you consider that it is funded solely by donations and contributions from Freemasons themselves. It does not raise money from the general public.

Since it was established in 1717, the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) has always offered help to individual Freemasons and their dependants in need and has provided support for community-wide charitable activities as well as those affected by emergencies and disasters.

In the earliest days of UGLE, a Committee of Charity was established to receive petitions and to grant up to 5 Guineas to each petitioner in order to relieve the suffering of a Mason or the dependant of a deceased Mason. In 1813 the Committee of Charity became the Fund of Benevolence, later known as the Board of Benevolence. Since the early 18th century, Freemasons have given generously to many non-Masonic charities and supported numerous appeals.

Following the recommendation of the Bagnall Report, the UGLE Board of Benevolence became the independent Grand Charity with its own President, Council and Committee.

Registered in 1981, the Grand Charity carries on the tradition of charitable support for both Freemasons and the wider community. The Grand Charity has therefore retained the triple role of the Board of Benevolence of providing relief for distressed Masons and their dependants, supporting the other central Masonic charities and making grants to non-Masonic charities.

Grants to non-Masonic charities and appeals fall into two categories which could be described as planned donations and emergency donations.

Since its inception in 1981, the Grand Charity has made 88 emergency grants totalling £1,490,951 towards disaster and crisis relief. These are shown below:

Some
Recent Grants

November 2005 -
£10,000 to help relief efforts in Guatemala after Tropical Storm Stan

October 2005 -
£100,000 to the Red Cross to help relief efforts after South Asian Earthquake

September 2005 -
$50,000 in two grants to help relieve distress caused by Hurricane Katrina in Southern US

July 2005 -
£10,000 grant to Save the Children for humanitarian efforts in Niger, West Africa

July 2005 -
£50,000 grant in response to the Mayor of London's appeal following Terrorist Bombings

January 2005 -
Assisting tsunami relief efforts - £25,000 via the District Grand Lodge
of Sri Lanka

January 2005 -
Assisting tsunami relief efforts - £10,000 via the District Grand Lodge
of Madras

December 2004 -
Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami - Emergency Grant of £100,000 via British Red Cross

December 2004 -
Landslides and flooding in the Philippines - £15,000 via British Red Cross

September 2004 - Caribbean hurricane damage - £50,000 via British Red Cross

August 2004 -
Floods in India, Nepal and Bangladesh £10,000 via British Red Cross

Year	UKP	Destination of donation	Distributed via
2005	10,000	Relief efforts in Guatemala after Tropical Storm Stan	GL of Guatemala
	50,000	South Asian Earthquake (2)	Red Cross
	50,000	South Asian Earthquake (1)	Red Cross
	19,216	($35,000) Hurricane Katrina Aid to Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi	Masonic Service Association of North America
	8,235	($15,000) Hurricane Katrina Emergency Aid	Red Cross
	10,000	Humanitarian Relief in Niger	Save The Children
	50,000	London Terrorist Bombings Relief	Mayor of London's Appeal
	5,000	Floods in Carlisle	PGL
	7,500	Caribbean Hurricanes - Bahamas	DGL
	25,000	Tsunami Relief	DGL of Sri Lanka
	10,000	Tsunami Relief	DGL of Madras
2004	100,000	Indian Ocean Earthquake & Tsunami Disaster	Red Cross
	15,000	Landslides and flooding, The Philippines	Red Cross
	10,000	Caribbean Hurricanes - Barbados	DGL
	10,000	Caribbean Hurricanes - Jamaica	DGL
	50,000	Caribbean Hurricanes	Red Cross
	5,000	Floods in Cornwall	PGL
	10,000	Floods in South Asia	Red Cross
	5,000	Madrid bombing	GL de Espana
	10,000	Darfur, Sudan	Red Cross
	20,000	Iranian Earthquake	Red Cross
2003	15,000	Algerian Earthquake	Red Cross
	5,000	Cyclone Ami (Fiji Islands)	SW Group of Lodges
2002	15,000	Food Crisis Africa	Red Cross
	10,000	Relief Work Congo	Red Cross
2001	15,000	Earthquake in EI Salvador	Red Cross
	25,000	Earthquake in India	Red Cross
	50,000	New York - Terrorist attack	GL of New York
	10,000	Telephone Helpline US	Red Cross
	100,000	Foot and mouth	RABI
	10,000	Ethiopia meningitis	Red Cross
2000	10,000	Floods in Sussex	PGL
	25,000	India	Red Cross
	15,000	Indonesia	Red Cross
	5,000	Transvaal	DGL
	25,000	Mozambique	Red Cross
1999	15,000	Sierra Leone	DGL
	25,000	Earthquake in Turkey	Red Cross
	25,000	Refugees from Kosovo	Red Cross
1998	25,000	Hurricane Mitch in Central America
	10,000	Hurricane Georges	DGL Barbados & E. Caribbean
	10,000	Floods in Kenya
	10,000	Floods Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire
	10,000	Floods in Bangladesh	Red Cross
	10,000	Bombs in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam	DGL of E. Africa
	10,000	Floods in China	Red Cross
	10,000	Earthquake in Afghanistan
1997	5,000	Earthquake in Jabaipur, India
	5,000	Volcanic Eruption in Montserrat
1996	10,000	Sinking of MV Bukoba on Lake Victoria, Tanzania
	20,000	Typhoon Angela in the Philippines
1995	8,000	Hurricane Marilyn in Anguilla
	15,000	Hurricane Luis in Antigua
1994	10,000	Earthquake in Rabaul (PNG)
	10,000	Hurricane Debbie in St Lucia
1993	25,000	Earthquake in Maharashtra
	2,000	Floods in Cardigan
	10,000	Floods in Llandudno
1992	5,000	Hurricane Andrew in the Bahamas & Turks
1991	25,000	Cyclone in Bangladesh
1990	5,000	Men of Trees
	5,000	National Trust
	20,000	Floods in Towyn, North Wales
1989	25,000	Hilisborough Disaster
	20,000	Hurricane Hugo in Barbados
1988	25,000	Armenia
	20,000	Jamaica
	30,000	Floods in Bangladesh
	20,000	Floods in Natal, South Africa
	5,000	Men of Trees Hurricane
	5,000	National Trust Hurricane
1987	10,000	Floods in Natal, South Africa
	20,000	Earthquakes in Chile
	10,000	Earthquakes in Ecuador
	5,000	Cyclone in Vanuato
1986	10,000	Earthquakes in El Salvador
	5,000	Cyclone in the Solomon Islands
1985	15,000	Volcanic Eruptions in Bogota, Columbia
	20,000	Earthquake in Mexico
1984	2,000	Floods in Natal, South Africa
	5,000	Bhopal Gas Leak
	20,000	Famine in Ethiopia
1983	3,000	Grenada Invasion
	25,000	Civil Disturbances in Sri Lanka
	2,000	Bush Fires in Australia
1982	5,000	RNLI Pension Fund
	25,000	South Atlantic Fund
	3,000	Penlee Lifeboat Disaster
1981	1,000	Floods in South Africa

Last updated
02 Nov 2005