Charity
Supporting Freemasons, their families and the wider community
The Masonic Charitable Foundation
Funded entirely through the generosity of Freemasons and their families, the Masonic Charitable Foundation is one of the largest grant-making charities in the country.
Most of its support takes the form of financial grants to individuals and families to help with daily living costs. It can also award grants for specific items or services.
Its professional Advice and Support team offers confidential, practical guidance about the support available from the Foundation and many other organisations.
Health and care
The Foundation supports a range of health and care needs, including medical and dental treatment, counselling, mobility aids and home adaptations. Funding is also available for respite, residential, nursing and dementia care.
The wider community
Each year the Foundation awards millions of pounds to local and national charities that help vulnerable people, advance medical research and create opportunities for young people. It also helps fund hospices and air ambulances, and contributes to worldwide disaster relief appeals.
Bedfordshire 2026 Festival
Platinum status for the 2026 Festival
Gilbert Inglefield Lodge has reached Platinum, the highest award in the Bedfordshire 2026 Festival. The Lodge is one of only ten lodges in the Province to have reached this level.
What is the Festival?
About once every eleven years, each Masonic Province in England and Wales takes its turn to hold a Festival: a sustained appeal in which its lodges and members raise money for the Masonic Charitable Foundation (which since May 2026 has also used the working name the Freemasons’ Charity). Bedfordshire’s Festival began in early 2021 and closes in October 2026. The Province agreed a target of £1,000,000 with the Foundation, equivalent to about £600 for every member, plus Gift Aid.
What Platinum means
Each lodge’s contribution is measured per member, so that small and large lodges are recognised on the same footing. The award levels are:
| Award | Amount given or pledged per member |
|---|---|
| Bronze | £200 |
| Silver | £400 |
| Gold | £600 |
| Platinum | £750 |
Reaching Platinum therefore means members of Gilbert Inglefield gave or pledged an average of at least £750 each to the Foundation, more than the Province asked of every member.
How we got there
The Lodge received its Gold award in May 2025 and pledged a further £1,500 from its charity fund, determined to go one better. That autumn, at the annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge in October 2025, the Lodge was presented with an engraved silver salver for reaching Platinum. All Saints Lodge No. 8776 and Warden Lodge No. 4608 were recognised at the same meeting. Thank you to every member, family and friend who contributed.
The Province’s Platinum lodges
The ten Platinum lodges published by Bedfordshire Freemasons so far are:
- October 2024: Wenlock, Panmure, Manor Court, Veritas and Bedford Castle Lodges
- October 2025: All Saints, Warden and Gilbert Inglefield Lodges
- August 2026: Ampthill and John Bunyan Lodges
How the Festival is going
Lodges, chapters and individual members across Bedfordshire have raised money through events, challenges and regular giving. The four Festival Golf Days alone raised about £55,000, and members have walked Hadrian’s Wall and set out on a sponsored walk to “Jerusalem”. Members can also become Festival Stewards, with a donation of £300 or more. The final total will be announced at the annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge in October 2026, and we will add it to this page.
Read about the 2026 Festival on the Bedfordshire Freemasons website.
The Festival at a glance
- ForMasonic Charitable Foundation
- Target£1,000,000
- Runs2021 to October 2026
- Our awardPlatinum
- Platinum lodges10
A long history of giving
The Foundation brings together the work of four national charities that had operated separately, under various names, since the early 18th century: the Freemasons’ Grand Charity, the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys, the Masonic Samaritan Fund and the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution, which continues today as a leading care home provider.
Each of the four provided a particular type of support to Freemasons and their families. Much of it took the form of grants, but the charities also ran institutions including the Royal Masonic School for Boys, the Royal Masonic School for Girls, the Royal Masonic Hospital and residential care homes.
Find out more
- Masonic Charitable FoundationGrants, advice and support
- Charity at UGLEMasonic charity across England and Wales
- Bedfordshire FreemasonsCharity news from our Province