Durham Masonic Benevolent Fund

Charity Details

Full Name: The Durham Masonic Benevolent Fund  
Founded: 1979
Type: Affiliated
Where Operates: Sunderland and County Durham
Headquarters: Sunderland, SR2 7BH
Charity No: 279313 

History and Activities

Freemasonry is a fraternal institution originating in local fraternities of stonemasons that from the end of the fourteenth century regulated the trade by limiting entry and controlling training. It evolved by degree, as trade guilds lost their practical purpose, into a linked series of social network organizations known as lodges, each serving a defined geographic area, united by common rituals, practices and beliefs and grouped into provincial grand lodges and thence a national grand lodge. Members support one another and support good causes by raising and distributing funds. Charitable activities and events are organized locally, provincially and nationally. The general purpose is to instil in members a moral and ethical approach to life, putting families first but advocating a more general concern for people in need.

The Freemasons of the Province of Durham have a long history dating back the 1600s. In 1788, the first provincial assembly of lodges was held at Durham. A reconstruction of the St John’s Lodge in Sunderland, built in 1869, was opened at the Beamish open air museum in 20076 at a cost of £1,200,000. The provincial grand lodge has been actively engaged in charitable funding since the later nineteenth century following the establishment of an education fund in 1882 and a benevolent fund in 1897. It has made major contributions over the years to national charitable fundraising, organized since 2016 as the Masonic Charitable Foundation, which in 2016/17 expended £70 million in service of its charitable purpose.

Besides supporting the Masonic Charitable Foundation, the Durham Freemasons control the Durham Masonic Benevolent Fund, which has a large rental income from property and additional income from a portfolio of investments. Part of the income is used to make grants to members and relatives in need, but the larger part, £182,693 (71%) in 2016/17, is used to support a wide range of community organizations in Sunderland and County Durham. In 2016/17, 79 grants were made with an average value of 2,312. Beneficiaries included scout groups, youth clubs, churches, hospices, bands and colleges.

Vital Statistics (year to 30/09/2017)

Website
http://www.durhamfreemasons.org/charity/benevolence/

References