Later Life Small grants

Funded entirely through the generosity of Freemasons and their families, the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) is one of the largest grant-making charities in the country. We build better lives by enabling opportunity, advancing healthcare and education and promoting independence.

Our Later Life Inclusion grants programme is open to local and national charities that are working to reduce loneliness and isolation in later life. Charities can apply for a small or large grant, depending on their income.

*These grants are for smaller charities whose annual income does not exceed £500,000. *Small grants are unrestricted and, for example can be used towards general running and/or overhead costs of the charity. *Small grants range between £1,000 – £5,000 per year, for up to three years. *The total amount of the grant requested must not exceed 20% of the total income of the charity.

Applicants can only apply for one grant programme at any time. For small grants, at least 75% of the charity’s beneficiaries must be people aged 50 and over.

Grants can be offered to charities/projects that provide: *Mental and physical health support. *Access to services, e.g. transport and technology. *Community based approaches, i.e. volunteering, positive ageing and neighbourhood support. *Advocacy, social and welfare support.

Our process for applications has changed. This is now a rolling grants programme, therefore we no longer have deadlines.

Eligibility requirements: *Grants are only made to charities whose beneficiaries are in England and Wales. *Charities must be registered with the Charity Commission or relevant Central registry of the respective Guernsey, Jersey or Isle of Man’s government. *Charities must have at least one year of independently examined or audited accounts published on the Charity Commission website for the registered charity number they are applying from.

The Freemason must be, or have been, a member of a lodge regulated by the United Grand Lodge of England. The Freemason does not need to be a currently subscribing member, but he must have joined before the need arose.

Please be aware that if the Freemason’s membership is not active, there is a set period of time after the membership ended in which an application can be submitted. Please contact us for further information.

The charity grants department does not fund individuals. Grants to individuals are only available to freemasons and their families and are made through our masonic support department.