DONATIONS TO CHARITY AFTER THE 2012 FESTIVAL - THE PGM S FAMOUS FIVE

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1 DONATIONS TO CHARITY AFTER THE 2012 FESTIVAL - THE PGM S FAMOUS FIVE This report has been requested by the Provincial Grand Master to recommend the Charities which Warwickshire Freemasons are encouraged to support following the conclusion of the 2012 Festival. The next Festival which Warwickshire will be hosting will conclude in 2023, in favour of the Freemasons Grand Charity. Therefore, there will be a period of at least five years when Warwickshire will be able to channel all of its Charitable giving without needing to focus on a UGLE Festival target, although planning for the 2023 Festival will commence in 2016 or even earlier. The report recommends five Charities to be known as the PGM s Famous Five. These are recommendations as to how Lodges should direct their fundraising and collections. Whilst the recommendations are not compulsory, it is the hope of the Provincial Grand Master that Lodges will take note of his preferences, and act accordingly. The Five Charities are: Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent Fund Acorns Children s Hospice Trust St Mary s Church Warwick Birmingham Children s Hospital Air Ambulance (WNAA and MAA) More details on each of the Charities are contained in the following pages. The Provincial Grand Master hopes that Lodges will adopt one of these charities each year, for the next five years, and donate one or two of your Lodge collections each year to that Charity. If the Lodge is happy to use funds raised at a Ladies Evening, or fundraising event, this will obviously be welcome. For donations to the Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent Fund, we already have gift aid envelopes. For the other four non-masonic charities, it is intended that all funds raised in this way will be gift aided using envelopes in favour of the Warwickshire Masonic Charitable Association, which will be available on request from the Provincial Charity Office. The Charity Office will then deal with the envelopes in the manner in which WMBF envelopes have been handled for some years. When WMCA envelopes are used, they will be forwarded to the Charity Office together with directions to the favoured charity for that collection. It is not necessary to retain the same nominated charity for the whole of next five years Lodges may change the chosen charity whenever they wish.

2 1. Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent Fund The Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire administers many charitable funds, the principal ones are the Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent Fund and the Warwickshire Masonic Charitable Association Limited. The objectives of the Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent Fund are to provide relief to needy Freemasons of the Province, their widows or partners, their children and any spinster sisters. The Management Committee of the Charity Board of the WMBF meets on a quarterly basis to consider petitions for relief submitted by Lodge Almoners, although the Provincial Grand Almoner also has power to make emergency grants. WMBF relies heavily on regular donations from Lodges and Chapters in the Province to enable it to carry out its charitable work. Every year, petitioners receive around 100,000 in support from the Province. Administration of the WMBF and other Provincial charity funds is undertaken by the Provincial Grand Almoner and the Provincial Grand Charity Steward. Local Contact Bill Clark / John Hayward Registered Charity Number

3 2. Acorns Children s Hospice Trust Established in 1988, Acorns Children's Hospice Trust is a registered charity offering a network of care for life limited and life threatened children and young people, and their families, across the heart of England. These children and young people are not expected to reach adulthood and require specialist care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Acorns is currently supporting over 600 children and 865 families, including those who are bereaved. Acorns is the only organisation that provides this level of care to these vulnerable youngsters whilst offering a range of support services to the whole family to help them cope at every stage of their child's life and beyond into bereavement. Acorns provides tailored nursing care for each child; short breaks, emergency and end of life care at each of their three hospices at Selly Oak, Walsall and Worcester. See for more detail. Local Contact David Butcher. Registered Charity Number

4 3. St Mary s Church Warwick Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick St Mary s Collegiate Church in Warwick is at the heart of Warwickshire Freemasonry. After the great fire of Warwick in 1694, it is certain that operative mason were employed in the rebuilding of St Mary s Church, and later in regular Lodges were formed in Warwick meeting at the Woolpack Inn, close to the Church. Each year, the Province holds its annual Church Service at St Mary s, and is welcomed by the clergy and local residents. St Mary s is a busy working church, set in the centre of the ancient town of Warwick. People have worshipped there for over 1,000 years, and have left evidence of their faith in the architecture and decoration of the building. It is one of the largest and most interesting Churches in England. The Church is open every day of the year, and welcomes a large number of visitors from across the world. A wide range of services is offered, many of them involving several choirs which are among the best in the country. St Mary s sets out to be an inclusive church, so it is also used by the people of Warwick for weddings, funerals and baptisms, and to celebrate significant local and national events in our worship. Over several years the finances of St Marys have been diminishing, partly due to the global financial crisis and the effect this has had on the income of the church. The church has launched a Capital Campaign,which will need to raise around 2.4 million pounds in total. The main areas of concern are the Beauchamp Chapel which needs protection against damp, and requires repair to the pinnacles. The external stone work in general, but especially at high levels such at the tower, needs extensive restoration. Internally, there are other smaller projects- the Nave ceiling, and the relaying of some areas of the floor. See for more detail. Local Contact Alan Wellan Registered Charity Number

5 4. Birmingham Children s Hospital Birmingham Children s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides a comprehensive service to children, young people and their families, and are one of the leading paediatric teaching centres in the country. The Birmingham Children s Hospital Charity supports every area of the Hospital and many of their supporters have a personal connection to a particular ward or department. Every year, over 225,000 sick children from across the UK are treated at Birmingham Children s Hospital. Many face incredibly difficult circumstances. Their stories of courage, determination and hope are an inspiration to others. The medical and nursing teams provide the best possible treatment and the very highest standards of care, and their aim is to be able to do more for the children in their care. The BCH Charity aims to raise over 3 million each year to create modern and child-friendly environments, and to purchase state of the art medical equipment and fund research into the prevention and treatment of childhood illnesses. By supporting Birmingham Children s Hospital you will be making a real difference to the lives of thousands of children and families, when they need it most. See and for more detail. Local Contact Peter Woodfield Registered Charity Number

6 5. Air Ambulance There are two Air Ambulances which cover Warwickshire and the West Midlands they are the Midlands Air Ambulance and the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance. We believe that both should be supported in equal measures. The Midlands Air Ambulance is the only charity responsible for funding and operating three Air Ambulances serving the communities of the West Midlands, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire. This constitutes the largest air ambulance operating region in the UK. Since 1991, the Charity has responded to more than 38,000 missions averaging 3,000 per year or nearly ten each day, making it one of the longest established and busiest Air Ambulance organisations in the UK. Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance attend, on average, four missions every single day, from road traffic collisions to house fires, and fallen horse riders to industrial accidents. WNAA regularly attends any incident that is life-threatening, where access by land is limited, or where the patient's quality of life would be affected by undue delay. They have the fastest and most technologically advanced civilian helicopters available taking the highly trained medical team to the scene of any incident within minutes. WNAA covers a geographical area that stretches the length of the M1 and across the M6 and M40, from the Warwickshire countryside to urban Milton Keynes. Air Ambulances generally carry a crew comprising Pilot, two Paramedics or Flight Doctors plus full life-support medical equipment. It is not widely known that none of the Air Ambulance organisations receive Government or National Lottery funding. In excess of 2 million is needed each year to keep an Air Ambulance operational, and this is donated entirely by the public and local businesses. See and for more detail. Local Contact To be Advised Registered Charity Number &

7 6. Other Charities Considered As will be understood, many charities have been considered during this exercise, all of which would have been grateful for our support. As we wish to concentrate our efforts in making a significant difference to a small number, the charities recommended have been chosen. It is the Provincial Grand Master s intention to vary at least one of the chosen charities each year, until the commencement of the next formal Festival. Consideration will be given to any suggestions made by members of the Province.

8 7. Method of Operation The Intention of this approach is to be able to record the total amounts donated to the chosen charities progressively over the next four years. To this end, we will introduce a second gift aid envelope, which is to be used for the four non-masonic charities. This envelope will be in favour of the Warwickshire Masonic Charitable Association, registered number Lodges will make a collection using these envelopes, and forward a cheque to the Provincial Charity Office, with a covering letter nominating one of the four charities mentioned in this report. The Charity Office will then apply the gift aid, and hold a total against each of the nominated charities, to be paid over to the charities at appropriate intervals. Donations to the Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent Fund will be made in precisely the same manner as at present, using the existing gift aid envelopes. Examples of both envelopes are appended to this report. John Hayward Provincial Grand Charity Steward April 2013

9 WARWICKSHIRE MASONIC CHARITABLE ASSOCIATION Registered Charity No GIFT AID ENVELOPE W M C A Supporting Non-Masonic and Masonic Charities Envelopes produced by: W Howard Taylor Ltd Tel I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for the current tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that all the Charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) that I donate to will reclaim on my gifts for the current tax year. I understand that other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify. I understand the charity will reclaim 25p of tax on every 1 that I have given. Title, Initial(s) and Last Name... (please print) House No. or Name...Postcode... Lodge No... Signature...Date... Please treat the enclosed amount of : as a Gift Aid donation. You should make a note of this donation for the purpose of your tax return. If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code.

10 W M B F Supporting Freemasons and their Dependents In Need Envelopes produced by: W Howard Taylor Ltd Tel WARWICKSHIRE MASONIC BENEVOLENT FUND Registered Charity No GIFT AID ENVELOPE I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for the current tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that all the Charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) that I donate to will reclaim on my gifts for the current tax year. I understand that other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify. I understand the charity will reclaim 25p of tax on every 1 that I have given. Title, Initial(s) and Last Name... (please print) House No. or Name...Postcode... Lodge No... Signature...Date... Please treat the enclosed amount of : as a Gift Aid donation. You should make a note of this donation for the purpose of your tax return. If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code.