The Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) is inviting applications for its Children and Young People Small Grants programme which is open to national and local charities helping disadvantaged children and young people to overcome the barriers they face.

MCF builds better lives by enabling opportunity, advancing healthcare and education and promoting independence for freemasons, their families and the wider community. The MCF is one of the largest grant-making charities in the country supporting freemasons and their families as well as charities across England and Wales.

Focus Areas

Grants can be offered to charities/projects that provide:

• Mental and physical health support
• Learning and development, including language and communication skills, social and emotional etc.
• Support for the whole family
• Pastoral and advocacy support

Grant Size

• These grants are for smaller charities whose annual income does not exceed £500,000.
• Small grants can be used for general running and/or overhead costs of the charity – core funding.
• Small grants between £1,000 – £15,000 are available.
• Grants can be over one, two or three years.
• The total amount of the grant requested must not exceed 15% of the total income of the charity

Activities

Grants can be offered to charities for projects that provide activities such as:

• Additional educational opportunities such as improving literacy and numeracy
• Alternative methods or specialist therapies to help children and young people integrate into the mainstream education system
• Individual interventions, i.e. parent education, home visiting or mentoring
• Encouraging healthy behaviours with regards to diet, activity and wellbeing
• Psychological interventions for domestic abuse and behavioural issues
• Provision of adaptive technologies and equipment removing barriers

Outcomes

• Short term:
  • Age appropriate skills developed by the time children get to school or young people enter their first jobs
  • Children and young people receive more opportunities to access education and training
  • Existing services better supporting the physical, psychological and emotional needs of children and young people
  • Children and young people living in a healthy and stable environment
  • Are more engaged in physical and social activities through sports and social clubs
  • Have greater access to physical, psychological and emotional support
  • Greater knowledge about rights, options and opportunities
  • Greater awareness of the subject among Freemasons
• Long term:
  • Improved health and wellbeing for children and young people
  • Equal opportunities for all children and young people regardless of ability or background
  • Children and young people having the best start in life no matter what their circumstances
  • Stable, healthy and supported family networks
  • MCF’s profile raised among Freemason and the public

Eligibility Criteria

• 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.
• Grants can be offered to charities for projects that support disadvantaged and vulnerable children aged 0-18 and up to the age of 25 years for disabled young people.
• What the MCF will not consider grants for:
  • Arts and heritage
  • Environmental
  • Animal welfare
  • Statutory obligations
  • Routine delivery of the National Curriculum in schools
  • The sole aim of promoting civil liberties and human rights
  • Political or lobbying activities
  • Contributions towards new build and/or large scale capital projects, e.g. building a new hospice wing
  • Capital repairs and/or maintenance of existing buildings
  • Hospital equipment, such as MRI scanners
  • The support or promotion of any and all religious doctrine
  • Contributions to general appeals
  • Retrospective funding
• Arts and Heritage projects will only be considered if the project benefits beneficiaries from the priority target groups.

For more information, visit Small Grants.