Sussex Freemasons Community Charity

Sussex Freemasons Community Charity is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1177420).

The Sussex Freemasons Community Charity traces back to the original Sussex Masonic Charity, which the Provincial Grand Lodge of Sussex set up as a separate but independent organisation. It exists to relieve sickness and preserve health, advance education, and prevent or relieve poverty or financial hardship. Its annual giving was £150,715 in the annual report, and it held £1.67m of investments in a balanced portfolio at its Balance Sheet date. Its giving runs through Sussex for Sussex, which supports registered Sussex charities with no direct Masonic connections, and through matched funding for money that Sussex lodges have raised for local charities, alongside support for Masons and their dependants in hardship.

Priority Areas

The foundation supports organisations throughout Sussex. Through Sussex for Sussex, it supports a wide range of registered charities in Sussex with no direct Masonic connections; it also matches lodge-raised funds for local charities. Its stated fields include education and training, life-saving equipment on land and sea, disability, poverty, and the armed forces and emergency services. Sussex for Sussex awards generally support, but are not limited to, early years, later life, medical research and hospice care. It also combines support for local Freemasons and their dependants in hardship with grants to non-Masonic charities benefiting the wider community. Trustees consider applications and make awards.

Themes

• Education and training
• Life-saving equipment
• Disability support
• Poverty relief
• Armed forces and emergency services
• Medical research
• Hospice care

Geographic Focus

Sussex: East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton and Hove counties in United Kingdom.

Applicants may use one of two funding routes; trustees review applications at meetings held every two months, with the cut-off usually in the middle of the preceding month.

Deadlines: Applications are usually due around the middle of the month before each trustees' meeting, which takes place every two months.

Who can apply:

• Matched Funding: If your lodge has raised money for a charity that has an appropriate connection with Sussex, and is registered with the Charity Commission, you may apply for matched funding.
• Sussex for Sussex Funding: A wide range of registered charities in Sussex with no direct masonic connections

What to send:

• Matched Funding
  • The full Name, Address and Registration Number of the Charity for which the application is being made
  • Lodge Name and Lodge Number
• Matched Funding, Sussex for Sussex Funding
  • Details of how the grant will be used and the case in support of the application
  • How the activities funded by the grant will benefit the intended beneficiaries
  • How the grant will be managed
  • Which key individuals will be responsible for managing the grant and delivering the proposed activities or project
• Matched Funding: How much has been raised by the lodge
• Sussex for Sussex Funding
  • An up-to-date copy of the charity's Governing Document and the charity's most recent Set of Accounts
  • Details of other funding awarded, raised or being sought for the activities
  • A budget for the proposed activities to be funded by the grant

What the charity says:

• Matched funding is available when a lodge has raised money for a charity with an appropriate connection to Sussex that is registered with the Charity Commission. (as reported in other published sources)