Getting Started

Congratulations!

Your Lodge has voted to sponsor a Masonic Angel Fund to assist local children in need. Now what? How do you get started?

This section of our web site is intended to provide information useful to a new Masonic Angel Fund or for newly-selected trustees of an existing Masonic Angel Fund.

The Masonic Angel Fund is really a simple concept - local people raise money locally to help local children. 100% of the money MAF raises stays in a community stays in the community to help only local children. There is no paid staff. The Masons who volunteer to run the local Masonic Angel Fund program work with school and social service professionals to help children in need with immediate assistance. MAF does not demand application forms and other paperwork from the schools. Our affiliates must respond to every request within one business day. If a school nurse requests help with eyeglasses for a little girl it is very likely she could be wearing her glasses the very next day. If a teacher needs to purchase a coat for a little boy the MAF can help the teacher make that happen right away.

Some call the Masonic Angel Fund a new form of local charity. Actually, it's nothing of the sort. Prior to the Great Depression, this is how most community charity was delivered - confidentially by a partnership of people who see the kids every day and local organizations (like the Freemasons) who want to provide assistance. We cannot say how many times an elderly Mason has told us that this is the kind of Masonry that his father's generation practiced.

In an era where many traditional charity programs have become top-heavy with executive salaries, facility expenses and exorbitant costs for fund-raising, the Masonic Angel Fund is indeed a refreshing concept. The sponsoring Masonic Lodge agrees to cover the minimal operating costs of the local Masonic Angel Fund, its members raise the money to fund the local program and volunteer Masonic Angel Fund trustees develop partnerships with the school and social service professionals to ensure that children in need are assisted right away.

The Masonic Angel Fund is a program that will make you even prouder to be a Mason.
 

Here are some resources to assist you in getting your MAF off and running:

AngelFlyer Here is a flyer you can adapt with your local Masonic Angel Fund's specific information and make available to the schools."

FAQ Here you will find of some of the questions asked of the Masonic Angel Foundation staff by Lodges interested in sponsoring a Masonic Angel Fund.

Email to the Foundation to answer questions for new MAF trustees

Twice a year all Masonic Angel Funds are required to submit a report of their activities to the Masonic Angel Foundation, Inc. This reporting process is very easy.

Report Each MAF will file a "Semi-Annual Financial Report"

This form lists all of the information and supporting data that is required of each MAF. For ease in tracking your individual benevolences, we recommend that you use the benevolence reporting form or something similar.

Please look at the semi-annual report form now so you will know what is expected at the end of the current semester. If you keep this information in a folder throughout the semester it is much easier to prepare the semi-annual report at the end of the semester.  Please meet our Compliance Officer's 'enforcer'

Comprehensive Guide to School Outreach by our co-founder.

All the documents mentioned above are always available in our Downloads.