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Matching
Grants
EVERY YEAR
EVERY LODGE
HAS $5,000 AVAILABLE
IN MATCHING FUNDS
Every year the Foundation offers up to $5,000
in matching funds to every Lodge in Maine.
$1 for $1
For every $1 a Lodge raises or commits to a project or nonprofit, the Foundation will
provide $1 up to a maximum of $3,000 per category.
All matching grants must fall under one of the five (5) categories listed below:
- Community Betterment Grants
- Masonic Bikes For Books Grants
- Youth Activities Grants
- Project Graduation Grants
- Seniors Related Projects/Activities
** MAXIMUM of $3,000 in matching funds for any one category **
During each fiscal year (which runs from April 1st to March 31st), each Lodge is eligible for $5,000 in matching grants. For Matching Grant questions – email the Executive Director at director@MaineMCF.org or call (207) 843-1086. Please read the guidelines for submitting a grant application here.
Lodge members can apply for a matching grant by completing an application – just pick the method below that is most convenient for you…
Lodges can spread monies over multiple grants within the same category (i.e., $200 for one Community Betterment project and $250 for another Community Betterment project, etc) and now Lodges can also do a large matching grant for one nonprofit or community project (i.e., a Lodge can chose to donate $3,000 to a local nonprofit and the Foundation will match it with $3,000 for a total of $6,000 for that local nonprofit).
Community Betterment
Freemasonry has the unique opportunity to become a partner in every community in which Masons reside. The Community Betterment Matching Grant program assists a local lodge in achieving its charitable efforts in their communities.
Whether it is putting in a bench at a park, helping a public library, raising funds for a food bank, fuel assistance, or more; the Masonic Charitable Foundation offers lodges the ability to enhance their fundraising capabilities.
Lodges have the ability to raise funds for the causes that captivate their interests and triple their philanthropic impact through the Matching Grants program.
Complete an online application (and submit immediately with the click of a button)
Youth Activities
Freemasonry has long supported the youth in the towns and schools in our communities. With state and local budgets tightening every year, there are plenty of opportunities for a Lodge to support their local youth.
There are a great number of children and teens who participate in various sports programs, Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts, academic endeavors, and other projects that either benefit youth directly, or where a lodge can become a partner in a youth project in their town.
The drive to work, help, aid, and assist our youth can only serve to better a lodge and its members.
Complete an online application (and submit immediately with the click of a button)
Seniors Related Projects/Activities
According to the Welden Cooper Center, in 2020 Maine is expected to have more residents aged 65 and older than aged 19 and under. The Seniors Matching Grant program sponsored aims to assist local lodges in achieving their charitable efforts in supporting this older demographic in their communities.
Whether it is a project to improve accessibility (chair lifts or ramps), provide much needed services (fuel assistance, food) or promote programs of companionship and caring; the Masonic Charitable Foundation offers lodges the ability to do more to the elderly in their communities.
The Seniors Matching Grant is the only matching grant where the beneficiary can be a single person. Lodges are able to help a senior in their community replace a heating source or fill their fuel tank, install a wheelchair ramp at their home.
Complete an online application (and submit immediately with the click of a button)
Project Graduation
Project Graduation is a program offered by many high schools in the United States, in which organized adult-supervised activities are offered as part of a post-graduation party in lieu of student-run events with alcohol or drugs. Events often last through the night and are held in hotels, community centers, and other venues chosen by the students.
Project Graduation emerged in the Oxford Hills area (Paris/Norway) of Maine in 1980, the result of community energies empowered through a state initiative. It has long since been recognized as a prototype for the nation, helping to protect the lives of graduating seniors in all states.
Complete an online application (and submit immediately with the click of a button)
Bikes For Books
It’s essential to establish a love for reading early in life. Towards that end, Masons in Maine are happy to bring the Masonic Bikes for Books program to students throughout Maine’s Elementary and Middle schools. The objectives of the program are threefold:
• to increase student reading and comprehension skills
• to recognize positive student achievements
• to provide an attainable goal, with life enhancing results
Students are invited to participate in the program, and each time they read an age appropriate book, their name will go into the drawing; the more they read, the better their chances of earning a bike and safety helmet, which will be presented before the school closes for the summer.
Complete an online application (and submit immediately with the click of a button)
