Prestonian Lecturers are invited to nominate one or more charities to support through the sale of books and donations from Lodges, Provinces / Districts and individuals.
I have continued to raise funds for charity since my appointment in 2012, and have always divided proceeds between my nominated Scouting and Masonic charities.
So far my books and talks have raised £123,892. Other fundraising activities in that time have generated a further £9,650.
I ask that donations go into my “2012 Prestonian Charity Fund”, which I operate through a bank account and a Relief Chest held with the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF).
My initial Scouting charity was The Scout Association’s (TSA) Archive Development Project. Between 2012 and the end of 2014 the lectureship donated £20,195 to TSA’s Archive Development Project, funding the entire cost of the installation of a climate control system to protect the archives and of the digitisation of the Baden-Powell archive.
Initially my Masonic charity was the Masonic Samaritan Fund (MSF). Between 2012 and the end of 2014, the lectureship raised £21,128.53 for the MSF and was the highest donor on the President’s List for the 2014 Derbyshire Festival in aid of the MSF.
At the end of 2014, after the conclusion of the 2014 Derbyshire Festival, I changed the focus of my fundraising.
Since then my Scouting charity has been The Scout Association’s Heritage Project. The UK Scout Association being the home of Scouting worldwide, this project aims to educate Scouts and the public about Scouting’s rich history and heritage. The lectureship has
- funded the cost of installing nine outdoor heritage information panels around Gilwell Park, to educate visitors about Scouting and Gilwell’s rich history.
- made the first donation towards the building of a Heritage Centre at Gilwell Park.
- paid for the renovation of Harold Speed’s 1905 portrait of Baden-Powell.
- paid for additional information boards at Gilwell Park.
The total raised for this project so far is £20,805. See www.scouts.org.uk and www.scouts.org.uk/about-us/our-history/.
I had been a council member and trustee of the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls & Boys (RMTGB) since 2013. So, from the beginning of 2015 the 2012 Prestonian Lecture raised money for RMTGB and donated £6,437.52 to its final Festivals.
Between April 2016 and July 2023 I was a director and trustee of the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF). In July 2017, I changed my Masonic charity to the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF). See www.mcf.org.uk.
The MCF is a grant making charity providing help for Freemasons, for families, for everyone – of all ages, from cradle to grave. It also makes significant financial grants to other charities to help people live happy, fulfilling lives and to participate actively in society.
During the Covid-19 pandemic all proceeds from my online talks went to Masonic charities, a total of £23,097.89.
So far the 2012 Prestonian Lecture has donated £39,270.66 to the MCF.
In 2020 I added the Mark Benevolent Fund (MBF) to my list of charities as I am often asked to give talks to Mark Lodges and feel it only appropriate to support the MBF on those occasions. Besides, it is an excellent charity which supports many worthy causes in our communities, as well as brethren in need. See https://markmasonshall.org/mbf-home/mark-benevolent-fund.
Since October 2020, the 2012 Prestonian Lecture charity fund has donated £2,778.54 to the Mark Benevolent Fund.
In January 2022 I was appointed a trustee of Lifelites, on the nomination of the MCF. In August 2023, I became the Interim Chair of Trustees at Lifelites and in January 2024, after an open and thorough recruitment process, I was appointed Chair of Trustees (ie, no longer interim). See https://lifelites.org.
Lifelites started as as the millennium project for the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys (RMTGB) and became a charity in its own right in 2006. It enables children and young people with life-limiting conditions to communicate with their families and experience unforgettable moments of connection and joy. We do this by providing assistive technology and training to every children’s hospice in the British Isles.
Since August 2023, the 2012 Prestonian Lecture charity fund has donated £5,045 to Lifelites.
As of August 2023, I am now raising money for the following:
- The Scout Association Heritage Fund
- The Masonic Charitable Foundation
- Lifelites
- The Mark Benevolent Fund.
Rather than divide all proceeds equally, which I did when there were just two charities and up to the Covid-19 pandemic, I am now donating proceeds to one of the above charities on the basis of relevance or synergy. So, funds derived from books or talks related to Scouting will go to The Scout Association, those raised in Lodges or Provinces which are in festival to the MCF or the MBF will go to their festival and general funds will go to Lifelites.
I hope this more flexible approach will encourage brethren and Lodges to make donations knowing that their money will go to a relevant cause.
How can you contribute?
If you would like to support this work, you can:
1 – Make a direct transfer from a bank account to my charity fund’s bank account, using the details below:
- Account Name: 2012 Prestonian Charity Account
- Sort Code: 16-24-21
- Account Number: 10960259
- Reference: Your initials and surname or Lodge name and number
2 – Make a personal donation into the Prestonian 2012 Relief Chest (E8001), via the Give Tap system, using the button below:
3 – Make a Lodge donation from your Lodge Relief Chest to the 2012 Prestonian Relief Chest (E8001).
4 – Buy a 2012 Prestonian book. All the proceeds go to my charity fund, to be divided equally between my charities.
How much has been raised?
To date (31st January 2025), after deducting the cost of printing and postage (£9,788.86) my Prestonian Lecture and other Masonic talks have raised £117,172.59 for my chosen Scouting & Masonic charities.
Of this, £74,660.25 has been donated to Freemasonry charities and £41,000.00 to Scouting charities. The difference is mainly due to the large number of online Masonic talks during Covid-19, resulting in donations from them going to the MCF. Further donations are being processed.
I have sold 4,690 copies of the Prestonian Lecture book, necessitating three print runs.
In addition, sales of Bill Summ’s Masonic Songs have raised £3,716.43 for the 2025 Derbyshire Festival for the MCF, sales of my 2018 Cornwallis Lecture booklet have raised £2,536.63 for the Kent Museum of Freemasonry and sales of my 2020 Mike Baker Memorial Lecture booklet have raised £466.19 for the Kent Mark Benevolent Fund – so far!
These bring the total amount raised for different charities from my various Masonic books and talks to £123,891.84.
Altogether, with other fundraising activities for the Masonic Charitable Foundation and the Mark Benevolent Fund – including the 2017 MBF Walk and my “Old Men and their Mountains” get fit campaign – with your help I have raised £133,572.01 for Scouting and Freemasonry charities since 2012.
In October 2020, I was told that the District Grand Lodge of South America Northern Division has set up a charity project following one of my talks. I will bring updates about this fantastic initiative as I receive them.
To everybody who has donated to my fund, and to every body who has invited me to deliver a talk for them, I am deeply grateful. Thank you for all you have done.
