A Short History
Of The Craft
Slicing The Pie
To relieve
the distressed is a duty incumbent on all men, but particularly on Freemasons,
who are linked together by an indissoluble chain of sincere affection.
To soothe the unhappy, to sympathize with their misfortunes, to compassionate
their miseries, and to restore peace to their troubled minds, is the
great aim we have in view. On this basis we form our friendships and
establish our connections.
Illustrations
of Masonry, p. 72
William Preston, 1772
Grasping the subtle nuances of the interlocking relationships
of Masonic organizations is a simple task compared to cataloging their
expenditures. As Professor Lipson observed, "Masonic charity was secret
unlike civic charity whose administration made the entire town privy
to the needs of each recipient." Thus a researcher can only capture
the data from formally organized and public Masonic activities, but
even this doesn't tell the whole story.
For example, the Masonic Service Association of North
America quietly oversees a Hospital Visitation Program with a goal that
every Veterans Administration Hospital in the United States have a Masonic
volunteer working with patients. How can a value be placed on the more
than 500,000 hours a year spent on this work? It just can't be done!
The best that can be achieved, as in the pie chart
below and the statistical tables that follow, is to catalog that fraction
of Masonic philanthropy administered on a formal basis and to rest content
in the knowledge that Masons today, as always, are seeking to provide
relief for suffering humanity.
In 1995, major North American Masonic philanthropies
contributed $750 million or over $2 million per day of which 70% went
to the general American public.
A Summary of North American Masonic Philanthropy
for 1995*
|
Non-Profit Hospitals
|
$476,512,844
|
63.5%
|
|
Masonic Homes
|
225,669,231
|
30%
|
|
Medical Research
|
31,472,909
|
4%
|
|
Scholarships and
Youth
|
7,123,805
|
1%
|
|
Community Services
|
5,379,609
|
1%
|
|
Museums and Buildings
Open to the Public
|
3,717,050
|
.5%
|
|
TOTAL
|
$749,875,448
|
100%
|
* Based on figures
compiled by the Masonic Service Association of North America
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