The Mark Benevolent Fund (M.B.F.) was founded in 1868 to provide immediate financial aid to eligible Mark Master Masons and their dependents who may be in distress. Significantly, it was to encourage all Brethren to practice the morals of donating freely and without hesitation. The founder of the Fund, Canon George Raymond Portal, Grand Master (1869–1872), considered this code of conduct would provide the Order with a clear and distinctive charitable motive, a noticeable purpose with which Mark Master Masons could readily identify.

It was abhorrent to Canon Portal that there should be any delay in supplying aid to those in need, thus the Latin dictum ‘Bis dat qui cito dat’ (‘He gives twice who gives promptly’ or ‘A gift given without hesitation is as good as two gifts’) became the guiding principle of the Mark Benevolent Fund.

Throughout the last 157 years, Mark Brethren and their families have supported the work of the M.B.F. with ever increasing donations. Their continuing generosity is no more evident than through the M.B.F. Festivals hosted in turn by Mark Provinces in England and Wales. These Festivals, like the one we are celebrating today, mark the culmination of many years of fundraising and provide a valuable source of funding for the M.B.F. enabling it to continue supporting those in need as well as projects with a wider community benefit. From humble beginnings in 1868, the Fund has grown into a significant force for good, rooted in the traditions of Mark Masonry and still true to its motto.

Examples of grants in recent years: in 2018, to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Mark Benevolent Fund, we renewed our partnership with St John Ambulance with a grant of £3.4 million for new vehicles; in 2022, the Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust received a grant of £100,000 towards the purchase of a new surgical robot helping to transform complex surgeries and improve patient recovery times; and in 2024, as part of our current Major Grant Initiatives, £625,202 has been awarded to 27 Blood Bike groups in England and Wales, and £447,350 awarded to 24 wheelchair rugby clubs under the umbrella of Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby organisation.

So far in 2025, grants of almost £600,000 have been made to 35 charities across England, Wales and our Districts abroad. Examples of these worthy cause’s grants are: £30,000 to Ilkley Community Transport in the Province of West Yorkshire; £7,250 to Rowans Hospice in the Province of Hampshire and Isle of Wight; £11,604 to Lincoln & Lindsey Blind Society in the Province of Lincolnshire; £5,000 to Wyeplay in the Province of Gloucestershire & Herefordshire; £23,996 to Special Lioness in the Province of Durham; and £51,006 to Parents and Friends of Moreton Day Service in the Province of Cheshire. In addition, 19 of our individual petitioners have also benefitted from the fund with grants of almost £80,000.

In every aspect of its work, the M.B.F. exudes a spirit of enthusiasm and is a clear demonstration of the great personal commitment from the many thousands of Brethren and their families who have helped make the M.B.F. what it is today. In recent years, a key theme of our charitable activity has been to ask what have you done to make yourself feel proud? Your support for the Mark Benevolent Fund and this year’s Festival Province of Oxfordshire, in particular, is reason enough to make you feel proud.