The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland
William Ramsay McGhee, MStJ, D.L., Grand Master Mason
Brethren
I am indebted to Brother Stewart Quigley, PGM of Fife and Kinross for the following information which I would commend to all Lodges who have not previously applied for grants or who have been refused grants in the past.
Brother Quigley reports that he has been keeping an eye on the Scottish Govt Business Grants website and recently noticed a new Fund, administered by Local Authorities called, "Local Authority Discretionary Fund" that is aimed at those businesses that have suffered financial restrictions from Covid restrictions / closures AND have NOT benefited from previous Scottish Govt grants.
Thinking of Lodges that do not own their own premises and either rent from other Lodges or even from Local Authorities / Bowling Clubs etc. Obviously, these Lodges generally get most (or all) of their income from collections and raffles at meetings, which has not happened since March 2020. Brother Quigley contacted Fife Council and was advised that the scenario detailed above could well allow a one-off grant (£3,000) to be made.
He then asked one of the Lodges in Fife and Kinross that rents space from another Lodge, to apply and a couple of days later they were advised that their application had been successful, and they should receive payment "within the next 10 days".
All the Lodge needed to supply, was bank statements and proof that the Lodge has insurance cover. As the name of the fund suggests - it is discretionary, so any award may differ from one Local Authority to another, however Brother Quigley noted that the funding for Scottish LA's to administer this fund, has increased from £60 million to £120 million.
Please find the link below for details of the fund that includes a link for the application for the appropriate LA.
Local Authority Discretionary Fund (findbusinesssupport.gov.scot)
https://bgfdes.targetdashboard.com/ladf/qualify
My thanks to Brother Quigley for highlighting this particular grant. I would urge those Lodges who have not applied for grants to get an application into their local authority. Success with this grant will ensure that run of the mill expenses such as utilities, insurance premiums and annual dues can be met without dipping into reserves.
The next lecture in the History & Heritage Group Series will be by Brother Jim Kerr, DGM of Central South Africa, on Wednesday 24th February at 7.00 pm.
SCFS
The group can now boast a membership of 4659 Brethren from both Scottish Constitution Lodges and Lodges from other Constitutions recognised by the Grand Lodge of Scotland.
This week saw the total examples of charitable giving recorded within the group rise to 652, submitted by 255 of its members.
These updated contributions can now be attributed as to being made on behalf of 304 Lodges, from within the 32 Provincial Grand Lodges, 21 District Grand Lodges, Superintendencies and Lodges under the direct supervision of Grand Lodge.
An increase in the quantifiable monetary value of contributions to £846,346 was recorded during the week.
There have been 95,627 individual comments, likes, and other reactions to the group since its inception.
SCFS Overseas Report
- With the inclusion of the new members who we have welcomed from our Lodges overseas this week, our Overseas Membership has now risen to 1340
- These new members joined us from their Lodges in ... Central South Africa (Transvaal), Chile, India, Lebanon, Middle East (Singapore)
- The largest increase in membership was from the District of India.
- Our International Constitution Members (ICMs) viewing the SCFS page has increased by 26, bringing our total to This week Brethren joined from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, Grand Lodge of Texas, Grand Lodge of the Philippines, Grand Lodge of Alberta, Grand Lodge of India, Grand Lodge of Bolivia, Grand Lodge of Victoria, UGLE (England, Northern India, Bombay, Malaysia)
- In addition, the number of Grand Lodges represented by Brethren within them joining as ICMs increased by 2 this week with the new additions being the Grand Lodge of North Carolina and the Grand Lodge of New Jersey.
At the European Grand Masters Forum on Thursday night, it was announced that the European Grand Masters Conference, due to be held in Vienna in March, has been postponed until June. The three Home Grand Lodges all stated that it would be highly unlikely that travel to Europe would be allowed in June. However, it is apparently going to be run in such a way that there will be an option to attend debates by Zoom.
Finally, as always, please stay safe and look after each other
Ramsay McGhee
Grand Master Mason