Agent J
Member
On a Mission from God...
Posts: 127
|
Post by Agent J on Dec 16, 2004 9:45:29 GMT
Bit mundane when compared to the other posts on here, but my head's spinning and I thought I'd throw this in to bring me back down to earth. Whilst visiting last week, I was most impressed with the arrangements for raffle collections at the Festive Board. Each table setting includes an envelope for the deposit of monies, addressed to the charity concerned, while the reverse contains the donor's name and lodge, and a statement as to whether the donor is a regular UK tax payer (for reclaim purposes), and a raffle ticket. So you whip off your ticket, whip in the cash, the charity gets to reclaim the tax, the donation is private and the Stewards don't suffer from too much indigestion.
|
|
|
Post by Jumile on Dec 16, 2004 10:34:25 GMT
Gift Aid is a serious benefit that the majority of lodge members I've spoken to (visiting and my own) seem to be wholly unaware of. Beats me why lodges don't want to provide their chosen charities an extra 28%, but there you go.
From what I understand of it, the method employed by the lodge you visited is effective, but more cumbersome than it needs to be. There are easier ways of doing it, and involve the members each signing a single Gift Aid Declaration (once or once per year, I'm not sure) and all future donations from that lodge fall within the Gift Aid basket. (Not sure whether it covers visitors, but the method you've seen would cover that).
To all: if you don't know if your lodge does the Gift Aid thing with all its donations, hound your Secretary and Treasurer until it's done. There's no good reason for not doing so. IMNSHO. ;D
|
|
bod
Member
UGLE - MM (London), MMM RAM(Middx), OSM (London)
Posts: 1,296
|
Post by bod on Dec 16, 2004 10:38:49 GMT
Grand Charity and NMSF and the other main charities offer a 'chest' scheme for lodges, the relevant web pages have more info. The advantages for lodges are decreased admin, and an interest bearing deposit account, plus gift aid.
|
|
Sensei
Member
Website: www.tskc.co.uk TAIRYOKU SKC
Posts: 40
|
Post by Sensei on Dec 16, 2004 10:45:45 GMT
Jumile,
The person you should really talk to about this in your own Lodges is the Charity Steward!
He should be aware of the scheme and have some knowledge of it. If not, then he is the one who should make the enquiries.
|
|
|
Post by taylorsman on Dec 16, 2004 11:29:21 GMT
A good idea to look up the UGLE website as that is one of the things it IS good for. Unfortunately in some Lodges the Office of Charity Steward is a sinecure given to some elderly PM who every so often will say a few words towards the end of the Meeting or dish out Glossy Leaflets from the Charities with Covenant/Standing Order Forms, most of which are put in a Member's Regalia case and promptly forgotten or left on their chairs in the Temple.
I like the idea to streamline the Raffle. To be honest I don't like Raffles although I am not so mean as to refuse to buy tickets and even win the odd bottle or something from time to time.
I always feel sorry for the Stewards having the meal they may have paid a lot for disturbed and having to leave their Guests and I admire one Lodge I attended were the WM and Committee no longer had any Stewards, Brethren buying their own wine and serving themselves and no raffle, this being announced when Alms were collected in Lodge and the amount collected being accordingly larger. When I was a Lodge Secretary I made it very clear that the Raffle had nothing to do with me as that Office has more than enough to it both for the Meeting and the Festive Board afterwards without having to handle buying prizes, providing tickets etc, etc.
|
|
|
Post by Late Knight Chemist on Dec 16, 2004 18:46:18 GMT
At Lechmere 1874 we have just opened a Lodge Relief Chest within the Grand Charity.
Think of a Relief Chest as a bank account. Because it is within Grand Charity tax rebates are credited to the Lodge Chest together with a superior interest rate than is now generally available locally on amounts of a few hundred to a couple thousand GBP.
Donations are personal so it is necessary to collect monies in an envelope so that a list of names can be sent with one's cheque to Grand Charity.
Grand Charity issues vouchers that allow Lodges to request that donations can be forwarded to registered charities at the Lodges discretion. These may or may not be Masonic.
At a Ladies Festival anyone, Masons or not, can donate but they must have completed a Gift Aid declaration. I am not sure if Grand Charity provides envelopes that include a Aid Declaration. The local Mark Benevolent Fund does so. If they don't I'll be considering printing my own.
At Lodge Festive Boards we invite visitors to use Lodge envelopes if they have signed a Gift Aid declaration in their own Lodge.
|
|
bod
Member
UGLE - MM (London), MMM RAM(Middx), OSM (London)
Posts: 1,296
|
Post by bod on Dec 17, 2004 6:27:38 GMT
Thank you Bruce - explained it much better than my half hearted attempt!
|
|
|
Post by mrmason on Dec 19, 2004 7:45:11 GMT
Again in our lodge we do it different. Before the meeting the Tyler sells the raffle tickets to the brethren going into the lodge room. During the meeting he or the candidate( while he restoring himself to his former comforts) will draw the winning tickets. The deacon then brings the tickets into the Lodge room when he brings the candidate back in, and the RWM anounces the winners at the AOB part of the meeting before the lodge is closed. All the money that is collected thorughout the year this way is then given to local charities/groups/organisations, which the lodge members decide.
|
|