The North Carolina Mason

July/August 2017 The North Carolina Mason Page 7 NORTH CAROLINA The Mason DEADLINES Want to get your lodge news out? Here are the deadlines to meet to get your news to ncmason@glnc.us. Sept. 5 – Issue arrives at your home end of October Nov. 5 – Issue arrives at your home end of December Jan. 5 — Issue arrives at your home end of February March 5 — Issue arrives at your home end of April By Beth Grace Mason Editor For many years, Youngsville #377 has carefully managed the proceeds from its fundraisers, including a very successful annual golf tournament, on its own. Being good stewards of money raised is a fact of life in lodges – and one of the most demanding jobs for an all-volunteer team of brothers with jobs, families and busy lives. But WB Rich Cash, treasurer at Youngsville #377, had an idea. He wondered if the newly revamped North Carolina Masonic Founda- tion might help the lodge invest and take care of its fund, and help brothers apply the money to a good cause: funding an annual gift to the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford. Protecting the home with an endowment from the lodge, long into the future, through hard times and good, might be achievable. He took his idea to Master Casey Pearce, who raised the issue in open lodge. "We all liked the idea of being able to keep helping the children's home when they need it and not when we decided to send the money," he said. "And this would mean that if we have a bad year or if someday the lodge simply didn't exist, we will still be helping the Home." Last January, the lodge invited WB Chris Richardson, NCMF's eastern development director, to speak to the 63-member lodge about how the brothers could create a perpetual gift for MHCO with the money it had raised at its 2016 golf outing and other fundraisers. "e brothers explained that they wanted to help MHCO, and if something ever happened to the lodge, they still wanted to fulfil their Masonic obligation to the children who will always need the Home in Oxford," Richardson said. "ey not only wanted to make smart investments with their golf tournament money, they wanted it to be viable and to make it grow." We can help, Richardson told them. e NCMF has almost 90 years of experience investing money on behalf of our charities and works with investment profes- sionals to keep the funds impactful and growing, he explained. On behalf of Youngsville #377, the Foundation in late Spring set up a trust for the lodge. While the brothers of Youngsville #377 main- tain full control over the account, those funds are now being invested along with the Foundation's other funds and now have the power of the entire investment portfolio of the Foundation to earn more return on their investment. "We set it up as a trust, which is like an annuity," Richardson says. "Unlike building funds or dues, this is for charity, so it is intended as and is treated as a long-term charitable gift." ere is a minimum investment and the lodge signs a memorandum of understanding, which outlines what the Foundation does and how it will make the annual gift to the charity. is is considered a service the Foundation can give back to the fraternity. e money remains the lodge's and it can add to the fund as years go on to make it grow and ensure the home will receive an annual check when it needs it. e account is held within NCMF's funds, which are invested and maintained independently of the Grand Lodge. "e Home gets a gift – 5 percent of the fund – every October 1 st , based on the value of the principal and interest earned to that date," Richardson said. So why would the Foundation do this investment work for a lodge? "is program benefits us all. is is why we as a Foundation exist – to help others," NCMF Chief Devel- opment Officer Jeff Hensley says. "is partnership allows Masons to give their money to our chari- ties through the Foundation over a long period of time, even in times of lower membership or a rough economy or next to no return on their own investments. "And a big bonus of this: they don't have to manage this money themselves. ey can hand it over to people they trust, other Masons like them, to watch over their hard- earned charitable dollars, as brothers and as supporters of our charities, tasked to keep it growing for the future." e plan has no bigger fan than District 13 DDGM Will Chriscoe, also a member of Youngsville #377. "is is something every lodge can do," he said. "Even if you raise only a few hundred dollars with a doughnut sale or something like that, there's still something you can do and it adds up. Save it up and talk to the Foundation. It's great to know that lodges can keep doing good work long after we are all gone. at's something to shoot for." Interested in finding out how your lodge can participate? Contact Jeff Hensley at jhensley@mfnc.org or 919-780-7664. Foundation puts lodge's money to work Youngsville #377 plans for its future aritable giving even in leaner times Youngsville #377 Master Casey Pearce (right), Treasurer WB Rich Cash (left) and District 13 DDGM Will Chriscoe (center) celebrate their lodge's decision to invest their fundraising monies through the NC Masonic Foundation to ensure an annual gift to the Masonic Home for Children for years to come. (Photo by Beth Grace)

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