The 2012 Prestonian Lecture
The 2012 Prestonian Lecture, “Scouting & Freemasonry: two parallel organisations?”, continues to be a popular talk in Masonic Lodges and Scouting gatherings in the UK and overseas.
The lectureship raises money for two charities by selling copies of the lecture book, receiving donations from host Lodges and from ad hoc donations from supporters.
All funds raised are split equally between two registered charities, The Scout Association (registered charity number 306101) and the Masonic Charitable Foundation (registered charity number 1164703).
Donations to The Scout Association go to support its heritage projects. So far, the lectureship has funded the entire cost of:
- installing a climate control system to protect the Association’s historic records,
- the digitisation of the Association’s Baden-Powell archive and
- nine outdoor educational displays at its national headquarters, Gilwell Park.
Donations to The Scout Association are now going towards the establishment of a National Museum of Scouting, to be based at Gilwell Park.
Donations to the Masonic Charitable Foundation go to support its work in helping people make better lives for themselves, whether they be through Masonic grants to Freemasons or their families who are in need or through Charity grants to national and local charitable causes. Initially the lectureship made donations to the Masonic Samaritan Fund and to the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls & Boys. However, these two charities were consolidated into the Masonic Charitable Foundation in 2016.
At the time of writing, the 2012 Prestonian Lectureship has donated over £32,000 to The Scout Association and almost £34,000 to the Masonic Charitable Foundation or its predecessors.
Thank you for your kind support.
How to get involved
You can support us by creating a fundraising page or making a donation to the appeal.
- Donate: enter your lodge number below, click on "Donate" and complete the following steps.
- Create a fundraising page: click on "Start Fundraising" and proceed as requested.
If you are member of a lodge or chapter, please add the unit number with the prefix L (lodge) or C (chapter) to ensure donations are recorded correctly for honorific purposes. Otherwise, please enter any other information that will help the us to identify the donor.