We have much pleasure in presenting our 2010-2011 Annual Review. It shows that the last 12 months have been an extremely busy and successful time for the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys.

The further increase in new applications for support continues the previous upward trend. Many of these applications came to us because of financial distress arising from redundancy or business failure. Last year we highlighted how the difficult economic climate is also resulting in social consequences such as divorce or ill health. There is no sign of this trend reversing and sadly it has many unfortunate repercussions on the children of Masonic families.

Thankfully we remain able to support these children when they most need our help and we remain immensely grateful to the many Freemasons who continue to support our activities so generously and enable us to sustain our life-changing work.

Our activities extend far beyond the Masonic family and over the last year we have been able to support other charities through our Stepping Stones scheme, which helps to reduce child poverty in the wider community, breaking down some of the barriers to education for disadvantaged young people. We are also proud of both the ongoing success of our subsidiary charity Lifelites, which does so much to enhance the lives of children who are cared for by children’s hospices, and of our Choral Bursary scheme, which supports children wishing to join a cathedral choir or choral foundation.

The Masonic Festival system continues to provide a major part of our income. In October 2010, we celebrated the culmination of the Buckinghamshire Festival Appeal at a unique event held in the Grand Temple at Freemasons’ Hall. We are grateful to RW Bro  Ray Reed, Provincial Grand Master for Buckinghamshire, for leading such a successful Appeal and to the members of the Province for their generosity.

In June 2011, we celebrated the conclusion of the Province of Worcestershire 2011 Festival Appeal at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. Our thanks also go to RW Bro Richard Goddard, the Provincial Grand Master for Worcestershire, and the Brethren of the Province, for their generous support. A full report on the 2011 Festival will feature in our next Annual Review.

The major redevelopment of our former headquarters in Great Queen Street, London was completed in late 2010 and we are confident that this high quality, modern office accommodation will soon be fully occupied. The anticipated rental income will provide a significant additional revenue stream which will help to support our work for many years to come.

Also in 2010, in collaboration with the three other central Masonic Charities and following a comprehensive selection process, we appointed two new investment managers with the specific mandate of producing a defined return whilst protecting our investments from major falls in the stock market. The early signs are encouraging and we are managing their progress through a joint charity investment group, which comprises representatives from each of the central Masonic Charities.

We have played a major role in the implementation of the new Freemasonry Cares initiative, which offers a single contact point for anyone enquiring about help from the central Masonic Charities and better co-ordination of the services we all provide. Together, we have also developed a new Common Application
Form. Both of these initiatives will make our charitable support more accessible than ever before.

At our 2011 Annual General Court, W Bro Geoffrey Bourne-Taylor stepped down having served on our Council and Petitions Committee since 2006 and in April 2011 W Bro Stuart French retired from his position as Grants Manager after 41 years of service. We are grateful to both of them for their invaluable contributions.

Finally, we record our thanks to all of the staff of the RMTGB who continue to work hard to enhance the lives of so many disadvantaged children and to the many volunteers, including Almoners, Charity Stewards and our Ambassadors, who make such a vital contribution to all that we do.