MINUTES
of the
STRATEGY COMMITTEE
Held at 3.30pm on Wednesday 8 March 2017
in the Ruspini Room, Charity Floor, Freemasons’ Hall
Present:
James Newman (Chairman)
Charles Cunnington
Mike Heenan
Richard Hone
Andrew Ross
David Watson
Sir Paul Williams
Mike Woodcock
(JHN)
(CC)
(MH
(RH)
(AR)
(DW)
(SPW)
(MW)
In attendance:
David Innes, Chief Executive
Les Hutchinson, COO
John McCrohan, Head of Strategic Development
and Special Projects
Charles Angus, Finance Director
Harry Smith, Head of Communications
Linda Walker (minutes)
(DI)
(LH)
(JMcC)
(CA)
(HS)
(LW)
1. The Chairman welcomed all to the meeting.
Apologies were received from John Hornblow and Sandy Stewart.
2. There were no conflicts of interest
3. The Minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2016 were agreed as an
accurate record.
Action points arising from the meeting: 
UGLE representation on the MCF Strategy Committee.
The Chairman stated that after some consideration he would not be
progressing UGLE representation on the MCF Strategy Committee at the
present time. UGLE had not asked MCF to provide a representative to attend
UGLE Strategy meetings but he hoped that a reciprocal arrangement could
be agreed at a future time.
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
Strategy staff update
JMcC stated that since the last meeting Laura Parry and Tom Hulme had
joined the team as Monitoring & Evaluation and Policy & Research Officers
respectively. Samantha MacAllister will join the team in April as Projects
Officer. All have extensive experience in the charity sector.

It was noted that the first episode of the Sky documentary ‘Inside the
Freemasons’ will be broadcast on Monday 17th April at 8pm on Sky 1. Four
further episodes will be broadcast on consecutive Mondays.
4. MCF strategy
a. Verbal update on strategic progress from Committee Chairmen
o
Masonic Support
In the absence of John Hornblow, LH gave an update on Masonic
Support strategy. He stated that the MS strategy day would be held
on Tuesday 14 March at the Army & Navy Club. The agenda would
feature items on future partnership arrangements, impact assessment,
and view the support packages currently provided by MCF as well as
looking at possible future areas of support.
The Chairman stated that he was interested in looking at future
delivery of services, including partnerships and stated that MCF was
not simply a grant-making charity but a provider of services to the
masonic and wider community. This was noted and agreed.
o
Charity Grants
AR stated that the Charity Grants (CGC) Strategy Day, held in the
autumn, had been very positive, producing several recommendations
which had been accepted by the CGC. Katrina Baker, Head of Charity
Grants, was in the process of producing a report summarising the
proposed direction of travel. The report would look at developing a
grants programme aimed at facilitating an active participation in
society and working with charities to address areas of disadvantage,
including social exclusion, disability and isolation (both cultural and
age related).
Other initiatives such as matched funding with Provinces would also
be included in the report.
The Chairman stated that a future policy focusing on the most
disadvantaged members of society and the associated publicity this
would generate, could help support the UGLE recruitment strategy.
JMcC stated that the forthcoming Board Strategy Day would look at
defining the purpose and value of partnerships between MCF and
organisations such as The Scout Association, which could also help
with member recruitment.
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DI stated that he had met with the Chairman of Marie Curie regarding
a potential partnership with this organisation, possibly involving RMBI
day care centres in a proposed study into improving end of life care.
o
RMBI Care Co
SPW gave an update on the RMBI Care Co five year strategic plan.
Several RMBI Care Homes were now becoming in need of major
refurbishment or even replacement. He also stated that some
geographical areas had very little care home provision, including the
West Midlands.
He explained that the nature of care was also changing, with more
focus on day-care centres and assisted living.
SPW stated that initial proposals would be put to the RMBI Care Co
Board in March, and a formal proposal would likely be put to the MCF
Board in the summer.
o
Communications/Fundraising
MW gave an update on the Communications Strategy Day and on the
Fundraising Strategy Day, both of which had been held in autumn
2016. He stated that the Communications Strategic Plan had been
completed. The Fundraising Strategic Plan would be completed in
time for the Board Strategy Day in May
JMcC confirmed that all strategic outcome reports could be recirculated prior to the Board Strategy Day. He will agree pre-reading
documents with DI shortly.
Action: JMcC
o
Finance
MH stated that the Finance team were now fully up to speed, were
working well and had produced the first MCF integrated budget. MH
reported that the Finance Committee had recommended that potential
legacies and capital growth from investments be shown as zero
income in the budget, due to the high degree of uncertainty associated
with these items.
Future strategic initiatives included the production of a reserves policy,
for the short and long term. MH had noted that the legacy charities
had very different reserves policies and a cohesive policy for MCF
was now required.
The Chairman stated that MCF had significant reserves and in terms
of assets was in the top 25 UK charities. The MCF may incur
additional scrutiny from the Charity Commission unless these reserves
can be justified.
The Finance Committee would also look at long term demands on
MCF funds and future Festival income projections.
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Finally, MH stated that the Investment Committee were working to
develop a future investment strategy.
b. Review Board/SLT Strategy Day draft agenda, activities and outcomes
DI and JMcC presented the draft agenda for the Board Strategy day. It
was noted that Naomi Thomas had agreed to facilitate the day. Naomi
had previously worked with the RMBI.
DI stated that it was an extensive agenda but the day would focus on core
areas. He believed that it was important to define where the charity is
now, before moving forward with the vision for the next five years.
The Chairman invited questions.
DW asked whether the strategic plan would be circulated to external
stakeholders. The Chairman stated that it was hoped this would be
communicated at UGLE Quarterly Communications and the PGMs
Forum. This would ensure UGLE stakeholders are informed and give the
assent and support to the future strategic plans. DI stated that Members
would be consulted on the developing strategy at the Members’ meeting
in June and other stakeholders during the autumn. The final strategy
paper would likely be launched at the Members’ Meeting/AGM in
December.
c. Agree key milestones
The key milestones paper, which had been circulated with the Agenda,
was noted.
5. MCF Community Awards
a. JMcC gave an update on the MCF Community Awards and planned
communications activities.
It was noted that at a recent UGLE/MCF joint meeting, the name of the
initiative had been amended to “Community Awards – Tercentenary Fund”
to reflect the connection with the Tercentenary celebrations.
JMcC reported that all 300 charities had now been invited to apply for an
award, however three charities had declined to proceed. Three alternative
charities had been nominated.
Following a meeting with the Communications team, it had been decided
to extend the voting window to six weeks.
No other significant
programme changes had been made.
b. Maximising the impact of the Awards
HS gave an update on the communications plan for the Community
Awards – Tercentenary Fund. He stated that due to the number of grants
being awarded, the approach adopted will enable and support the
charities and Provinces to secure as much publicity as possible, providing
them with tools, materials and guidance.
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He outlined the four phases of the plan: o
o
o
o
Phase 1: Before the vote (present – 11 June 2017)
Phase 2: During the vote (12 June – 31 July 2017)
Phase 3: Announcing the results (14 August 2017)
Phase 4: Follow up (14 August onwards)
HS stated that votes would be cast on-line and functionality had been
tested on mobile devices. There would be an opportunity to communicate
with users, sending information on the MCF etc., provided they had given
their consent.
DI noted that there was a lot of work to be undertaken before, during and
after the voting process however he was confident the project would
generate significant additional publicity throughout 2017 and into 2018.
JMcC stated that where possible he would wish to involve MCF Trustees,
Committee Members and MCF Members in grant presentations to
charities. This was agreed.
AR stated that the project had gone well so far and he asked JMcC if he
could predict any possible issues. JMcC stated that there could be a
potential problem if all 300 charities chose to apply on the final day of the
deadline but the team was confident all would run smoothly
It was agreed that AR and JMcC would meet and discuss the best date
for the CGC to ratify the results of the vote.
Action:
AR/JMcC
6. The Impact Report proposal paper was noted. HS stated that the proposal was
to produce these on an annual basis, the first being published ahead of the
Members’ Meeting in December.
The Chairman stated that he believed it was essential to emphasise that the MCF
is a new charity and would be working in an innovative way.
DI confirmed that separate financial reports would continue to be sent to the
Charity Commission and Companies House.
MH stated that the MCF should look at the possibility of funding a large project,
with national coverage, cutting across gender boundaries and helping the wider
community. This was noted.
CC asked whether a smaller sized summary report could also be produced,
which would have a wider distribution base. This was noted and HS would
explore options with the communications team.
Action:
HS
7. Dates of future meetings:



Wednesday 14 June
Wednesday 13 September
December date to be agreed. LW will circulate dates.
Action:
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LW
8. AOB
There was no other business.
The meeting closed at 4.45pm.
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