Yenton Lodge No 3484 Benevolent Fund
Charity 217483
Overview
Summary
Yenton Lodge No 3484 Benevolent Fund appears to operate primarily as a small, member-governed grantmaking vehicle rather than a direct-service charity. Its role is to convert the Lodge’s charitable resources into support for Masonic causes and selected local institutions, while retaining broad discretion to respond to needs identified through Lodge decision-making. The available evidence suggests that its civic contribution lies less in a specialist programme area than in its capacity to channel relational, local and fraternal networks toward charitable giving.
Operational geography
Evidence and reasoning
Supporting evidence
Gravelly Hill
Confidence: medium
Direct evidence places Yenton Lodge No. 3484 at Yenton Assembly Rooms in Erdington. The Fund's objects state that grants are directed by the Lodge, so it is reasonable to treat the Lodge's established Masonic home as the Fund's principal operational locus. However, there is no direct evidence that the Fund itself owns, manages or delivers services from the venue.
- Charity Commission register, Yenton Lodge No 3484 Benevolent Fund (charity 217483)
The Fund makes donations to masonic and local charities; its objects allow support for distressed Lodge members or former members and dependants, other Masonic charities, and other charitable institutions as directed by the Lodge. - Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire, Masonic Centres in Warwickshire
Lists Yenton 3484 at Yenton Assembly Rooms in Erdington, Birmingham. - Yenton Lodge 3484, About Us
Describes Yenton Lodge as based in Erdington and identifies Yenton Assembly Rooms in Gravelly Hill as its Masonic home.
Remaining uncertainties
- No current grant list, recipient locations or grant criteria were found. The evidence therefore does not show where the Fund's charitable payments are ultimately received.
- The available evidence establishes the associated Lodge's meeting base, rather than proving that the Benevolent Fund independently operates a physical site there.
- The Charity Commission contact address should be treated as a correspondence address rather than evidence of a Fund-operated site.
- The Fund's objects permit grants to other Masonic charities and other charitable institutions without a stated geographic limit. Actual reach beyond the associated Lodge's Gravelly Hill/Erdington base is therefore unknown.
Additional evidence needed
- A current trustees' annual report, accounts breakdown or grant register identifying recipient organisations, amounts and locations.
- Confirmation from the Fund or Yenton Lodge of where grant decisions and Fund administration are carried out.
- Evidence of any current formal partnerships or recurring recipient charities that materially extend the Fund's operational reach.
Areas of work
- General Charitable Purposes
Who they help
- Other Charities Or Voluntary Bodies
How they help
- Makes Grants To Organisations
Discoveries involving this organisation
The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving this organisation yet.
Observations
A relationship-based grantmaker
The Fund appears to support civic life indirectly, through grants to other charities and voluntary bodies rather than by delivering services itself. Its practical influence is therefore likely to depend on the organisations and causes it chooses to back.
Why it matters
Understanding the Fund as an intermediary highlights its potential role in connecting resources to local needs, while also showing that its impact cannot be assessed from its own activities alone.
Show evidence
“Donations to masonic and local charities.”
Source:Organisation“Makes Grants To Organisations.”
Source:Charity Commission“Other Charities Or Voluntary Bodies.”
Source:Charity Commission
Fraternal support and local giving are intentionally combined
The objects place support for distressed Lodge members, former members and dependants alongside Masonic charities and other charitable institutions. This suggests a dual role: mutual aid within a fraternal community and outward-facing charitable support.
Why it matters
This combination may make the Fund a bridge between an internally connected membership network and wider local charitable activity, rather than solely a private benevolent fund.
Show evidence
“BENEFIT OF DISTRESSED MEMBERS AND EX MEMBERS OF THE LODGE OR THEIR DEPENDANTS, OR OTHER MASONIC CHARITIES, OR SUCH OTHER CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS, SOCIETIES AND OBJECTS AS THE LODGE SHALL IN DULY CONSTITUTED MEETING FROM TIME TO TIME DIRECT.”
Source:Charity Commission“Donations to masonic and local charities.”
Source:Organisation
Strategic direction appears to rest with the Lodge
The Fund appears to have a flexible, member-led allocation model, with charitable recipients capable of being directed through duly constituted Lodge meetings. This may enable responsiveness, but may also mean priorities change with membership judgement rather than a fixed public strategy.
Why it matters
This helps explain both a potential strength—adaptive local discretion—and a key question: how the Lodge identifies needs and decides between competing charitable opportunities.
Show evidence
“OR SUCH OTHER CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS, SOCIETIES AND OBJECTS AS THE LODGE SHALL IN DULY CONSTITUTED MEETING FROM TIME TO TIME DIRECT.”
Source:Charity Commission“General Charitable Purposes.”
Source:Charity Commission
- Which local charities receive support, and whether giving is concentrated in particular communities or causes.
- How the Fund balances assistance to Lodge-connected beneficiaries with grants to external organisations.
- The scale, frequency and geographic reach of grants are not known.
Remaining uncertainties
- Recent accounts and grant lists showing recipients, amounts and patterns over time.
- Information on how Lodge members identify needs and make funding decisions.
- Examples of outcomes or relationships created through supported local charities.
Additional evidence needed
Charity Commission profile
Activities
Donations to masonic and local charities.
Charity objects
BENEFIT OF DISTRESSED MEMBERS AND EX MEMBERS OF THE LODGE OR THEIR DEPENDANTS, OR OTHER MASONIC CHARITIES, OR SUCH OTHER CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS, SOCIETIES AND OBJECTS AS THE LODGE SHALL IN DULY CONSTITUTED MEETING FROM TIME TO TIME DIRECT.