By Brother Kevin Gruber
Thank you to all the Lodges that participated in the Physical Media Grant program. If you did not get a chance to take advantage of the program, you are still in luck! Your Lodge has another opportunity to promote local Freemasonry in your community because the grant money has been added to the budget for the next fiscal period.
The program was established to assist in creating a physical Masonic presence in our communities. People know we have existed because they have seen the metal Masonic signs when they enter our towns, and they have seen our buildings. We want them to realize that we are still relevant and important to our communities by showing them something new and fresh. Let’s continue rebuilding our presence around the state.
The program allows for up to $500 in matching funds to reimburse Lodges for projects that physically promote Freemasonry. We are accepting 40 applications for funds and encourage you to apply early to secure your spot. For those that are unsure of how matching funds work, it allows the grant and the Lodge to match payments. Original payments are made by the Lodge to cover the project costs and reimbursement will be made for the approved project. If the total cost of a project is $500, the Lodge will pay the full amount and get $250 reimbursed from the Physical Media Grant if they are approved. You can get approved in advance or retroactively if you’ve already started a project that fits the scope of the grant.
The committee has approved many types of projects from the last year and they range from youth team sponsorships (shirts, banners, signs), fair sponsorships, billboards, banners and updating building signs. All of these have an impact on our community and show that we are still here and still relevant. Pictured above is a new sign Laflin-St. James Lodge (No. 247) sign in Mukwonago secured with a matching grant from this program!
We’d like to see even more out of the box thinking for future projects. Go to your Lodge and see if you can brainstorm an idea that fits. It must be impactful, community minded and needs to showcase Freemasonry in your community. I can’t wait to see where we go next!
Application letters can be emailed to me at dd6@wimasons.org. Include the scope of the project, how your project will showcase Freemasonry in your area, estimated costs, quotes or actual invoices. If a picture will be helpful, please include it.
