How Can I Help
Greatest Need
Unrestricted gifts help The Ohio Masonic Communities Foundation to deliver compassionate care and resources to those we serve without compromising quality of care. These gifts allow the Board of Trustees the flexibility to make prudent decisions that keep vital programs available when they’re most needed.
Older adults with limited resources often have limited access to healthcare as well. Without assistance, these individuals are at-risk for illness, injury, loss of mobility within their community, and even a loss of their remaining independence.
Unlike many providers, The Ohio Masonic Communities Foundation chooses to aid the underserved older adults in Ohio by partnering with government-sponsored funding agencies like Medicaid to provide the care needed. The payment from these agencies, while very important, does not meet the full cost of care and services provided. Many well-known providers choose not to serve those clients who qualify for funding assistance because they know that the reimbursement will not cover their costs.
As a not-for-profit organization, The Ohio Masonic Communities Foundation is committed to serving older adults regardless of who is paying the bills, and to serve all residents and clients with the same high quality of caring and compassionate service. Unrestricted gifts from individuals, corporations and foundations are vital to connecting community resources to those in need.
Masonic Financial Assistance
The longer we live, the more likely it is that we will exhaust our retirement savings. At many communities for older adults, residents whose financial resources run out face a harsh reality: they’re asked to go elsewhere. That has never been the case at The Ohio Masonic Communities. In fact, since the day of our founding in 1892, no resident of The Ohio Masonic Communities has ever been asked to leave because they’ve run out of the resources meant to see them through. As long as personal resources are not misused, The Ohio Masonic Communities Foundation will help assure that individuals will not have to leave the campus they call home or seek another place to receive care.
In 2015, The Ohio Masonic Communities reintroduced its outreach efforts as The Ohio Masonic Communities Resource Center. The organization connects older adults living at home with needed resources throughout the community, and in certain situations, provides direct financial assistance to individuals with a Masonic tie in an effort to keep them in their home near family and friends.
Your gifts for Masonic Assistance allow us to fulfill these promises and provide perpetual support for one of the central values of The Ohio Masonic Communities and Ohio Freemasonry as an obligation to care for a Brother Mason, his wife, widow and orphan. Not only do funds for Masonic Assistance assure individuals that they will not be expelled from one of our living communities, it also means all individuals served will be connected to resources in order to provide the same high quality of health care and other services, regardless of their financial status.
With the increases in life expectancy and the aging population, it is vital that we grow the support for Masonic Assistance to meet the anticipated needs of those in our care.
Aging Respectfully Resident Care
Today. Together. Tomorrow.
More than just a snappy slogan, monies raised for this cause are used to make enhancements that benefit all residents living on our campuses in Springfield, Waterville and Medina, OH. Support generally aids resident activities, enhanced amenities and small improvement projects.
Memory Support
Located on each of our three campuses, Pathways Memory Support Neighborhoods provide an inclusive environment where our employees help residents living with Alzheimer’s, dementia or other brain related disease to live active, healthy lives. The Memory Support fund was created to support caregiver education, enhanced programming, and to provide tools and resources that aid in fulfilling this mission.
Scholarship
Another way The Ohio Masonic Communities works to improve the lives of those we serve is through education. Upon approval, a sub-committee distributes scholarships annually to students from The Ohio Masonic Communities donor designated endowed fund to worthy Master Masons, their wives, children or grandchildren in support of their pursuit of an undergraduate degree.
Employee HOPE Program
Helping Our People Every Day is the purpose behind the Employee HOPE Program. Established in 2017, donations to this cause provide limited financial assistance to eligible employees who are experiencing economic hardship due to certain emergency situations. This program is primarily sustained by contributions from The Ohio Masonic Communities employees and serves as an extension of the values and mission of The Ohio Masonic Communities. Our objective is to remove some of the everyday stresses that can be potential pitfalls to providing those we serve with the care, compassion and concern that they deserve.
Benevolent Care
Early in their Masonic journey a Freemason is put in a penniless situation as a way to instill upon him that it is his obligation to help his fellow being, without putting himself at risk, whenever possible. Similar to the Masonic Financial Assistance, The Ohio Masonic Communities has established a Benevolent Care Fund in support of residents whose financial resources are inadequate to carry them through retirement. The Ohio Masonic Communities has never asked an individual to leave because they have run out of sufficient resources to see them through. Generous gifts from individual donors, organizations and foundations enables The Ohio Masonic Communities to continue that important tradition in support of the greater community.
Capital Improvements
Just like your house, our communities have replacement, repair and beautification needs that often fall outside of the available budget. Coupled with advances in technology, the need for capital gifts is an endless stream. Your generous contributions provide the “extras” that help make our communities home to nearly one thousand residents of The Ohio Masonic Communities.
Gifts often enhance existing facilities such as repairing roof tops or expanding the fiber network. Walkways need maintenance and hallways need repainting. Contributions to capital needs allow the campuses to purchase new equipment to augment or expand the programs and activities provided to residents.
Support for campus beautification programs across the three campuses brings a touch of nature, providing flowers, bushes, trees and other landscaping features that make our campuses more attractive and inviting for residents, family and visitors from the local community.
Endowment
Many donors want to ensure that the programs they support now will still be available in the years to come. Gifts to our endowment fund help make this possible because they are structured to provide continuing income lasting for the life of the organization.
Endowment gifts are invested in perpetuity. In other words, The Ohio Masonic Communities may use the investment income it generates, but it may never spend the gift’s principal, leaving it as a permanent asset to support the donor’s selected purpose. Donors may direct their gifts to a specific purpose or location. Donors may select from a variety of ways to give when establishing an endowment, with options for recognition and naming opportunities. Please contact the The Ohio Masonic Communities Foundation before designating a specific purpose to be sure your wishes can be fulfilled.
