2024 FRATERNITY REPORT
Foundation Report: The Win-Win
In Sacramento, the California Masonic Foundation is refining an approach to philanthropy that benefits all.
Download the Masons of California 2024 Fraternity Report here, or view individual stories through the links below.
“What we know is that when we can bring educational opportunities into a community, we can make a difference.” That was the message that Douglas Ismail, president of the California Masonic Foundation, delivered to the half-million weekly listeners of Capitol Radio KUOP, the NPR affiliate in Sacramento, on October 2, 2024. The radio interview came on the heels of the Foundation’s announcement of an expansion to its classroom literacy programs that would begin delivering dual-language Farsi and English books to more than 100 kindergarten and transitional-kindergarten classrooms in West Sacramento, home to the country’s largest Afghan enclave.
Then he pivoted to praising the Foundation’s partner in the effort, the national literacy nonprofit Raising a Reader.
Michelle Torgerson, CEO of Raising a Reader, returned the compliment before saying, “The simple act of reading out loud to a child is the single most important thing you can do to prepare them for success in reading and learning.”
In the space of about 90 seconds, both organizations had effectively made their pitch—both explaining who and what they were, and why their work dovetailed so perfectly together. And downstream from that partnership were the true beneficiaries: the students, many newly settled in the United States, who are typically severely under-resourced, particularly when it comes to language learning. For the Masons, for the nonprofit, and for the children, it was a win-win. Or rather, a win-win-win.
If any moment encapsulates the Foundation’s community-building approach to philanthropy in 2024, it’s that one: bringing existing partners together with new ones, identifying gaps and opportunities to make an impact, and then publicly celebrating that success together. Coming on the heels of last year’s focus on the San Diego area, the Foundation in 2024 turned its attention to Sacramento, convening a wide range of partners and organizations aimed at supporting students in literacy and in career and technical skills. Those efforts have paid off in a major way.
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In September, Grand Master G. Sean Metroka was on hand at Riverbank K-8 School in West Sacramento to launch a new Farsi and English book program.
In addition to working closely with Raising a Reader and the Washington Unified School District on the Farsi-language book collection (an effort that was profiled on three local TV news stations), representatives of the Foundation and its Public Education Advisory Committees also met in recent months with leaders from Sacramento Community College, the Elk Grove Unified and Sacramento City Unified school districts, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, and the California Mobility Center to discuss building pathways to careers in the trades—part of the Foundation’s Working Tools vocational-skills program. Through Working Tools, the Foundation is helping train Sacramento high school graduates for careers in green energy, zero-emissions automotive engineering, and other in-demand, high-tech industries.
In 2023, the Working Tools program was rolled out in Southern California through a three-year, $390,000 gift to the San Diego Unified School District to fund an expansion of its career and technical education offerings.
By bringing together community organizations and public-education partners in Sacramento, the aim is introduce similar initiatives in that part of the state.
Statewide Effect
Sacramento isn’t the only place where the Foundation has focused its efforts, however. Other ongoing programs saw enormous success in 2024, perhaps none more than Masons4Mitts. Coming off its highest-ever fundraising total in 2023, the annual drive—now in its 12th year—once again set records, with more than $300,000 pouring in from Masons and lodges throughout California. That included record giving in three of its four Major League Baseball markets (Northern California, Los Angeles, and Orange County). Since 2009, Masons4Mitts has raised $2.35 million. That translates to more than 115,000 custom-embossed leather baseball mitts for kids participating in its MLB partners’ after-school and summer enrichment programs for underserved kids.
Fittingly, in July leaders from the Foundation, the Grand Lodge, and the Masonic Homes gathered at Oracle Park in San Francisco for a special check presentation to announce a three-year, $650,000 gift to the Giants Community Fund that cements the Masons as the team’s official “mitt champion.”
Elsewhere, the Foundation saw record-high applications to its Investment in Success scholarship program. Working with a new partner, the college-readiness program 10,000 Degrees, the Foundation issued 93 awards in 2023–24, the most since 2017. Going back to 2011, nearly 1,000 students have received more than $6.7 million in gifts through the Investment in Success scholarship fund. Similarly, the Foundation issued a record-high 25 awards last year through the C.E. Towne Scholarship, given in partnership with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of California. The Masonic Youth Leadership Award also reached an important milestone in 2024, surpassing $1 million in total gifts to members of the Masonic youth orders since that program launched in 2016.
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In July, members of the California Masonic Foundation and the Masons of California presented a check at Oracle Park to support the Giants Community Fund.
Leaving a Legacy
Back in January, when the Foundation hosted a special reception in Sacramento for its educational partners, one of its highest-profile champions took a moment to recognize the fraternity. Delaine Easton, the longtime state superintendent of public instruction, recalled how the Foundation was one of the first groups to support the California Teacher of the Year Awards and helped her build its charitable foundation.
Spending a lifetime in education, Easton said, she came to appreciate the importance of groups like the Masons who step up to fill in the gaps. “You know who was standing at the front of the line to help? The Masonic Foundation,” said Easton, who passed away in April. “I owe you so much. The real heroes in this room are the teachers. But we need people like the people in this room to support you. This Masonic order has been amazing and will continue to be amazing.”
