One of the things we look for in the charities we profile is whether they provide easy answers to common questions about their work. Sadly, most charities don't do this – the FAQ sections on their websites too often concentrate on ‘key fundraising messages’ and other such fluff.

But I recently found one organization which provides answers to these questions, and with grace: the Freemasons.

I’m not joking. As I pootled around Freemasons’ Hall last weekend (as part of the brilliant London Open House event), I found came across a booklet, called ‘Freemasonry: Your Questions Answered.’ I didn’t have high hopes of its contents, but I picked it up nonetheless. And I was pleasantly surprised.

In question-and-answer format, it addresses almost all the questions I had about the Masons: why they roll up their trousers; why they enact weird-looking rituals; and whether Masons are supposed to favour each other in the workplace. The answers didn’t dodge the important issues, and given the constraint that non-Masons aren’t allowed to know precisely what unfolds at Masonic rituals, it was admirably clear.

Compared to many charities – which have a legal and moral duty to be transparent – this secretive society was, in my mind, doing a pretty good job explaining itself in an accessible format. So why don’t all charities – like Oxfam already does – do something similar?
 

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Adam is definitely not a Mason.
 

 

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