The Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Hon Fraternity

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
236407467
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2025
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2159881900
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,152,740
Expenses
$3,846,761
Assets
$21,427,546
Liabilities
$802,411

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MARK A HAINES (R.W.G.S.): $250,632 total reported compensation
  • HARRY RUTTER (EXECUTIVE DI): $243,495 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT DUNKLE (I.S. SUPPORT): $172,476 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The grand lodge acts as the governing body of the Pennsylvania freemasons and promotes masonic culture and law and fraternal activities including charitable projects.

What it reported doing in 2025

Membership services - the grand lodge of Pennsylvania oversees 344 subordinate masonic lodges with approximately 65,000 members. The grand lodge provides programs, education, training, resources, communication, and support services to the lodges, their officers, and individual masons. These services include administrative services and support, insurance coverage and an investment program for lodges, certification programs for lodge officers, masonic education for members, financial support for members and their families in need, and numerous other community service and leadership opportunities. Masonic charity - the grand lodge oversees a system of charities in Pennsylvania that exemplifies the values of the masonic fraternity, including the masonic villages; the masonic temple, library and museum; the masonic youth foundation; the masonic children's home; and the masonic blood + organ donor program. Community engagement - the grand lodge encourages, promotes, and facilitates the practice of masonic virtues among its 344 subordinate lodges and more than 65,000 members, resulting in grassroots community engagement, kindness, and charity. One charitable program, "help for our heroes", provides baby showers for active military families through a vast volunteer network. In 2025, the grand lodge held three military baby showers which provided 157 expectant families with educational information, gifts, necessities, and supplies for their baby's first year. Patriotic in principle, the grand lodge has prepared to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the united states of america by partnering with america250pa to plant at least one "liberty tree" in every county in Pennsylvania. The grand lodge planned and coordinated statewide activities and commemorations for the nation's anniversary in 2026.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 80% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 33
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 16.7%; rating input score 17; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.4%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.57; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.8%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 34% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6.5% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $251K · 9 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $103K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 17/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.