The Foundation

We will strive to be a fraternity that fulfills our Masonic obligation to care for our members.

32° Scottish Rite Freemasonry seeks to strengthen the community and believes that each man should act in civil life according to his individual judgment and the dictates of his conscience.

As Scottish Rite Masons, we all know that our fraternity supports numerous civic and charitable causes, principally the Children’s Dyslexia Centers of Cincinnati, which operate two campuses in the area. But did you know that our Valley has a charitable foundation that supports these learning centers and other worthy causes throughout the Valley with your tax-deductible donations? 

William E. Rathman, 33°, a Middletown, Ohio attorney and pastor and member of the Valley of Cincinnati, organized the Scottish Rite Valley of Cincinnati Foundation in 1985. The initial purpose of the foundation was to provide scholarships, support historical-patriotic activities, and make grants to the poor. Several years ago, a significant portion of the foundation’s assets were used to endow the first Children’s Dyslexia Center in Cincinnati. The mission of the foundation has recently been expanded to include supporting the maintenance and improvement of historical structures, including the Cincinnati Masonic Center.

Presently, the Scottish Valley of Cincinnati Foundation is led by a board of trustees consisting of Thomas R. Schuck, 33°; Gary P. Nichols, 33°; Jeffrey P. Waltz, 33° (treasurer); John R. Teller, Jr., 33° (secretary); and Gerald E. Prager, 32°. The board meets periodically to consider grant requests by the Valley of Cincinnati, the Children’s Dyslexia Centers of Cincinnati, and organizations whose charitable missions are commensurate with those of the Valley of Cincinnati Foundation.

During recent years, the foundation provided funds for the Children’s Dyslexia Centers through their home office in Lexington, Massachusetts, subsidized opening the Cincinnati Masonic Center for the Boy Scouts of America to hold an Eagle Scout Court of Honor, provided scholarships through the Valley in conjunction with Supreme Council’s Abbott Scholarships, and made a major grant to the Valley to assist with the upkeep of the Cincinnati Masonic Center.

The foundation has been blessed by several significant gifts from members of the Valley, some of which were made by means of wills. Because the foundation is a tax-exempt organization under federal law, gifts of money, securities, and other property (whether during the donor’s lifetime or by means of a will or trust) are tax-deductible. These gifts may be designated for a specific purpose, in which case they are placed in a segregated account to assure that they are used as intended. The foundation’s assets are maintained by U.S. Bank under the investment oversight of Riverpoint Capital Management in Cincinnati.

The foundation presently makes grants from earnings in the various funds that comprise the foundation in order to preserve principal and rebuild the foundation after the gift was made to endow the first Children’s Dyslexia Center in Cincinnati. This policy assures that specific bequests are not depleted through the expenditure of principal and remain ongoing tributes to the donors for their intended purpose.

Why not join us in furthering the foundation’s mission? It’s easy to donate to the Scottish Rite Valley of Cincinnati Foundation. You can send a tax-deductible donation in care of Robert W. Dumford, 33°, executive director of the Valley of Cincinnati, 317 East Fifth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, which we will acknowledge evidencing your tax-deductible gift.

You can include a tax-deductible gift to the foundation in your will or trust and designate the purpose of the gift if you like. In either case, please consider supporting your foundation through a gift now or in the future so that we can continue and expand the foundation’s charitable work on behalf of Scottish Rite Freemasonry throughout the Valley of Cincinnati.