Scottish Rite Masons
Since 1867, Nebraska has welcomed men of all faiths, backgrounds, and professions as members of our fraternity. There are approximately 2,000 Scottish Rite Freemasons in Nebraska and around 500,000 across the United States. Masons are a fraternal and charitable organization for men, promoting the bonds of fellowship and friendship, while supporting charitable needs in our communities.
Philanthropy has played an integral part of our mission since the beginning. In the early 1900s, Scottish Rite Masons supported Social Settlement and donated a home for women to the YWCA in 1918. In 1974, philanthropic efforts were consolidated in the Scottish Rite Foundation of Nebraska, though Scottish Rite Masons in Alliance, Hastings, Lincoln, and Omaha have their own 501(c)(3) organizations as well.
RiteCare services began in Colorado in the 1950s, when the local Scottish Rite donated money for a child to receive speech therapy. Seeing the boy's incredible progress, speech therapy became the Colorado Scottish Rite's principal philanthropy and quickly became the national philanthropy of the Scottish Rite fraternity. Currently, 178 clinics operate across the United States.
Nebraska's clinics began in 1975 with services in Lincoln, Hastings, and then Omaha. Services were expanded in Kearney in 2012. Scottish Rite Masons support more than $850,000 in donations to provide services to Nebraska families, without regard to a family's ability to pay. We are proud to be four of 178 speech-language therapy clinics, centers, and other programs supported in part by Scottish Rite Masons in the United States. We are able to support speech therapy thanks to our members, our donors, and our communities.
Find out more about the Scottish Rite Masons.