The Order of Women Freemasons

What The Order of Women Freemasons does

The Order of Women Freemasons (OWF) is a UK-domiciled, non-profit fraternal membership organisation founded in 1908 — originally as the Honourable Fraternity of Antient Masonry — and self-described as the oldest and largest women's Masonic organisation in the United Kingdom and abroad. It operates 361+ numbered craft lodges across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe, supplemented by Mark & RAM lodges, Royal Arch Chapters and approximately 10 additional higher-degree bodies, with Grand Lodge headquartered at 27 Pembridge Gardens, London W2 4EF.

The organisation's product is ceremonial membership: members (women aged 21+ of any race or faith who profess belief in a Supreme Being) progress through a tiered system of Craft and higher Masonic degrees, attending four-to-five lodge meetings per year. Core infrastructure is limited and conventional — a public website (owf.org.uk) with online enquiry forms, a password-protected Members' Area containing the year book, lodge register, learning library and ceremonial resources, and a basic technology stack comprising Google Analytics, Cloudflare, Mapbox, YouTube video embedding, Akismet spam filtering and Spoton.net hosting. There is no proprietary software product, no API, no mobile application, and no AI/ML capability.

The business model is membership-subscription driven, with per-lodge annual fees (variable by lodge), a Grand Lodge membership levy, and ancillary optional spend on meals, raffles, and fundraising events. A separate revenue stream is charitable fundraising, in which each Worshipful Master selects a charity annually and proceeds are split with the Order's Charitable Grand Trust — the organisation donated £100,655 to 86 charities in the year ending 30 June 2025. Go-to-market is community-led: word of mouth, an online enquiry system directed to regional lodges, member referrals and sponsorship, complemented by university Freshers' Fairs, corporate talks (e.g., at Rolls Royce) and joint public events with the United Grand Lodge of England such as the Lady Mayor's Show and Remembrance Day Services. The central entity runs with 1–10 employees at the Secretariat and does not publicly disclose consolidated revenue or membership count.

Name

The Order of Women Freemasons

Legal name

The Order of Women Freemasons

Website

https://owf.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1908

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Order of Women Freemasons is a 1908-founded UK non-profit fraternal organisation running 361+ numbered craft lodges across the UK and five overseas countries, offering women aged 21+ ceremonial Masonic membership, multi-degree progression, and structured charitable fundraising through annual lodge subscriptions and community-led recruitment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fraternal Membership Organization

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Professional Organizations (81392), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAKAG

Federated Giving Organizations (e.g., United Way-type)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Philanthropy, Foundations & Grantmaking

Keywords

• Fraternal membership organization
• Women's Freemasonry
• Masonic lodge membership
• Charitable member society
• Higher Masonic degrees

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Annual Membership Subscriptions: Members pay an annual lodge subscription which varies by lodge, plus a set membership fee covering Grand Lodge operational costs. Additional optional costs include meals after meetings, raffles, social events and fundraising activities.
2. Charitable Fundraising: Members raise funds through social events, with each Worshipful Master selecting a charity during their year of office. Funds raised are shared equally between the selected charity and the Order's Charitable Grand Trust at Grand Lodge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Order of Women Freemasons (OWF) is a non-profit fraternal organization founded in 1908 that offers paid membership in a structured network of Masonic craft lodges for women aged 21 and older. Its core offering combines regular ceremonial lodge meetings, progression through higher Masonic degrees, an extensive members' learning library, and large-scale charitable fundraising activity through 361+ lodges across the UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.

Product overview

The Order of Women Freemasons offers membership in a traditional Masonic organization for women, established in 1908. The core offering is membership in Craft Lodges (numbered 1-361) that meet four to five times annually for ceremonial meetings. The organization provides pathways through various Masonic degrees including Mark Master Mason, Royal Ark Mariner, and Holy Royal Arch of Jerusalem. Members benefit from charitable work opportunities, a Learning Library with educational resources, and a comprehensive Year Book containing lodge registers. The organization operates from headquarters at 27 Pembridge Gardens, London, with lodges throughout England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and overseas in Australia, Canada, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe. The charitable arm makes significant donations to national and local causes through its two registered trust funds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Freemasonry Membership
• Lodge Meetings and Ceremonies
• Higher Masonic Degrees
• Charitable Fundraising Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £100,000 donated to 86+ charities in single year (2024-2025)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Royal British LegionminorOthers · 1 January 2025The Order donated £25,000 to the Royal British Legion in 2025. Members supported the Poppy Appeal through volunteering and participated in national remembrance activities.
• United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023The Order of Women Freemasons operates independently but works along the lines of regular male Freemasonry under UGLE. Both organizations participate jointly in public events including the Lady Mayor's Show, Remembrance Day Services, and Universities Scheme. They have filed joint legal action against Metropolitan Police regarding Freemasonry declaration requirements.
• Armed Forces (UK)minorOthers · 1 March 2023Signed the Armed Forces Covenant in March 2023, demonstrating support for members connected to the military. Many members are service wives, mothers of military personnel, or daughters from military families.
• Honourable Fraternity of Ancient FreemasonsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTogether with UGLE and OWF, this organization represents Freemasonry in England, Wales, The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Joined UGLE in legal action against Metropolitan Police.
• Salvation ArmyminorOthersThe Order donated £25,000 to Salvation Army Foodbanks in 2025 and received £300,000 during 2020 COVID-19 pandemic for foodbank support.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF): HFAF is one of the other women's Masonic organizations in England and Wales, also recognized by UGLE. It is a direct competitor to the Order of Women Freemasons for the same target segment — women aged 21+ seeking Masonic fellowship — and has joined UGLE and OWF in joint legal action against the Metropolitan Police. It is the most directly comparable peer in terms of mission, ceremonial practice, and member demographics.

Emerging players

• Girlguiding UK: Girlguiding is a major UK-based women and girls membership organization with hundreds of thousands of members, structured around local units, badges, and charitable activity. While not Masonic, it is comparable as a values-driven, life-stage-segmented women's membership organization with a similar geographic lodge/divisional structure and a recruitment pipeline at universities and via youth outreach.
• National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI): NFWI is a UK-wide women's membership organization with local federations (akin to lodges), subscription revenue, charitable activity, and educational programming. While secular and non-Masonic, it offers a useful structural comparison for a subscription-funded, locally-federated women's membership organization with century-long heritage and a learning/development mission.
• Order of the Eastern Star (OES): OES is a fraternal organization open to both men and women with Masonic affiliations, operating in multiple countries. It is comparable to the Order as a mixed-gender or women-inclusive Masonic-adjacent fraternal body offering ritual, charitable work, and community engagement, though it is generally smaller and less structured than the OWF.

Regional players

• Freemasons Foundation (New Zealand): Comparable for being a national-level Masonic fraternal organization with charitable trust structures and lodge networks. While regional (New Zealand) and male-focused, it offers useful structural benchmarks for governance, charitable trust administration, and lodge-level subscription models similar to the OWF.
• Royal British Legion Women's Section: The Women's Section of the Royal British Legion is a UK membership organization for women connected to the Armed Forces community, focused on remembrance, welfare, and fundraising. The Order signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2023 and has a notable Royal British Legion donor relationship. It is comparable as a women's fraternal/charitable membership body with military-community ties.
• Scottish Freemasons (Grand Lodge of Scotland): The Grand Lodge of Scotland is the oldest continuously operating Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (since 1736), governing male Freemasonry in Scotland. The Order runs craft lodges in Scotland and operates within the broader Scottish Masonic ecosystem, making this a comparable fraternal organization with a regional rather than competing dynamic.

Broad incumbents

• United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE): UGLE is the governing body of regular male Freemasonry in England, Wales, and the Channel Islands, with over 200,000 members. It is the Order's closest strategic partner and operates along the same Masonic lines, sharing public events, the Universities Scheme, and joint legal action against the Metropolitan Police. While it serves a different demographic (men), it is directly comparable as a fraternal Masonic organization with similar ceremonial structure and governance archetypes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OrderWomen
• Instagraminstagram.com/order_of_women_freemasons
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/owf

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Order of Women Freemasons