The Oxfordshire Provinces R.M.B.I. Festival 2001 was launched on 1 March 1996 and the active period of fund raising was thereby set at five years.

During the previous Festival in 1989 the Oxfordshire Province raised £1.1m for the Grand Charity during a ten year Festival period. This was a considerable accomplishment for a Province which at that time comprised some fifty lodges.

Following the closing of the 1989 Festival the Province began a further seven years of fund-raising for the Amos Griffiths Appeal. This resulted in £700,000 being provided for the successful funding of the building and set-up costs of The Albany; the Province’s own highly-acclaimed nursing home.

It was against this background of successive giving that the Oxfordshire Provinces R.M.B.I. Festival 2001 was launched. The launch event broke new ground for the Province through the adoption of advanced audio visual communication techniques, within a management conference format.

The Strategic Objectives the Festival Committee set out on that evening for the R.M.B.I. Festival 2001 have been largely achieved, as can been seen below. The Festival marketing and promotional elements were also introduced at that launch to Lodge Charity Stewards, Worshipful Masters, Secretaries and other “opinion formers” representing the Oxfordshire Province.

The Festival communication process has been ongoing, through regular Lodge Charity Steward meetings, Provincial Officer briefings, Festival “Newsletters” and the myriad fund - raising events organised both by the Festival Committee and some of the Lodges in the Province. This continuous activity has helped to produce a spectacular result - with no less than £666,000 raised for the Festival by the 1 September 2000.

The accent of the R.M.B.I. Festival 2001 was set on individual giving and the 3,500 brethren of the Province have responded magnificently. No less than 44% of the brethren have individually supported the Festival; which compares favourably with the previous 30% givers at the 1989 Festival.