No Personal Acceptance of Ministry-Related Gifts

All contributions received by a missionary or an affiliated project fundraiser relating to their involvement in ministry must be transmitted to Reliant, rather than retained. A missionary may not keep any monetary gift given to him or her if the purpose of that contribution is in any way related to their Reliant employment or role in ministry.

This policy stands even if the ministry donor attempts to encourage you to keep the gift personally. A proper response will be to thank the donor but insist that you must meet Reliant’s ethical standards. A missionary might say, “Thank you so much for your gift of $100. I understand that you wish to give it personally to me, but because you are a ministry donor, I’ll need to be certain this goes to Reliant as my missions agency. Don’t worry, the gift will still go directly to the ministry fund for which I am responsible.”

However, if a monetary gift is given to an missionary for a non-ministry related purpose, and the donor would have given the same gift regardless of the missionary’s employment in ministry, then the money may be accepted by the missionary without submitting it to Reliant.  Example:  A family member sends a check for $20 as a birthday gift, and has done so every year, including the years before the employee began service with Reliant.  A good question to ask is "Would this person be giving me this gift if I did not work in ministry?"

This policy is intended to protect the integrity of Reliant, its employees and the name of Christ. It is designed to clearly avoid the appearance of impropriety or personal gain from a position of authority or Christian ministry. Even when donors and employees have sincere intentions, there are many ways that contributions may be improperly received on ethical or legal grounds.  Questions about specific situations may be directed to Reliant.

Monetary gifts to family members such as spouse or children from donors may be retained.

Pastoral services

Employees who perform ministerial duties, such as performing a wedding, within their Reliant employment, must submit any money received as a result of such service to Reliant. However, if a rendered service is apart from their Reliant work duties, then the employee should treat any funds received for such services as secondary income. The primary consideration in making such a determination is whether the service is within the job duties of Reliant employment or apart from them. For example, performing a wedding for a member of their church would most likely be within the normal job duties of an employed missionary or pastor. However, performing a wedding for someone outside the congregation, where no obligation exists to perform the wedding, would generally be outside the normal job duties of an employee.

Gifts in Kind, Such as Used Vehicles or Computers

Reliant will only accept a tax-deductible gift-in-kind at its office in Orlando if the intention of the donor is to give for the use of Reliant.  

Unfortunately, due to IRS restrictions, Reliant cannot accept non-monetary/gift-in-kind donations from a donor that are ultimately intended for the personal use of a Reliant missionary or another specific person. Reliant missionaries may accept gifts-in-kind only as personal gifts. Donors are not issued tax receipts, and Reliant will not acknowledge the gift.

Gift Cards

•  See Gift Cards

Mission Trips

Reliant donors may not be solicited for contributions to other organizations or for other ministry purposes (such as mission trips through local churches). Reliant employed field staff and associate field staff are required to raise all funds for any mission trip through Reliant, even if the mission trip is sponsored by their local church or another ministry organization. Mission trips are a standard part of their Reliant ministry involvement and therefore considered a part of their employment or, for associate staff, a part of their volunteer ministry work. This applies to all mission trips, both domestic and international.

An exception would be where a donor was already contributing to a church or ministry before they became a Reliant donor.

If a staff member has any doubts or questions regarding this policy, they should contact Reliant for further clarification.