| Policy Name: | Funds and Grant-Making Policy for Churches and Projects |
|---|---|
| Relevant Standards: | Church and Project Fund Standard, Grant-Making Standard |
| Creation Date: | 8/23/2023 |
| Last Review Date: | Board Approved on 11/7/23 |
Purpose
Provide guidance on establishing and utilizing project and church funds and distributing monies from those funds using grants.
Scope
This policy applies to all church and project funds and to grants used for distribution of monies.
Definitions
Unrestricted Church/Ministry Funds: The sole purpose of these funds is to absorb leftover monies from staff exiting from Reliant, so that those monies may be redeployed to help support other staff at the same church/ministry who need assistance with raising support. In most cases, these unrestricted church/ministry funds are used in fixed-term programs.
Restricted General Church/Ministry Funds: These funds receive donations from outside donors with the purpose of supporting the general activities and services of a given church or network of churches or other Christian ministries. In contrast with project funds, the restricted general church/ministry funds are broad in nature, used to support the ongoing activities and services of the church/ministry, and fund distribution tends to be determined by church leadership, subject to Reliant grant-making standards.
Restricted Project Funds: These funds receive donations from outside donors to help support specific projects that the church/ministry/network wishes to accomplish. In contrast to general church/ministry funds, project funds are more specific in nature and typically have a defined end date. The purpose of project funds can vary but they tend to be more specific with a focused purpose in mind.
Endowment Funds: If the project purpose being requested is for an endowment project, it will automatically be sent to the board for pre-approval before moving forward with the creation of the fund, regardless of the purpose or projected amount.
Grants: Grants refer to the approved disbursement of monies from restricted funds to pay expenses in accordance with the fund's restricted purpose.
Fund Custodian: is responsible for the management of the fund and compliance with policy and standards, acts as the main contact for the church/project fund, and is required for all church/project funds. The fund custodian should normally be a Reliant employee or associate. In rare exceptions, a vetted individual who is not a Reliant employee or associate may act as a Fund Custodian with appropriate approval.
Designated Grantee(s) is a foreign national receiving monies distributed from the church/project fund in the form of a stipend in order to carry out the ministry activities of the Partner church/ministry and Reliant.
Standards Supporting This Policy
Policy Statement
Church and project funds are utilized to finance ministry projects and activities that are not typically financed through Ministry Team Development (MTD). Monies from funds are disbursed through grant-making, reimbursements, ERBs, Accounts Payable requests, and internal transfers. The establishment and disbursement of church and project funds must be consistent with, and further, Reliant's tax-exempt purposes in a matter compliant with applicable laws and regulations and in accordance with the information outlined below.
Project and Church Funds
Partnership:
Church and project funds are established only for confirmed Reliant ministry partners. A church/ministry is a partner with Reliant upon the execution of either a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) when the partner intends to engage Reliant for employment of field staff or a Non-Employment Partnership Memorandum of Understanding when the partner intends to engage Reliant through project or church funds without employment of field staff.
Purpose:
The purpose of the fund must be consistent with Reliant's tax-exempt purpose. Distributions from the fund cannot be used for any purpose other than those approved by Reliant. Reliant considers activities to be consistent with its tax-exempt purposes when such activities generally accord with services common to Christian ministries and societies. Please reference the excerpt below taken from Reliant's Articles of Incorporation for a description of Reliant's tax-exempt purposes.
Broadly, Reliant interprets the phrases in our tax-exempt purpose "to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ" and "to conduct and extend missionary work" as incorporating a wide variety of services performed under the banner of the gospel of Christ including works of service and other actions and activities done for the purpose of fostering relationships, building trust, garnering credibility with the community, and conveying the Word of God via "all methods of communication." Evangelical Christian work also incorporates all elements of caring for the welfare of the workers who are conducting gospel work. Therefore, when considering the establishment of church/project funds and the approval of grants using church/project funds, Reliant deems that our tax-exempt purposes align with humanitarian and community service-based projects, as well as traditional gospel projects.
Excerpt from Reliant's Articles of Incorporation filed with the IRS describing Reliant's tax-exempt purposes:
The Corporation is organized primarily to serve as an Evangelical Christian Missionary Society, whose purposes shall be to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, to conduct and extend missionary work, to lead souls to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, to teach the Word of God, and to instruct and edify the body of Christ, by a true and faithful ministry of His previous Word: to train and raise up workers for mission fields, both within the United States of America and abroad, and to establish, maintain and conduct schools for so training missionaries; and to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to all of humanity and to that end to use all methods of communication, including but not limited to public speech, concerts, audio-visual recordings, and the publication, printing, duplication and dissemination of the written word.
Fund Approval:
- Reliant Leadership will approve church and project funds projected to receive $100,000 (or less) annually.
- Funds projected to receive over $100,000 annually require approval of the Reliant board.
- All approvals (based on parameters outlined in the Church and Project Fund Standard ) must be received prior to church/project fund creation.
Grant-Making:
Church/Project funds are created to receive donations, and grants can be used to distribute monies for those funds.
Grants must be in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and Reliant standards including but not limited to:
- Grants must comply with Reliant's Grant-Making Standard.
- Reliant grants must be consistent with the purpose of the fund from which the grant is distributed. Grants cannot be used as conduits to channel monies for purposes other than those for which the fund is established.
- Reliant grants cannot be used to cause any improper private benefit to occur.
- No portion of grant funds may be used for overtly political or legislative purposes (e.g., propaganda, lobbying, or other attempts to influence legislation or intervene in a political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office).
- Reliant will not physically transport hard currency for grant distribution. Reliant will use a financial institution for all financial transactions associated with grantmaking from church/project funds.
- Reliant will undertake reasonable due diligence to ensure that grants are not directed to known or suspected terrorists.
- Recipients of Reliant grants are responsible for compliance with relevant laws and regulations, including relevant tax requirements, pertinent to grants.
