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Standard Name:Church and Project Fund Standard
Relevant Policy:

Funds and Grant-Making Policy for Churches and Projects

Relevant Standard:Grant-Making Standard
Creation Date: 8/23/2023
Last Revision Date:

General Standards

Roles:

Affiliate Fundraiser is a foreign national raising funds through a church/project fund on behalf of Reliant. They must attend a Reliant training and become an officially approved deputized fundraiser. Affiliate Fundraisers are often also Designated Grantees. 

Reliant Point Person is desired to be a Reliant employee/associate assigned to be the main contact for the church/project fund and is required for all church/project funds. The Reliant Point Person acts as a custodian of the fund, is responsible for the management of the fund and compliance with policy and standards, and in some cases may receive and distribute monies on behalf of the church/ministry. 

Authorized Signer(s) is the individual(s) who is authorized by the church/ministry to approve transfers, reimbursements, grants, and other payments from the church/project fund as outlined on the original church/project fund request form. 

Designated Grantee(s) is a foreign national receiving monies distributed from the church/project fund in the form of a stipend. Designated Grantees are often also Affiliate Fundraisers.

Partnership:

All church and project funds must be vetted first by the Program Team lead to confirm the church/ministry partnership with Reliant (a Memo of Understanding has been signed) and to confirm that this request is one that they believe Reliant should move forward on.

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Restricted Church/Project Fund: The purpose of church funds tends to be more general and fund distribution tends to be determined by church leadership. The purpose of project funds can vary but they tend to be more specific with a focused purpose in mind. 

Those restricted church/project funds that include stipend distribution to Designated Grantees, should have a two-fold purpose: to enable the church/ministry to expand its ministry activities through these Designated Grantees and allow for the training and spiritual formation of these Designated Grantees as they prepare for/serve in full-time ministry, and these monies would be used as a monthly stipend for those Designated Grantees. Reliant acknowledges that a Designated Grantee receives a stipend to fulfill the purpose of the fund through conducting the ministry activities outlined on the Master Grant Agreement, and due to these ministry activities, may not be able to devote time to other work activities sufficient to support the Designated Grantee's family, therefore Reliant recognizes that some of the funds may be used for personal expenses.

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If the purpose of a church/project fund includes supporting the funding of a Designated Grantee(s) stipend, the following applies:

  • Stipend Agreements are required to be signed by each Designated Grantee (See Grant-Making Standard for more details on stipend agreements) before grant disbursement can begin.
  • Reliant and the church/ministry will take reasonable steps of due diligence to ensure that it is not otherwise assisting known or suspected terrorists through its foreign grant-making process.
  • For contributions to a Reliant fund to qualify as tax-deductible, they must be intended by the donor for use by Reliant Mission and the church/ministry and are not personal gifts for the Affiliated Fundraiser or Designated Grantee. The donor is supporting a pre-approved ministry purpose by a Reliant-approved church/project and ministry partner. Therefore, if an Affiliated Fundraiser associated with the church/project fund moves to another ministry, the funds do not follow as funds are intended for the church/ministry, not the individual raising support on behalf of the church/project fund. 
  • If an organization that is registered in a foreign country has foreign nationals who are working for the organization (such as interns) and the organization desires to partner with Reliant and utilize a church/project fund to help fund their workers in that country, Reliant may determine that the fund can utilize Reliant's solicitor reporting to help tag the Designated Grantee for grant disbursement amount reporting. Reliant’s desire is to honor the donor preference for the contribution, but Reliant has complete discretion and control over the use of the donated funds as part of our 501(c)3 status.
  • Overfunding of the church/project fund resulting from any support-raising efforts (including those of the Affiliated Fundraiser/Designated Grantee) remains with the fund.
  • Grant stipend disbursement amount does not increase based on donations received to the church/project fund. Therefore, if the fund does not have enough to cover the stipend amount for the Designated Grantee for one month, Reliant will not automatically disburse an additional stipend amount the following month to make up the difference. The distributed amount can only be increased by submitting a new grant request.
  • Reliant will not issue refunds to donors. In the unlikely event of a cancellation of the church/project fund purpose or plans or if a foreign national who had raised support as an affiliated fundraiser decided not to continue in the role of Designated Grantee for this project/church fund, Reliant will use the funds for other similar Reliant Mission activities beginning with those associated with the connected church/ministry.
  • If the sole purpose of a church/project fund is for stipend distribution to Designated Grantees, the name of the Reliant project fund must be the church/project name and not the name of the Designated Grantee(s).
  • The partner church/ministry agrees to communicate with clarity with all Designated Grantees that the Designated Grantee(s) will be responsible for applicable payment of taxes, withholding for employment taxes, compliance with local law, etc. A clear acknowledgment of these expectations for local compliance will also be noted in the Stipend Agreement.

Fundraising:

Any Reliant employee/associate may raise funds on behalf of a church/project fund. 

A U.S. citizen who is not a Reliant employee/associate must become an associate with Reliant in order to raise church/project funds on behalf of Reliant. Associates are eligible to submit church/project fund reimbursements and grant requests.

Foreign nationals may raise support as a deputized Affiliate Fundraiser through a church/project fund on behalf of Reliant under the conditions that the foreign national:

  • Work alongside an existing Reliant partnership.
  • Be identified and vouched for by a Reliant worker or church/ministry partner.
  • Complete an assessment and application that is reviewed and approved by the Program Team.
  • Be vetted using the OFAC Watchlist Verification.
  • Complete training for raising church/project funds on behalf of Reliant and be officially deputized.

  • Complete a dual solicitation agreement (Dual Solicitation) if raising funds for both Reliant and another organization.

    Note

    Foreign nationals may raise funds on behalf of the church/project fund but do not receive an individual MTD fund number. If a registered foreign organization with multiple Affiliate Fundraisers partners with Reliant, they can request solicitor reporting tags be used for tracking donations.  


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  • Church/Project Fund purpose and fund details
  • Signed Master Grant Agreement

Master Grant Agreement:

Church/Project funds are created to receive donations and grants are used to distribute monies for those funds. Therefore, a Master Grant Agreement must be signed at the time of submission of a new church/project fund request to ensure a proper understanding of grant use when monies are distributed.

The Master Grant Agreement is attached to the Church/Project fund request form. It includes an acknowledgment of the requested purpose of the fund, an acknowledgment that the church/ministry  Funds and Grant-Making Policy for Churches and Projects as well as both associated Reliant Standards (Grant-Making Standard, Church and Project Fund Standard) have been read and that the Reliant Point Person who is signing on behalf of the church/ministry representing the requested church/project fund signs that all parties associated with the fund are in agreement to follow. A Reliant representative will also review the request and will sign the Master Grant Agreement in approval that they agree upon the purpose of the fund and that the fund can now be created.... The Reliant Point Person (agrees to communicate all information on the Master Grant Agreement to the church/ministry they are representing and signing on behalf of) 

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titleThe Master Grant Agreement Consists Of:

Master Grant Agreements are customized for each church/project fund with information found on the church/project fund request form, but generally include acknowledgments of the following:

  • Agree in confirmation that Reliant and Partner have a signed Memorandum of Understanding
  • Agree to the purpose of the fund as outlined on this request form.
  • Agree that the grants distributed must be used consistent with the agreed-upon purpose of the fund.
  • Agree that if the purpose of the church/project fund changes, an addendum to change the purpose outlined in this Master Grant Agreement is required. 
  • Agree that I have read and agree that we (the church/ministry and myself) will follow the information outlined in the Funds and Grant-Making Policy for Churches and Projects.
  • Agree that I have read and agree that we (the church/ministry and myself) will follow the information outlined in the Church and Project Fund Standard
  • Agree that I have read and agree that we (the church/ministry and myself) will follow the Grant-Making Standard
  • Agree to collect Stipend agreements from all Designated Grantees

Many other items are outlined on the policy/standard but we wanted to highlight the following...

  • I understand that all contributions are the sole property of Reliant; Reliant maintains full control of the donated funds and ultimate discretion as to their use for Reliant’s ministry purposes. 
  • I confirm that clarity will be given to donors and any affiliated fundraiser and designated grantees so that they understand the church/project funds are supporting a pre-approved ministry purpose by a Reliant-approved church/project and ministry partner and are not supporting any individual(s). 
  • We (the church/ministry and myself) agree to communicate with clarity with all Designated Grantees that the Designated Grantee(s) will be responsible for applicable payment of taxes, withholding for employment taxes, compliance with local law, etc. A clear acknowledgment of these expectations for local compliance will also be noted in the Stipend Agreement that will be required to be signed by all Designated Grantees.


  • Reliant will not act as a conduit of funds for any recipient.
  • Reliant grants cannot be used to cause any private inurement or improper private benefit to occur. 
  • Reliant will take reasonable steps of due diligence to ensure that it is not otherwise assisting known or suspected terrorists through its foreign grant-making process.


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Approval:

The Reliant Board of Directors delegates Reliant leadership the authority to approve church and project funds to further Reliant’s tax-exempt purposes by establishing these types of church and project funds as defined in the related policy, in a matter compliant with applicable laws and regulations and according to the requirements outlined above. If deemed necessary by Reliant leadership, the Reliant Board may be asked for their additional approval. The Program Team will oversee all church/project fund requests, including obtaining approvals, coordinating with relevant departments, and finalizing fund set up.

All approvals (including approval from the Reliant board) must be received prior to church/project fund creation.

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