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Page History
| 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: |
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 designated 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/associate, however, exceptions can be made 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 the grantmaking process. 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:
All church and project funds must be vetted first to confirm the church/ministry partnership with Reliant. A church/ministry is a partner with Reliant when either a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) related to employment services with Reliant or a Non-Employee Partnership Memorandum of Understanding has been signed.
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. 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.
| Info |
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Reliant's tax-exempt purpose of Corporation filed with the IRS reads as follows: 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. |
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.
Projected Amount:
- 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.
Timing of Fund Creation:
All approvals (based on purpose and projected amount parameters outlined in the Church and Project Fund Standard including approval from the Reliant board) must be received prior to church/project fund creation.
Grant-Making:
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 by the Fund Custodian on behalf of the church/ministry partner 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 grant must be in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and Reliant standards including but not limited to:
- Reliant grants must be consistent with the purpose of the fund distributing the grant.
- 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.
- No part of the grant funds is to be used to carry on propaganda, or otherwise attempt to influence legislation, or to intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.
- Reliant will not physically transport monies for grant distribution. Reliant will use a financial institution (bank) for all financial transactions associated with the church/project fund.
- 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.
- Grant funds may only be disbursed to other organizations, Fund Custodian, or individuals in a manner consistent with Reliant's Grant-Making Standard with the understanding that the church/ministry and/or Designated Grantee fully complies with the grant purposes and the requirements of Reliant's policies and procedures and with the understanding that the church/ministry and/or Designated Grantee clearly acknowledges responsibility of applicable payment of taxes, withholding for employment taxes, and other compliance with local laws and regulations for monies received.
(See Grant-Making Standard for more details.)
