Event expenses can be covered either by an Event Advance or paid for directly by Reliant as arranged through the Events Department. Once connected with Reliant's Events Department, the event leader is a trusted source for what is a necessary expense as related to the event. Reliant has provided broad spending guidelines, allowing the event leader to decide what is appropriate and necessary, according to the event needs

What is Allowed

Expenses for an event should be reasonable to the type of event and must fit within Reliant's set category of expenses. The church leader and the event leader should be in agreement about appropriate and necessary event expenses, both prior to the event during the budgeting phase and during the event should questionable expenses arise. Expenses for individual event participants that are needed may also be covered. Reliant's Events Department is available to provide guidance as needed.

Examples of Allowable Expenses

• If the event purpose is a work trip to build a playground, every purchase needed to build the playground would be acceptable expenses.
• A team is going overseas to help a church rehab a building for services. Allowable expenses might include new windows or flooring materials.
• It the event's purpose is to do evangelism in a city or on a campus, paying for participants and locals to do an outing for evangelism purposes would be acceptable.
• A team is going to help a church build relationships in a surrounding community through evangelism and service. Buying groceries to gift to each house in the neighborhood while doing evangelism would be an acceptable expense.
• Event participant needs during an event such as medicines that can be purchased without a prescription or laundry are acceptable expenses.

What is Not Allowed

• Expenses not related to the direct purpose of the event are not allowed. This would include items meant to bless a local church in the middle of a trip just because it feels right or the church asks, but it was not part of the original objective of the event.
  • Note that once all expenses related to the event have been paid for, that it may then be possible to bless the church with anything truly leftover. See Leftover Funds for for more information.
• Alcohol cannot be purchased using Reliant funds.
• No straight cash or gift cards can be given directly to a foreign individual.

Examples of What is Not Allowed

• A team is going overseas specifically to do evangelism with a local church, and while there the local church asks the team for money for new windows. New windows are not tied to the original purpose of the event so the expense would not be allowed as a reported expense.
• A team is going to help a church build relationships in a surrounding community through evangelism and service. The team is asked by families in the neighborhood for money to buy groceries. The team is not allowed to give cash to them out of the Event Advance.