VOH Fundraising Policy
Purpose:
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all fundraisers conducted on Vineyard of Hope Church property or for the benefit of the church follow uniform, established procedures. No one is authorized to conduct a fundraiser except in accordance with this policy. This fundraising policy has been established for the following reasons:
To provide guidance for acceptable fundraising activities and communicate the guidance to the congregation.
To manage the number and frequency of fundraising activities to avoid overburdening the congregation with requests for money and preserving congregational relationships.
To communicate fundraising activities that are not in alignment with the mission and ministries of Vineyard of Hope Church.
To ensure that fundraising activities are consistent with our tax-exempt status.
To ensure that Vineyard of Hope Church’s resources are focused on the highest priority needs and consistent with the approved church budget.
To uphold Vineyard of Hope Church’s vision, mission, and values.
Overview:
Fundraisers will be reviewed and considered for approval based upon the conditions of need, church or community benefit, and their impact on normal church operations. All requests will be reviewed against a master calendar of currently approved events.
Definitions:
Fundraising—Any effort to solicit money, goods or services for the purpose of funding or benefiting an individual, group, or cause. Not included in this definition are events that do not have a fundraising motive for which an entry fee is charged and any goods or services are sold during the event.
Fees—Proceeds resulting from program fees charged solely to recover the cost of presenter’s fees, consumable supplies, food, books, and training materials.
Sales—Proceeds resulting from incidental activity during a sponsored event.
Responsibility:
The Pastoral Team and Treasurer is responsible for approving all fundraising efforts of authorized Church ministries, scheduling dates, times, places, and the number of fundraisers. The Pastoral Team may delegate specific aspects of fundraising oversight to staff or other leaders, as deemed appropriate.
Policy:
1. All fundraisers must reflect and relate to the principles and purposes of the Church and serve the mission of the Church.
2. Fundraisers are to be conducted for the benefit of the Church, its ministries, organizations, or causes approved by the Church.
3. Fundraising for the benefit of for-profit entities or personal gain is prohibited.
4. Individuals may not use the Church to conduct home-based business activities for personal financial gain.
5. Individuals may not use the Church directory for personal financial gain.
6. The number and frequency of all fundraisers shall be limited at the discretion of the Pastoral Team.
7. Fundraisers shall be limited to a specific time interval.
8. Fundraisers will not be announced from the pulpit, except for church-wide disaster relief activities and others deemed appropriate by the pastor.
9. Every request for a fundraiser must be made in writing using the Fundraising Request Form 6-8 weeks before the event.
10. Solicitation for fundraisers shall not normally last more than two Sundays. The Pastoral Team can approve exceptions to the two-Sunday period.
11. Established Church programs are exempt from the request process but required to confirm their intentions during the Church budgeting process.
12. Fundraising requests do not carry over from one year to the next.
13. Emergency fundraisers may be handled on a different timeline on a case-by-case basis.
Groups Conducting Fundraisers:
Groups conducting monetary fundraisers must provide a report back to the Pastoral Team and Treasurer detailing total items sold and/or money collected, total expenses, and a specific listing of how and where the proceeds were used.
Procedures:
1. A Fundraising Request must be completed and submitted to the church office. Preemptively check for possible conflicts on church calendar and building use.
2. Requests should be submitted at least 6-8 weeks before the proposed fundraising event.
3. The Pastoral Team and Treasurer will review proposals and notify whether the proposal has been approved or denied.
4. Criteria for evaluating a fundraising proposal include compliance with procedures, time elapsed since the last fundraiser, affinity with the Church’s mission, impact on facilities, interference with other church activities, and potential negative reflections.
5. Handling of monetary funds includes checks written to the Church, all money given to the accountant for deposit, and expenses drawn from the appropriate bank account.
6. Groups conducting fundraisers must provide a detailed report to the Pastoral Team two weeks after the event.
Fundraising Principles:
Considerations for fundraising activities are listed below.
Clearly establish goals before undertaking the activity.
Ensure consistency with the total ministry of the Church.
Prioritize service to the community and fellowship over maximizing profits.
Align the method of fundraising with the goals.
Complement other financial stewardship efforts within the Church.
Involve people in the decision-making process.
Provide a service beyond fundraising itself.
Build commitment with the community.
Funds should be counted, documented, and secured by two people at all times.
This fundraising policy is effective as of 2/17/2024 and is subject to periodic review and revision by the Pastoral Team and Board.
Approved by the Board on 2/17/2024
David Chan, Eric Lu, Jennie Lin, Thomas Wang, Kenneth Kwan
Vineyard of Hope Church