How to form a partnership committee
To help you through this process, picture an umbrella and a tree. The umbrella is the PIEI board and administration. When you join PIEI you come under the umbrella. The umbrella of PIEI provides you tax-exempt status, forwards contributions to you and sends out receipts. It provides you accountability and makes the resources of other committees and national directors available to you—their experience and insights.
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You will have opportunity to pray for their ministries, and they for yours.
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Your chairman will be asked to serve on the board, and your national director and other missionaries are welcome to come to board meetings.
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To cover the administrative costs of the mission, your committee will be required to contribute a small percentage of the funds you raise.
As you become committed to this family, you will want to do whatever you can to keep it healthy and help it grow.
The tree is the organization you must form yourself. Growing a tree is a long-term project. The successful ministries of PIEI have at their core people who have made long-term commitments. A decade is not too short a time frame to think in. May are committed for a lifetime.
Picture the roots of the tree as those who will provide financial and prayer support and who may also travel to the field to do missions projects. You (or the people you work with to form the ministry) will need to recruit these people, which is difficult, and to keep them interested and involved over the years, which will take even more work.
Picture the trunk as the two committees you will need to recruit. At the core of this organizational trunk are two people: the partnership committee chairperson in the States and the national director on the field. These two people must have a close commitment to each other and the their joint mission or everything will fall apart. The trunk is made up of the two committees they lead: the one that raises funds and supports the ministry in every way they can, and the one that does the work on the field.
Picture the branches as the ministry itself. The branches may be pastors and church planters, or teachers in a school, or writers and publishers, or radio personnel, or field committees that offer loans, or people who care for orphans and widows. Check the descriptions of several of our ministries to see what options might be open to you.
Branches must sway in order not to break, but must remain attached to the trunk. We are flexible but committed to our purpose.
Picture the leaves as those who are reached for Jesus Christ, those who are enabled to mature in their faith, those who are trained for effective ministry. Our purpose is not to help people. It is not just to share the gospel. It is to build and support the church of Jesus Christ by every means possible.
Though an application form is available from this web site, you would be wise to e-mail Gene Brush and get help from a board member in going through the application process.
Before you begin, download a copy of our bylaws by clicking here.
If you do not agree with our statement of faith, are not willing to abide by our bylaws, or promote/encourage speaking in tongues you should not make application to PIEI.
You must form a partnership committee in the States of three, five, or more. (See bylaws V.,C. and VI., C.) These must be willing to contribute to the ministry themselves and cover travel expenses for fundraising and visits to the field. You will want a chairperson, a secretary and a treasurer. The chairperson must be willing to attend the annual board meeting of PIEI, and to bring a budget and a report. Your committee will need to be responsible for any nationals that visit the States.
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You will need a non-profit business PIEI bank account in the States before you start receiving funds. You will instruct givers to send their contributions to the PIEI box number, and will be given account numbers for them to use when necessary.
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You will have to file quarterly reports of the expenses of your committee.
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Help for all of this is usually available at our board meetings. If finances are not handled properly, PIEI could lose its tax-exempt status.
You will also need to form a national committee on the field. (See bylaws V., D & E. and VI., D. & E.) The national director must be accountable, and should not work alone. He will need to inquire if he has to apply to his national government for non-profit status. He will also need to establish a bank account to receive the funds whenever possible, and keep careful records of all the money spent.
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The application to PIEI must be filled out by the proposed national director. He must submit his own statement of faith, autobiographical information, and a clear description of the plans and goals for his ministry, presented in such a way as to coordinate with the Mission and Strategic Goals of PIEI.
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The national director must submit an annual budget, and all funds must be raised for and spent on the items in that budget.
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The national director will need to send the partnership committee quarterly financial reports indicating the money is been spend as budgeted. These must be forwarded to PIEI.
The IRS requires that all fundraising must be for the mission, not for the person raising the funds or for a third party. The intention of the giver must be to support PIE International, not an individual. When you pay money out it must be for budgeted items.
Supported workers must be fulfilling the goals and purposes of PIEI and must be given a regular level of budgeted support. You must keep a reserve in your support and project accounts so that you can maintain this regular support, and you must pay for projects only after the funds are collected rather than giving as the money comes in. You must not be merely a conduit for funds to be sent abroad, but must rather be giving grants for projects that fulfill the purpose of PIEI.
It is important to have ceilings on support figures. Funds used for travel in ministry or to report on ministry should reflect actual expenses and be treated as expense accounts as much as possible. You should be careful to turn in actual documented expenses. Oversight of the use of funds and regular reporting on all levels is essential.
If you wish to obtain an application form please click here.
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