Can nonprofit pay for lunch?

Your Legal Questions Answered

Can a nonprofit pay for cost of the lunch at a Board meeting with organizational funds?

Yes. A nonprofit may pay for Board meeting breakfasts, lunches, or dinners. A reasonable meal should be treated as an incidental benefit and should not be considered compensation or an excess benefit.

Some smaller organizations nevertheless ask the Board to reimburse them for the cost of the meal. It is a way to save money and get some modest additional financial support from the directors for program.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 12:00

Comments

Thanks!

Thank you for the helpful information.

I am the finance person to an organization. With most meetings now being virtual, the ask if we could have dinner paid for in our next virtual meeting. The President agreed and the organization sent each board members a set amount for dinner. However, only 3 board members use the money to actually purchase something for the meeting. Even though we are not needing to reimburse the members, I asked for receipts for my own documentation so that if their was any questions, that we at least have justication for the $100. I understand that you may not had spent the full amount but I still felt we need to file the receipts. Was I wrong for asking for them? I also felt this will help with doing our next years budget.

This is a good question and one that deserves further comment - see our answer

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