Reading hospitality and meeting costs against the agreement
Meals and venue hire are small lines that attract outsized funder attention — wording in the circular matters more than custom.
Hospitality rules vary widely between government subventions, trust grants, and private foundations. Some agreements ban alcohol outright; others allow modest meals when a community consultation is part of the approved activity. Custom among NGOs is not a defence if the circular is silent or restrictive.
What we look for in a review
- Attendee lists or meeting agendas that show the meal served a funded activity
- Per-head amounts against any stated cap
- Whether board or staff social events were coded to the grant by habit
- Separately invoiced venue hire that duplicates a cost already covered by an in-kind arrangement
If the agreement is ambiguous, the safer path is a written clarification request to the funder before the next large community forum. An eligible-cost advisory session can walk several grey-area items in one sitting so coding decisions stop depending on whoever last processed the invoice.