Televangelist Joni Lamb Paid for $100,000 Honeymoon with Ministry Credit Card: Applying the Tax Code to Non-Profit Expenditures

(Screenshot: Daystar Television Network broadcast the TV program Love’s Miracle: A Wedding Special with Dr. Doug Weiss and Joni Lamb.)

Background

Jonathan Lamb, former vice-president of the non-profit Daystar Television Network, disclosed to The Roys Report that his mother, televangelist Joni Lamb, paid for her 2023 honeymoon with a Daystar credit card.

Joni and her new husband Doug Weiss flew to Los Cabos, Mexico, following their June 10th wedding.

According to The Roys Report, “board member Tom Calender decided to ‘gift’ the $100,000 for the honeymoon to Joni.”

In a response to The Roys Report, Daystar reported, “All charges by Joni Lamb on a corporate credit card that are personal expenses are fully accounted for and reimbursed in full by Joni Lamb.”

However, the network did not provide to The Roys Report any proof the honeymoon expenses were reimbursed.

Applying the United States Tax Code to Church and Ministry Gifts

The United States tax code treats gifts differently based on the size of the gift and the relationship of the donor and the gift recipient.

Gifts to family members, friends and supporters are treated differently than gifts given to employees.

If Joni Lamb failed to reimburse the ministry for her honeymoon expenses, the gifting should have been treated as compensation.

The following screenshot shows the portion of the tax code requiring gifts to employees to be reported as compensation, while some exceptions do exist.

(Screenshot: U.S. Code Title 26 Section 102)

A church or ministry is not required to report small gifts (considered de minimis) such as snacks provided occasionally at work as compensation.

The IRS website reports, “The IRS has ruled previously in a particular case that items with a value exceeding $100 could not be considered de minimis, even under unusual circumstances.”

Gift Taxes

When a ministry or church provides gifts to non-employees, the gifts may be subject to the gift tax.

Each year the IRS updates the annual gift tax exclusion and lifetime gift tax exclusion.

In 2023, the lifetime gift tax exclusion for an individual was $12.92 million.

The United States tax code requires gifts over a specific size to be reported on a Form 709. In 2023, the gift tax exclusion was $17,000 so that gifts exceeding this amount are subject to tax.

(Screenshot: IRS – Frequently asked questions on gift taxes)

Board Governance Issues

Word of God Fellowship, Inc., the parent organization of Daystar, is incorporated in Georgia and has registered the trade name Daystar Television Network.

Word of God Fellowship does not file a Form 990 with the IRS which would disclose total revenue, total expenses, compensation of officers and highly compensated employees, a list of related organizations and other critical information that would be helpful in evaluating the organization’s use of donor funds.

While churches, synagogues and mosques are exempt from the requirement to file a Form 990, some file voluntarily.

During audits of non-profit organizations, the IRS verifies how many members of the board are independent board members.

This information is also disclosed on the Form 990.

(Screenshot: Blank 2024 Form 990. Line 4 discloses independent voting board members.)

In August 2023 the non-profit organization’s board of directors discussed Joni Lamb’s use of the Daystar credit card to pay for her honeymoon.

Daystar’s board was then composed of three people: Joni Lamb (president), Jonathan Lamb (vice president) and Tom Calendar (the sole independent board member).

Tom Calendar acted alone when making the decision to gift Joni Lamb the $100,000 spent on her honeymoon. According to Jonathan Lamb, there was no vote of the board to approve the gifting.

If officers of a non-profit organization were allowed to approve their own compensation or compensation of family members, this would create a conflict of interest, which would explain why Joni and Jonathan didn’t vote on gifting the honeymoon expense to Joni.

Board independence is critical when a non-profit organization approves excess benefit transactions of the organization’s officers. What benefit would Daystar receive for gifting Joni the $100,000 honeymoon expense?