Catering and Entertainment Policy [Effective 1/1/2025]

These guidelines are intended to provide guidance on the appropriate use of college funds in the area of business entertainment, catering for events at the college or when traveling on college business, and to ensure compliance with IRS regulations related to business expenses.

The policy applies to all faculty, staff, students and others who incur meal expenses while engaged in RISD business or related travel, as well as all departments and college personnel who entertain and/or purchase food for campus meetings/events.

This policy is created to ensure compliance with IRS regulations on business expenses and use of college funds.

Key Life Events: Birth/adoption of a child, wedding shower, baby shower, birthday parties.

Business Meal: A meal taken with business associates, RISD guests, job applicants, professional colleagues or donors during which RISD business is discussed and there is a valid Business Purpose for the meal.

Business Purpose: A statement that adequately describes the expense as a necessary, reasonable and appropriate business expense for the school. All expenses must support or advance the goals, objectives and mission of RISD.

Major Holiday Events: an established RISD-wide holiday as listed on the official Holiday Schedule found on the Human Resources website.

Catering and Entertainment Expenses: The provision of food, beverages, activities or events for the purpose of promoting and furthering the mission of the school.

This policy outlines the guidelines for the provision of on-campus meals for departmental meetings and student organization activities, as well as the standards for travel and entertainment conducted on behalf of the institution.

Alcohol

• At no time may alcoholic beverages be served to anyone under the age of 21.
• The consumption of alcoholic beverages while conducting school business must be kept to a minimum and after regular working hours.
• RISD will not cover any alcohol expenditures for those traveling on college business.
• Alcohol cannot be purchased for faculty- or staff-related parties or meetings.
• Alcohol cannot be purchased for events where only faculty, staff and students are in attendance.
• Alcohol, when authorized, must be part of a meal.
• Alcoholic shots are not allowed.
• During candidate or business meetings, one alcoholic beverage per attendee is authorized. Any additional alcoholic drinks would be considered a personal expense.
• College funds may be used to pay for or reimburse expenditures of alcoholic beverages and business entertainment costs when the purpose is fundraising, promotion of the college, entertainment for guests of the college, cultivating a donor/prospect or engaging alumni. These expenses must be pre-approved by the Vice President, Division Dean or Provost and should be reasonable, prudent, appropriate to the occasion, and have a legitimate business purpose.
• Alcohol is not authorized for departmental, holiday or other staff/faculty meetings.
• All events including the service of alcohol on the RISD campus, within a RISD building, or a RISD sponsored event adjacent to campus (example: craft fair) require that a RISD Public Safety officer be present. The event must also be staffed by a bartender hired by Dining + Catering. Event planners must complete an Alcohol Use Regulations Form and submit it to Public Safety and Dining + Catering at least two weeks prior to the event. When reconciling alcohol charges for the event, the Alcohol Use Regulations Form must be attached showing the use of alcohol was approved.

Business Meals, Per Diem, Entertainment and Catering

Meals While Traveling

• RISD will provide a per diem for all travel-related meals during the time an employee is away from home traveling on behalf of RISD (as distinguished from business entertainment expenses or local business meals outlined below). Per diems can be issued in amounts that do not exceed the GSA and US State Department-published per diem rates.
• As a general rule, travelers are expected to incur no additional costs for meals, which are provided as part of a fee for attendance at conferences, workshops, hotel cost, etc. When meals are provided in this way, the daily meal per diem must be reduced accordingly. If there is a business justification provided regarding dietary restrictions, the traveler may be reimbursed for the meal. RISD will not reimburse travelers for the purchase of alcoholic beverages.
• Non-employees and non-students are not eligible for per diems.
• Internal-related meals (only staff, faculty and students present) are not allowed on a RISD-issued credit card and will not be reimbursed by RISD when paid for out of pocket. Any expensed meals submitted without a guest present and an authorized business purpose will be denied, and the employee will need to reimburse RISD if the purchase was made on a RISD-issued credit card.

Business Meals

• All business meals must be in compliance with the spending guidelines posted on the Procurement Services website. Employees will be personally responsible for charges exceeding these guidelines.
• Business meals directly related to fundraising and alumni events must align with the spending guidelines provided by the Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration.
• The number of RISD hosts accompanying a guest for a meal should not exceed four.
• Reimbursement for employees’ family members is not permitted.
• Alcoholic beverages may be reimbursed as part of a Business Meal while entertaining RISD guests, but must be in compliance with the Alcohol Policy (listed above). It is required that itemized meal receipts are provided.

On-Campus Meals and Meetings

Faculty and Staff

• All on-campus events and meals for staff and faculty meetings are required to be catered by RISD caters. Orders can be placed via the online ordering system. In the event that RISD caters is unable to accommodate the order, an approved alternative vendor can be used. Approved vendors are located on the Procurement Services website.
  • Departments are permitted to provide meals as described above during official meetings that extend over normal meal times or have specific business purpose, such as all-day planning sessions. Meals should be modest in cost, and departments must adhere to Spending Guidelines. All on-campus meals must be pre-approved by the Vice President, Divisional Dean or Provost.
• College funds may be used to pay for food or refreshments at events recognizing group achievements, major holidays or employee retirements subject to the approval of the Vice President, Division Dean, Provost or the President.
• Expenses must align with the spending guidelines posted on the Procurement Services website.
• College funds may be used to entertain candidates at lunch and to take new employees to lunch on their first day. Expenses must align with the spending guidelines posted on the Procurement Services website.
  • College funds shall not be used to pay for celebratory events for employee key life events. Examples include, but are not limited to, birthdays, anniversaries, births, etc. Meals or beverages in local restaurants with only RISD faculty, administrative staff or students in attendance are not permitted with the exception of taking a new employee to lunch on their first day/first week.
• Purchases of alcoholic beverages are not permitted unless for an appropriate event defined above and with prior approval.
• Expensed meals must comply with the Spending Guidelines posted on the Procurement Services website.
• Questions relating to spending guidelines should be directed to Procurement Services (epro@risd.edu).

Students

• Student functions should use RISD caters whenever feasible. Catering has a student organization menu with classic favorites and new exciting options. As with all menus, the student club and organization offerings will develop and adjust with feedback from students.
• Third-party meal delivery services (example: Uber Eats, Grubhub, etc.) cannot be used for staff and department meals. Student organizations may utilize meal delivery service only with approval from Student Life.

Tipping

An industry standard tip of 15-20% is an allowable expense. Although an individual may tip less than this percentage, for any amount over 20% the individual will be responsible for these expenses out of pocket. Detailed tipping guidelines can be found in the RISD Spending Guidelines.

Unallowable Expenses

RISD will not reimburse or pay for expenses that are inherently personal in nature. The following list of personal expenses serves as a guide and is not to be considered all-inclusive:

• Transportation (air, train and rental cars) booked outside of the college’s official travel booking site or authorized travel agency
• Excessive tips (over 20%)
• Personal grooming services, such as barbers, hairdressers, toiletries, massages, manicures/pedicures and saunas
• Childcare costs, babysitting and house sitting costs
• Pet care, including fees for boarding pets and other animal care
• Any personal clothing, accessories or hygiene items
• Prescriptions, over-the-counter medications and other medical expenses
• Personal reading material, such as non-scholarly magazines, books and newspapers
• Personal recreation or entertainment such as greens fees, sightseeing fares, theater tickets, entry fees, lift tickets, etc.
• Credit card delinquency fees and finance charges
• Personal costs such as life, medical, personal automobile loss of personal effects and baggage insurance
• Business travel accident insurance beyond the college’s policies
• Lost luggage
• Loss or theft of travel advance money, airline tickets, personal funds and/or other personal property
• Excessive meal costs that are not substantiated by a complete and explanatory business purpose
• Individual meal expenses for one-day travel
• Expenses not properly documented (non-itemized)
• Membership fees for priority boarding, expedited screening or customs processing (Global Entry, PreCheck, Nexus, Sentri)
• Lost/damaged baggage or personal items
• Carbon offset credits
• Donations
• Room-upgrade fees or late check-out fees
• No-show fees
• Alcoholic beverages not aligned with RISD alcohol policy
• Alcoholic shots
• Fees for personal expenses, such as: golf, exercise room/health club
• Rooms or tickets paid with frequent guest program credit
• Expenses related to an employee’s spouse or other family members
• Gift cards/certificates
• Home office furniture
• Sales tax for items purchased in/shipped to MA, RI and NY
• Amenities such as movies, in-room bars and room service
• Parking tickets, local parking fees, traffic violations, auto repairs or the cost of vehicle towing
• Gas purchases for personal vehicles
• Meal delivery services such as Uber Eats or DoorDash
• Ride-sharing services (Uber, Lyft, Zipcar) for local travel in greater Providence area (excluding airport)

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A LIVING DOCUMENT. This document discusses policies/procedures meant to establish an operational reference point. As data is gathered and risks assessed, the policies/processes in this document will be revised as needed and any and all updates will be communicated to the RISD community. No policy can account for every single scenario that may be encountered; therefore, if a situation arises where an exception to the policies/procedures outlined in this manual is required, a letter of authorization from the Senior Vice President of Finance & Administration or their delegate will be required.

Please visit the Procurement Services website for a full description of all procurement procedures, guides and resources.

Pre-Approval Requirements

Purchase of alcoholic beverages for appropriate events (defined above) must be pre-approved per the alcohol section of this policy.

Payment Procedures

Individuals can use their Travel & Entertainment Card or complete the Supplier Invoice Request in Workday to pay for all catering and entertainment expenses. A detailed description of the purpose or function of the event/meal must be included. An itemized receipt showing all meals and beverages must be included in the expense or invoice request. When there are alcohol charges for an event, the Alcohol Use Regulations Form must be attached showing that use of alcohol was approved. All expenses must be reviewed by the applicable approver.

Policy Sanctions

Failure to comply with this and related policies may be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with applicable (faculty, staff, student) disciplinary procedures.

Actions that may be taken include, but are not limited to:

• Reduction of RISD card limits
• Temporary or permanent termination of RISD card privileges Temporary or permanent removal of travel privileges
• Pay deduction (deduction from paycheck) for charges deemed personal in nature or against RISD policy
• Further disciplinary action up to and including suspension without pay or termination of employment, in accordance with applicable disciplinary procedures.

This policy was created on: November 1, 2013, as part of the Travel and Expense Policy.

This policy was last reviewed/modified on: 8/21/2024

This policy was approved as of: 8/21/2024

Next scheduled review: 8/21/2026

Issuing Office

Controller’s Office

Responsible Officer

Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration

Individuals/offices required for review and changes

Director of Procurement Services

Credit Card Services and Reimbursement Administrator

Controller