Your investment in a rēp Venture gives the client access to teaching/instruction on kingdom business that they cannot get elsewhere. Every business leader who comes through the rēp process then has a direct influence over the staff in their business. We generally find that 10 businesses directly affect thousands of people and indirectly impact many more. In a recent Venture to Jakarta the 9 clients served over 30 million customers… that is more than 10% of the population! Further, business leaders have daily interaction with their staff, some of them 300 days a year! Their face-time with those in their sphere of influence often far surpasses that of others in traditional ministries.

Moreover, the degree of transformation that takes place in the life of a consultant is momentous. This is most likely the reason that many find it hard to make the decision to go on a Venture; the enemy knows that they will not come back the same. You will find encouraging testimonials on the rēp website (http://www.repurposing.biz/consultant-testimonials/). We have seen consultants come back from Ventures as changed people and their influence in their own businesses/places of employment is heightened.

There are three direct elements of the financing of rēp Ventures:

1. Host country expenses : these include the conference facilities, local support staff, printing, books and other direct expenses. These are covered mostly by client fees from the host country.
2. Traveling expenses : these are covered by the consultant fees in the sending country, and include the following:
   o Accommodation
   o Meals
   o Car Rental
   o Sightseeing, special events, and Venture-related seminars.
3. Consultant Training expenses: This includes all training materials (Consultant manuals, core books, DVDs, booklets, etc) as well as all hospitality and training related administrative support. These expenses are incurred in both the sending & host countries with each location covering its own costs.

Additionally, there are indirect costs and Home Office Expenses associated with rēp training and Venture related activities. Our overall budget for rēp in the USA in recent years has been $350,000 of which about $310,000 is a direct “in-and-out” of consultant fees for Ventures. In other words, we do not have a large Home Office overhead. There are, however, costs that are separate from the direct Venture costs that are essential to make rēp viable. These include;

• Communications: telephone (we have lots of overseas calls), Internet, postage, etc.
• Travel: we often have pre-trips where staff / team leaders go into countries in advance of the Ventures
• Printing, collateral, publishing, etc.
• Bookkeeping: processing & receipting of all consultant fundraising payments
• Rent (a contribution towards office costs)
• Functions, meals, hospitality
• Information technology: projectors, hard drives, laptops, speakers, etc.

These types of expenses are covered by a combination of donations to Vine Associates (in support of the rēp Ventures or specific staff) and by income earned by The Institute. Neither Brett nor Lyn draw any income from rēp , and have never done so; their businesses are impacted greatly by the time they dedicate to Ventures. Many other volunteers similarly take time away from income-producing activities to serve together in training consultants, operational roles, and in leading teams. As far as we know, none of them are independently wealthy; they do this because of their calling.

The other thing to note is that we do not have a fundraising machine that mysteriously finds money for us. A business is also a faith walk, and this is as true for The Institute and the businesses of our rēp / Institute family as it is for any other business. We are happy to deploy our resources towards the Ventures which, at best, are low-income-producing, and are more often just at break even.

The consultant fees are presently $3,150 of which $1,200 is for Training, and the remaining $1,950 is for the Venture expenses in the host country (accommodation, transport, meals, etc.). Please note that the total Venture cost of $1,950 excludes any flight costs to South Africa/ Indonesia/ India. You may pay for your flights, or use frequent flyer miles. Be sure to get appropriate travel insurance. 

Other Financial Investments
The clients also pay a fee to participate in the Venture and this generally varies by location and size of the business. Our goal is to cover the cost of the hotel/conference facility, the meals during the day when clients are with us, and the cost of client materials. Where there is a gain from a Venture, it goes towards future running costs of rēp for a particular location. Client fees vary from $650 to $3,500 depending on the location. Our experience has taught us that clients are more committed to implementation when they pay a fee.