If you are in the US on an R-1 missionary visa and you are supported rather than receiving a regular salary, remember that you are allowed to do Deputized Fundraising for your employer.   That is fundraising where the supporter gives the money directly to your employer rather than to you.   Under the tax law as I understand it (I am an immigration lawyer, not a tax lawyer), the money has to be given to the employer without any direction from the supporter.   But often there is a way to let the employer know who you want to support.   Then the employer often passes the money on to the missionary (maybe with a small amount taken out for administrative fees).    This is very common among mission organizations in the United States.

The reason this is important is that as an R-1 missionary, it is good if you can file tax returns each year.   And if you want to file tax returns each year, you will need income from your R-1 employer each year and you will need a W-2 form or a 1099 form from your R-1 employer each year.   Remember that you can only work for your R-1 employer, so you can only get salary/compensation from your R-1 employer (I will talk about foreign donations in a later post).