Travel Fund Policies

Please read the Travel Fund Policy details below. If your question is not answered on this page, please contact travelfund@linuxfoundation.org for assistance.

• Attendance is required in order to be reimbursed. If our onsite registration system does not show you as ‘checked in’, you will be asked to provide proof of attendance in order to be reimbursed.
  • Community Event travel fund recipients must show proof of attendance (ie: picture of your badge or picture of you at the event with event signage).
• Travel Fund Policy Violations include:
  • Submitting receipts for reimbursement when you did not attend
  • Applying for travel funding again under aliases/other emails after violation
  • Repeated abuse of the system (submitting receipts that are not reimbursable)
  • Applying for, receiving and submitting receipts for reimbursement for overlapping events (ie ‘double dipping’)

Violations will result in a permanent ban from receiving travel funding for any Linux Foundation or Linux Foundation Project event in the future. 

**Important: This is a general overview. Please refer to your acceptance email regarding exactly what your travel fund approval includes.

Receipts:

• Please provide scanned receipts
• Actual receipts required; screenshot from a credit card statement will not be accepted
• Expenditures will not be reimbursed without a receipt
• Receipts must show dates and payment amounts
• Book refundable travel. Receipts will not be reimbursed if you are unable to attend the event and have booked unrefundable travel.

Airfare charges:

• Provide flight itinerary AND ticket cost with the form of payment detailed. Copies of boarding passes are welcome.
• Round trip tickets are required for airfare reimbursements.
• We will NOT reimburse for travel insurance, seat selection, upgrades or baggage fees.

Accommodation charges: (Dates of the event plus one night prior to the event start date are eligible for reimbursement). Please refer to your acceptance email for what nights are covered.

• Provide hotel / airbnb / hostel charges for each night of stay (room rate + tax only) 
• If sharing accommodation, please let us know the names of the person(s) you are sharing with in advance.
• We will only reimburse accommodations within the official event dates plus one night prior to the event. All stays outside of those dates will NOT be reimbursed.
• We will NOT reimburse for meals, phone charges, dry cleaning, mini bar items or bottled water.

Ground Transportation charges:

• Bus, Train, Taxi, and ride shares to/from the airport (a total of 4 ways) are eligible for reimbursement
• We will NOT reimburse for seat upgrades, town cars, Luxury ride shares, parking, or mileage. Rides from accommodation to/from the event are not reimbursable.

Miscellaneous expenses:

• Expenses such as visa fees, telephone, rental cars, transaction fees, conversion fees, bank fees and meals will NOT be reimbursed.

Conversion rates:

• When travel is outside the United States, show the conversion rate used and the date it was used, This can be written on your receipts.

You should have received an email from Expensify saying you’ve been added to the “Travel Fund Policy”. If you did not receive it or can’t find it, please set up an Expensify account at www.expensify.com using the email your Travel Fund acceptance was sent to.

After setting up your account, you can select the “Travel Fund Policy” in the upper left-hand corner of your Expensify:

The Linux Foundation requires that U.S. individuals add their U.S. bank details directly to Expensify and international (non-U.S.) individuals receive reimbursements via wire transfer. Instructions on how to create / submit your expense report and instructions on how to submit a wire transfer form can be found here:
https://docs.linuxfoundation.org/travel-funding-reimbursement/-M8uloQrson6hoLK6D51/
Wire Transfer Forms can be submitted as a $0 expense item or as a comment on the expense reports directly.

Please note: Expensify automatically prompts for a U.S. bank account or a “global reimbursement policy.” If you are an international (non-U.S.) individual, you can disregard this automatic update and provide The Linux Foundation a wire transfer form on your report.

• Do not submit your expense report for review until the event has completed and receipts are confirmed as final. Expense reports will not be reviewed until post-event when the travel fund team has verified your onsite participation in the event.
• Expense reports and receipts must be submitted within 45 days of completion of travel.  If we do not receive your receipts within 45 days of the completion of the event, we will not be able to reimburse you. You will be reimbursed within 45 business days after your final expense report has been submitted and approved.
• Please refer to your acceptance email regarding what your travel fund approval includes.