The AVA Summit is highly dependent on generous donors who provide us with funding for travel awards, and we need to provide proof of their spending, collect receipts, and respect our fiscal sponsor’s banking procedures.
 

Please read the details below to ensure an adequate understanding of how to use this award, reimbursement details, and award limitations and guidelines.

For Domestic and International Awardees
The travel award covers travel (airplane, train, bus, uber, lyft, public transportation) and venue hotel accommodation. for international and domestic awardees for the dates of the AVA Summit/AFAD event. 

• Please use the banking form sent to you to tell us how to wire the award to you. 

• The award will be split up into two equal transfers.
  Receipts, such as flight and hotel, that equal or surpass the scholarship amount are required for our records.
  If your flight and accommodation exceed your Travel Award, we will cover the amount you’ve been granted for your Travel Award. If your flight and accommodation expenses do not meet the entirety of your Travel Award, the AVA Summit will honor the amount of total expenses that were used for travel and accommodations.
  All reimbursements will be sent directly to the receipt holder of the travel awardee without any exceptions.
  If you have made the decision to share your hotel room (or any expenses) with one or a group of individuals, it is your responsibility to navigate how you will disburse the reimbursement amongst yourselves.
  The Travel Award Scholarship does not cover additional meals and snacks throughout the duration of the AVA Summit, as most meals are included in your ticket.

 

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For International Awardees
The travel award covers travel (airplane, train, bus, uber, lyft, public transportation), visa fees, travel insurance, and venue accommodation for international awardees for the dates of the AVA Summit/AFAD event.
All travel awardees must have a valid passport and visa to accept the travel award. If a visa invitation letter is required, please email Travel@AVASummit.com.

The AVA Summit recognizes that many international awardees will fly across the globe to speak or attend the Summit. Therefore, we anticipate that you may arrive a bit earlier due to unforeseen circumstances, such as delayed visas, delayed/canceled flights, or even one night early to synchronize with a new timezone. For this reason, we are allowing a 1-2 day window to the international AVA Summit travel awardees. This will be reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis.

Awardees will be given an attendee registration code that allows them to register at the lowest possible rate during the window in which your application was submitted.
 

Applications submitted after the transitional ticket tier window will receive a discounted Standard ticket registration code.

For Domestic Awardees
The travel award covers travel (airplane, train, bus, uber, lyft, public transportation) and venue accommodation for awardees through the dates of the AVA Summit/AFAD event(s).
The AVA Summit does not cover travel or accommodation costs outside of the AVA Summit/AFAD events.

Awardees will be given an attendee registration code that allows them to register at the lowest possible rate during the window in which your application was submitted. Applications submitted after the Early Bird ticket tier has closed will receive a discounted Standard registration code.

We understand that sometimes things happen outside of the parameters listed above. All such cases will be reviewed by the AVA Summit team, and you will be notified of the verdict as soon as one is made. Please allow up to 7 days for the review process.

Email Travel@AVASummit.com to start the process, or for any questions or comments that you may have.

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Reimbursement Process

We will email you a reimbursement form and expense report template to complete to receive the second half of your travel award after the conference.  In the meantime, please familiarize yourself with the process and steps below, and feel free to prepare your receipts as described below.

Please read and follow the instructions below to ensure your Travel Awards can be disbursed as soon as possible. Please allow up to 30 business days from the date you submit the expense report for reimbursement. 
 

Please follow the exact procedure described below. We will not accept receipts emailed directly to us or in a different format. Thank you!
 

Step 1: Create a copy of the Expense Report.

Add each of your expenses in a separate line in the expense report (e.g.  Flight from California to D.C. - $365.48, Hotel Reservation 2 nights - $533.23). 

 

Step 2: Export the Expense Report as a PDF. Click on File > Download > PDF Document.

 

Step 3: Gather Supporting Documents ***

Assemble PDF copies of all relevant receipts (flights, hotels, transportation).

 

Step 4: Merge the expense report PDF and the receipts into a single file, ensuring they are in the correct order. You can do this online at https://smallpdf.com/merge-pdf. 

 

Step 5: Submit the Merged PDF through the Reimbursement Form

Upload the single merged PDF file according to the submission guidelines. Do not upload individual receipts or documents separately.

 

***Please ensure that you are uploading a verifiable receipt. A screenshot of your hotel booking or of your flight reservation is not a receipt. 

The receipt should include: 

1. Your name

2. The date of payment

3. Vendor Name

4. The proof of payment confirmation including the last 4 digits of the card used for your purchase.
    

***If your flight and accommodation exceed your Travel Award, we will cover the amount that you’ve received as a Travel Award. If your flight and accommodation expenses do not meet the entirety of your Travel Award, the AVA Summit will honor the amount of total expenses that were used for travel and accommodations.

 

Remember that AVA International will not reimburse you for food or your event ticket.

 

Please be patient, we are working to get your reimbursements to you as soon as we can. Thank you for your understanding!