Updated 1 June 2018

IGAC Travel Grant Guidlines pdf

The IGAC International Project Office is hosted by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES) at the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO USA.  Therefore, IGAC Travel Grant Guidelines adhere to the CIRES Travel Guidelines, which are governed by the USA Federal and State of Colorado governments.  All travel documents and receipts will first go through the IGAC International Project Office (megan@igacproject.org) for approval before being sent to the CIRES Travel Office.

PROCEDURE:

1. If your travel grant covers airfare please read “FLIGHT ARRANGEMENTS” below and get a quote for one of the two options.
2. Fill out the IGAC Travel Grant Form to accept the IGAC Travel Grant.
3. IGAC will submit a Non-Employee Travel Request form to CIRES.
4. You will receive an email from CIRES saying that your travel has been approved.
5. You can tell CBT to book your flights or you can purchase your airfare.
6. Enjoy the IGAC event.
7. If applicable to your travel grant, send megan@igacproject.org scanned copies of your lodging and ground transportation receipts following the IGAC event.
8. If you are not a U.S. citizen, send megan@igacproject.org a copy of your passport and a filled out, signed and dated W8-BEN Form. If you are not a U.S. citizen AND traveled to the U.S., include a copy of your U.S. entry stamp, I-94 form, and a compliance statement.
9. IGAC will send you a filled out reimbursement form for you to sign, please sign, date and send this form back to megan@igacproject.org.
10. IGAC will file the reimbursement form with CIRES.
11. Expect a reimbursement within 4 weeks from the date the forms are filed.

FLIGHT ARRANGEMENTS:

There are two options for flight arrangements:    

1. You can opt to have IGAC pay directly for your flights by contacting Christopherson Business Travel (CBT) and requesting a quote for airfare. Please cc megan@igacproject.org on the email to CBT.

Christopherson Business Travel – Contact Information:

• Phone: 303-694-8744
• Toll Free Phone: 1-855-462-8885
• Emergency After Hours: 1-800-787-2390 (must reference service code AI79)
• International Emergency After Hours: 1-818-575-4313 (collect call using service code AI79)
• Email: Jay.Burghardt@cbtravel.com

2. You also have the option to purchase your own plane ticket and claim reimbursement after the trip.  Email your airfare quote to IGAC (megan@igacproject.org) before purchasing your tickets to ensure the airfare is reimbursable. If your itinerary is not approved by IGAC, it is likely you will not be able to get reimbursed.

If personal time is being taken, you must provide IGAC with two quotes for airfare, one for just flying for the dates of the IGAC event and one for the actual itinerary you want to book. If personal time includes travel to additional destinations that are not the IGAC event destination, you must arrive at and depart from the IGAC event destination. Additional personal travel to a non-IGAC event destination, including airfare and/or ground transportation, must be paid by out-of-pocket and cannot be reimbursed by IGAC. If your desired itinerary costs more than the quote for flying to just attend the IGAC event, IGAC will only cover the price of the airfare for the quote for just attending the workshop.  If your desired itinerary costs less than the quote for flying to just attend the IGAC event, IGAC will only cover the lower price of your desired itinerary. 

LODGING:

If your travel grant includes lodging, IGAC will reimburse hotel expenses following the IGAC Event with a hotel invoice showing the balance is zero and the payment method sent to megan@igacproject.org.

GROUND TRANSPORTATION:

If your travel grant includes ground transportation, IGAC will reimburse you for ground transportation for to/from airports only.  You must send receipts to megan@igacproject.org following the IGAC events.

PER DIEM:

If your travel grant includes per diem, the amount of per diem you will receive is calculated by the CIRES travel office. You will receive reimbursement for this amount following the IGAC event.  Please make sure to notify megan@igacproject.org if any meals were included in the IGAC event.

1. Receipts for meals are not required if you have been granted per diem as part of your travel grant.
2. Per diem rates are based on the U.S. federal per diem allowance by location.  (Per diem on travel days is 75% of the daily rate.)  The per diem rate will be noted on the travel approval email that you will receive from CIRES. Note: per diem rates at the time of approval are subject to change.
3. You can find information regarding Foreign Currency Exchange Rates at: http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/

This is the site recommended by IGAC for calculating basic exchange rates.

*Note: If you have a bank statement showing the actual charges in your local currency you will be reimbursed based on this.  Foreign transaction fees are not reimbursed under state travel rules. The meal per diem is intended to be generous enough to cover what is termed “incidentals.”

OTHER:

If your travel grant includes items such as registration or visa fees, these expenses can only be reimbursed.  Following the IGAC event, please send megan@igacproject.org invoices for these items.

RULES REGARDING FOREIGN NATIONALS and CANADIAN CITIZENS:

In addition to scanned receipts, foreign nationals and Canadian citizens traveling TO the United States will need to provide the following to claim reimbursement:

1. Get and send your I-94 card.
2. Complete and sign the Compliance Statement document. 

3. Copy of passport photo page and passport entry stamp (IMPORTANT: entry stamp must show business status, B1 or WB).
4. Completed, signed W8-BEN.  (W8-BEN Instructions)

In addition to scanned receipts, foreign nationals and Canadian citizens traveling anywhere BUT the United Stated just need to provide:


1. Copy of passport photo page
2. Completed, signed W8-BEN.  (W8-BEN Instructions)

Bank Account Information:

The University of Colorado will ONLY issue reimbursement via wire transfer IF the amount is over $500 USD. Otherwise, the University of Colorado will send you a check.  If your reimbursement is over $500 and you would like to receive the funds via a wire transfer, please send the following bank information to megan@igacproject.org.

Primary Bank Information

Bank Name

Bank Address

SWIFT BIC

IRC/SQRT Code (if applicable)

IBAN Code (if applicable)

CLABE Code (Mexico only)

Account Number

Account Name

Correspondent Bank Information (if applicable)

Account Number

Account Name

ABA/SWIFT BIC