The OpenJS Foundation’s community fund supports travel and attendance at events and activities directly related to OpenJS projects, technologies, or goals. We support travel for individuals who are:
- Collaborators
- Standards body participants
- At least 18 years old and recognized as adults in both the country of departure and the destination country, based on local laws (ref: Age of Majority)
Note
If you're speaking at an event, you should apply through the OpenJS Foundation's Speakers Bureau instead.
The fund can cover the costs, in whole or in part, of a participant's hotel, transportation, and event registration for approved events. Applicants should explore employer-sponsored funding options as their first source of financial support. Additionally, 25% of the community fund is allocated specifically to support underrepresented groups. Funding decisions are determined by a combination of need and potential impact.
All travel fund requests are treated confidentially: only CPC members and OpenJS Foundation staff have access to the requests. Expense reports are managed according to the Foundation's Privacy Policy.
In 2023, 26 funding requests were made by 22 contributors for a total requested sum of $47,500 with a maximum of 2 requests per contributor. Requested sums per trip ranged from $750 to $5,750, with a median of $1,525 and an average of $1,825. Requested sums per individual ranged from $1,000 to $7,350, with a median of $1,950 and an average of $2,150. All requests were granted.
For 2024, $60,000 was allocated to the fund.
All amounts are in United States dollars.
Valid travel expenses are:
- Airfare, train, or ferry tickets in economy/coach class only
- Accommodations (Dates of the event plus one night prior are eligible for reimbursement)
- Ground transportation to/from the airport
NOTE: Funds may not be used for miscellaneous travel expenses including food, visa costs, non-airport transportation, baggage fees, etc. Generally, registration can be reimbursed if the attendee is speaking on behalf of OpenJS, the CPC, or OpenJS-hosted projects. Funding is not transferable to another person, or any other event.
Submit your travel fund request to the Cross Project Council (CPC) by completing this application. Please see Deadlines and Timelines for information about cut-off dates.
The CPC will review requests as soon as possible, usually in the next CPC private session (every 2 weeks). You will be notified by email if your request is approved or denied. Only approved requests are eligible for reimbursement.
After the event, kindly submit your expenses within 30 days.
Note
The faster expenses are submitted, the faster any leftover funds can be reallocated to allow additional people to travel. So please submit your expenses as quickly as possible. Thank you!
Please note that expenses without receipts can not be paid.
Payments are processed within 30 days.
The default deadline for submitting a community fund request is 8 weeks prior to the travel date to allow for all requests for an event to be reviewed at the same time. If you've missed a deadline, or if a deadline was impossible to meet, please submit your request anyway, explaining why you weren't able to meet the deadline if possible.
Some events might have a fixed deadline for applications. Those deadlines will be posted below.
- Pending requests will be sent to the private CPC mailing list prior to the review meeting. In the context of the lazy consensus process, the pending request list is a proposal to accept all of the requests. CPC members may raise any objections before the scheduled meeting, otherwise a final decision to approve a request can be confirmed in the meeting.
- The CPC will use a scoring rubric to help with decision making.
- If any requests are rejected, an email with the rejected requests will be sent to the private CPC mailing list and CPC members will have 2 days to object before the decision is confirmed. Approved requests will be confirmed right away.
The following rubric is used by the CPC to aid in deciding which requests to approve. The rubric is subject to change.
| Item | Score |
|---|---|
| Reason For Travel: OpenJS Project, Collab Space, or CPC, OpenJS Related Event | +3 |
| Primary Reason For Attendance: Leading, Presenting, Or Panelist | +5 |
| What OpenJS Hosted Project(s) Do You Contribute To (1 or more) | +1 |
| Role: TSC, Core, or Active | +1 |
| DEI: Identifies as from any underrepresented group | +3 |
| Total Amount Requested Less Than X (e.g. $1,500) | +1 |
Please direct any questions to operations@openjsf.org or reach out to Foundation staff on the OpenJS Foundation Slack.