Calling all FreeBSD developers needing assistance with travel expenses to BSDCan 2013.
The
FreeBSD Foundation will be providing a limited number of travel grants
to individuals requesting assistance. Please fill out and submit the Travel Grant Request Application by April 17, 2013 to apply for this grant.
This
program is open to FreeBSD developers of all sorts (kernel hackers,
documentation authors, bugbusters, system administrators, etc). In
some cases we are also able to fund non-developers, such as active
community members and FreeBSD advocates.
- You request funding
based on a realistic and economical estimate of travel costs (economy
airfare, trainfare, ...), accommodations (conference hotel and sharing a
room), and registration or tutorial fees. If there are other sponsors
willing to cover costs, such as your employer or the conference, we
prefer you talk to them first, as our budget is limited. We are happy
to split costs with you or another sponsor, such as just covering
airfare or board. If you are a speaker at the conference, we
expect the conference to cover your travel costs, and will most likely
not approve your direct request to us.
- We review your
application and if approved, authorize you to seek reimbursement up to a
limit. We consider several factors, including our overall and
per-event budgets, and (quite importantly) the benefit to the community
by funding your travel. Most rejected applications are rejected
because of an over-all limit on travel budget for the event or year, due
to unrealistic or uneconomical costing, or because there is an unclear
or unconvincing argument that funding the applicant will directly
benefit the FreeBSD Project. Please take these points into consideration
when writing your application.
- We reimburse costs based on
actuals (receipts), and by check or bank transfer. And, we do not cover
your costs if you end up having to cancel your trip. We also do not
cover meal/food/alcohol expenses. We require you to submit a report on
your trip, which we may show to current or potential sponsors, and may
include in our semi-annual newsletter and our blog.
There's some
flexibility in the mechanism, so talk to us if something about the model
doesn't quite work for you or if you have any questions. The travel
grant program is one of the most effective ways we can spend money to
help support the FreeBSD Project, as it helps developers get together in
the same place at the same time, and helps advertise and advocate
FreeBSD in the larger community.
