as of December 2017February 2019

Resolution establishing the travel fund, March 2014

WHEREAS the interests of the Democrats Abroad organization are best served when guided by the diverse and representative voices of our membership;

WHEREAS in-person participation is critical to making one’s voice heard;

WHEREAS many active members cannot participate in person due to the high cost of attending international meetings;

BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party Committee Abroad (DPCA) set up an internal travel fund for those DPCA members with demonstrable need and proven commitment to the organization;

AND LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that the International Chairperson, in consultation with the International Treasurer and the DPCA Executive Committee, will set the amount of such stipend;

AND LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that the International Chairperson will appoint a committee to design and implement a transparent mechanism to request and accept applications for the stipend in a timely manner and with a preference for a registration contribution on a voluntary basis.

Establishing and Governing the DPCA Travel Fund

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Conditions of the Award:  Travel Fund Awards will be granted to recipients by the International Treasurer at the DPCA Global Meeting as reimbursement to ensure that the recipients are physically present at the meeting.  Recipients are required to provide travel-related receipts to the Travel Fund Committee Chair and International Treasurer no later than two weeks in advance of the DPCA Global Meeting.  Recipients are required to attend, in person, the DPCA Global Meeting in its entirety.  Failure to attend the meeting in full, absent a genuine and verifiable emergency, will result in forfeiture of the Award.  Awards will not be prorated for partial meeting attendance.

Determining Recipients of Travel Fund Awards

1. Invalid and or late applications are discarded by the Chair of the committee.  Furthermore  Furthermore, the Chair reserves the right to verify past DPCA Global Meeting attendance and service to Democrats Abroad with the DPCA International Secretary and/or relevant regional and local officials, and to reject applications determined to contain false information.
2. All members of the committee read all valid applications and meet once to discuss the applications.
3. All members of the committee rank all valid applications in order (1, 2, 3, 4…), submitting their ranks secretly to the Chair of the committee.
4. The Chair of the committee sums all the ranks for each applicant to determine an overall ranking.
   1. In the event that more multiple applications have an equal aggregate ranking, the Chair of the committee shall determine the order between them.
   2. In the event two recipients are from the same Country Committee, the award of the lower-ranked individual will be offered to the next highest-ranked individual not from a Country Committee already represented among the recipients.
5. The committee shall award $500 to each selected applicant, beginning with the applicant receiving the lowest numerical score, until less than $500 is left in the fund. The remainder is left in the fund for the next in-person DPCA Global Meeting.
6. The Chair of the committee will contact each potential recipient in order.
   1. If a recipient states that he or she will not attend the meeting, then $500 will be awarded to the next highest-ranked applicant, taking into consideration applicants falling under 4(b).
7. Under no circumstances should the committee increase the amount awarded to an applicant or even inquire whether a larger award would allow an applicant to travel. Any money not awarded due to lack of valid applicants or applicants willing to attend should be kept for the next DPCA Global Meeting.
8. The names of award recipients shall be publicized through appropriate DPCA channels, including the DPCA Leadership group and at the Global Meeting.
9. The Chair of the committee should request the record of attendance from the International Secretary as soon as practical after the meeting and submit a full report to the International Chair for the use of the next Chair of the Travel Fund Committee.

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