One application will apply to all available Travel Grants/Funds. The following guidelines will be used by the NAOSMM Awards Committee to determine which applicants will receive which Grant/Fund. Grants and Funds may include the Sigma-Aldrich Professional Training Fund Award, the Thermo Fisher Nalge Nunc Professional Training Fund Award, the VWR Travel Grant, Newsline Advertising Funds, the NAOSMM Seminar and Trade Show Attendance Grants and other funding/grants as they become available.

1. Applicants must be a regular NAOSMM member with current year's dues paid.
2. New members are strongly encouraged to apply and are given preference for all Grants/Awards. The Thermo Fisher Nalge Nunc Professional Training Fund is specifically designed for new members/first-time attendees.
3. Applicants must be currently employed at a stockroom/laboratory-related job or as purchasing agent of laboratory supplies by a university, college, private or corporate institution.
4. Applicants may request funding every year. However, those applicants that did not receive funding in the prior year will be given first priority.
5. Current Executive Board members and Awards Committee members are ineligible.
6. Members who receive full reimbursement from their employer to attend the conference are ineligible. A statement from the employer indicating the amount the institution will contribute is required.
7. All applications postmarked/faxed by April 20 will be given first consideration for funding. Those postmarked/faxed after April 20 will be considered only if funds become available.
8. Award amounts will vary per applicant's financial need and total funds available. Funds awarded are intended to defray lodging and/or transportation costs incurred by member's attendance. Awards do not cover meals or other incidentals. An out-of-pocket deductible will be determined each year depending on the amount of funding available and the number of applicants. The deductible will have a sliding scale, with first-time attendees paying the least out-of-pocket, and then Committee members level higher and finally general members with the highest out-of-pocket expense. Sharing a room with another member will decrease the out-of-pocket deductible for those members. Deciding to share a room after receiving an award for which you declared you wouldn’t share a room will result in the loss of reimbursement for one night’s stay at the room share rate.
9. Award recipient must register for conference by the June deadline.
10. Airfare will be reimbursed with the exception of seat selection charges.
11. Airfare, bus or train tickets must be purchased at least three weeks before travel.
12. Hotel stays other than in the conference city due to layovers will be reimbursed only if a reasonable explanation is given.
13. Only non–valet hotel parking fees will be covered by the travel award.
14. Recipients of travel funds are required to stay at the official designated conference hotel in order to be reimbursed for hotel expenses. Receipts submitted for reimbursement from non-conference hotels will not be funded.
15. Recipients of any award must attend at least three FULL days of the Conference. (Example: Monday-Wednesday or Tuesday-Thursday)
16. Applicants may request no more than 5 nights lodging compensation (or 6 nights if they are a Committee Chair whose attendance is required at the Sunday Board Meeting).
17. Applicants who have been given an award will be notified of the award amount in early June (sooner if possible) and will be recognized at the Vendor Lunch on Tuesday.
18. Award checks WILL NOT be distributed at the conference. Travel Award recipients are required to itemize and submit original receipts to the Awards Chair no later than August 15. Applicants are encouraged to submit receipts upon hotel checkout to an envelope provided at the front desk. Reimbursement checks will be mailed to recipients within four weeks after the conference.

Any NAOSMM member who meets these guidelines is encouraged to complete the application for travel funding and return it with the requested paragraph to the Awards Committee Chair by April 20 for consideration.