A travel policy is the rule book everyone travels by. For a nonprofit it does two jobs: it keeps travel safe, fair and affordable, and it shows funders, auditors and the board that travel spending is controlled. This guide goes through what each section should cover. When you are ready to write, the policy builder produces a draft from your answers.
1. Purpose and scope
Say who the policy covers (staff, board members, volunteers, consultants, program participants and guests whose travel you pay for) and what counts as organization travel. Different travelers can have different rules; say which rules apply to whom.
2. Booking
Say how travel must be booked (for example, through your travel management company) and how far ahead. Central booking is what makes the rest of the policy enforceable: it is where options are checked, approvals happen and costs are coded.
3. Approval
Set who approves which trips, and when approval is needed: by trip type (domestic, international), cost, destination risk or funding source. Name roles, not people. Approvers of grant-funded trips should know the award's travel terms.
4. Class of travel
State the standard (commonly economy for air) and when exceptions apply (long flights, medical needs, accessibility). Federal award rules on airfare are in 2 CFR 200.475; check your award terms.
5. Lodging
Set a nightly limit or a benchmark. Many US organizations use GSA per diem rates as a reference for lodging and meals by location. Say what happens when a conference hotel or a safe, accessible option costs more.
6. Meals and incidentals
Choose between a per diem (a fixed daily amount) and actual receipted costs, and say how partial days and provided meals are handled. Say plainly that alcohol is not reimbursed if that is your rule; it is commonly unallowable on federal awards.
7. Ground transport and mileage
Cover taxis, rideshare, rail, car rental and personal vehicles. For personal vehicles, many organizations reimburse at the IRS standard mileage rate ; say which rate you use and how mileage is recorded.
8. Grant-funded travel
Require that travel charged to a grant follows the award terms, and that where the award and the policy differ, the stricter rule applies. Require the purpose and the grant or program to be recorded when the trip is requested, and the basis of allocation when a trip serves more than one. See the grant-funded travel guide .
9. Duty of care
Say how the organization knows where travelers are (central booking), how travelers get help (24 hours a day, 7 days a week with silentVIP), what happens when an incident occurs, and how higher-risk destinations are approved. See the duty of care checklist .
10. Expenses and receipts
Set what needs a receipt, the deadline for submitting expenses and who reviews them. When travel is booked centrally and invoiced, those costs are already documented; the expense claim covers the rest.
11. Exceptions
Allow exceptions with a reason and an approver, and record them. Exceptions are normal; unrecorded exceptions are the problem.
12. Review
Name an owner and a review date (yearly is common), and have the board or finance committee approve it if your governance requires it.