Dear Carol, So sorry to miss the call today. Please let me know if you do schedule another. I think I understand... On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 9:20 AM, Harsh, Carol <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Happy New Year!**** > > ** ** > > I trust you have had a restful sojourn and are eager to jump back into > work. We looking forward to our continued work with you and your council > over the course of 2012.**** > > ** ** > > As a follow up to my message about invoices and receipts, I want to remind > you of the opportunity to discuss these requirements with us on a > conference call this Thursday, January 5 at 2:00 and then again on > Wednesday, January 18 at 2:00.**** > > ** ** > > For this week’s call, five people have signed up to participate--Ellen > Terry (WA), Arden Williams (GA), Ryan and Mallory (IL), and Stacy Hoshino > (HI). If you have not yet notified me of your interest and would like to > join us on the call this week, please let me know so that I can send you > the phone number and instructions for the conference call.**** > > ** ** > > All the best,**** > > > Carol**** > > ** ** > > *From:* Harsh, Carol > *Sent:* Monday, December 19, 2011 11:35 AM > *To:* [log in to unmask] > *Subject:* invoices and receipts - IMPORTANT**** > > ** ** > > Dear MoMSers,**** > > ** ** > > I am sorry to hit you with this on a Monday morning, but I need to alert > you to some policy changes at the Smithsonian that will impact what we need > from your council in order to be reimbursed for travel and for STAR Funds. > **** > > ** ** > > With regard to travel, when vouchering out after a trip, we need the > following:**** > > **· **Original boarding passes **** > > **· **Original boarding pass receipt**** > > **· **Original receipts for any taxis, restaurants, etc.**** > > **· **Original hotel receipt with a zero balance (*not* the one > they slide under your door on the morning that you check out)**** > > **· **Original, signed travel expense documentation form with > receipts attached. This can’t be a PDF document sent to us by email, but > instead sent by regular mail.**** > > ** ** > > Just for clarification, in simple terms, the Smithsonian considers an > “original receipt” to be a document that is actually printed by the company > or the original source and includes the company name and/or logo. It cannot > be a PDF document. Even as more and more people purchase airline tickets > on line and get email documents from the airlines that indicate that a > ticket was purchased, this does not suffice as adequate documentation of > travel. **** > > ** ** > > If per chance you don’t get boarding passes or the boarding pass receipt > at the airport, then we will need to ask for a redacted credit card bill > showing the charge for the ticket or your frequent flyer mileage report > that shows mileage for the trip. **** > > ** ** > > If you are in the process of requesting reimbursement for travel to the > Federation’s conference in November and don’t have the proper original > receipts, please let me know and we will work together to find a reasonable > solution. **** > > ** ** > > You probably know by now that the documentation requirements for STAR > Funds has also been modified over the past few months. The purchase > orders we are writing for STAR Funds are actually “service contracts”. In > other words, we are contracting with your council to provide a certain > service that involves capacity building activities for the host > communities. So, vouchering out requires the following:**** > > **· **Documentation of the work done requires a report that > describes in detail the training that occurred as well as the benefit to > the host organization. **** > > **· **Agendas, participant lists, letters of support that > indicate the importance of the training to the community, etc. are all good > to have on file, but are not required. **** > > **· **Receipts for travel, lodging, etc are not required, but > should be kept on file by the councils as backup documentation if MoMS is > ever audited and additional information is needed. **** > > ** ** > > I can’t stress enough the importance of this information. The > Smithsonian’s Comptroller has been very clear that without this > documentation from this point forward we will not be able to reimburse your > council.**** > > ** ** > > So, just to make sure that all your questions may be answered, I am > scheduling a series of conference calls so that we can discuss these > changes with you. Hopefully this will help us avoid documentation > problems after the fact. **** > > **** > > Thursday, January 5, 2:00 PM (eastern standard time)**** > > Wednesday, January 18, 2:00 (eastern standard time)**** > > ** ** > > Please let me know if you want to participate in one of these > conversations and I will send you instructions for calling in to the > conference call. If you are unable to participate in either of these > calls, please let me know and we can add another time and date for a call. > **** > > ** ** > > In the end, these requirements are simple to follow. We just need to fine > tune the way we operate and successfully communicate these changes to all > of you. And, service contracts for the STAR Funds will enable us to > capture the details of the content of the training as well as lasting > legacy of improved practices at the local level. It makes so much more > sense for us to be focusing on that, rather than the minutia of small > receipts.**** > > ** ** > > I would love to hear from you with your reaction to all of us. My goal > for the new year is to get all of this behind us so that together we can > continue to impact the cultural arena of small towns across the United > States.**** > > ** ** > > So, it is in total admiration for the good work that you continue to do > that I wish you a blessed and restful holiday.**** > > ** ** > > All the best,**** > > > Carol**** > > ** ** > > Carol G. Harsh**** > > Director, Museum on Main Street**** > > Smithsonian Institution, SITES**** > > 202-633-5333**** > > 202-465-5267 (cell)**** > > 202-633-5344 (fax)**** > > ** ** > *Josephine Jones | Director of Programs & Center for the Book* | [log in to unmask] | f 303 864 9361 | p 303 894 7951 x15 | coloradohumanities.org Please note our new address in the Denver Technological Center: 7935 East Prentice Avenue, Suite 450, Greenwood Village, CO 80111 Please friend us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Colorado-Humanities-Center-for-the-Book/121288547908926> Teague Bohlen visits Sterling, Margaret Coel joins us for DINE and Hasan Davis as Angus Augustus Burleigh and Dennis Boggs as Lincoln bring the Civil War to life. Details coloradohumanities.org