Host Family Money Matters
From AFSWiki
Money Matters
The YES and FLEX scholarship provides all students with a monthly stipend of $125 per month, beginning with the first month after their arrival. In the following months, the stipend checks will arrive in the second week of every month. Should you encounter any problems regarding the stipend checks, please contact the Sponsored Programs Associate.
The scholarship also provides a specific amount of funding for each YES and FLEX student, called an Incidentals Allowance; this allowance is intended to help host families cover the additional costs associated with their YES and FLEX student’s participation in school and community life (i.e. activity participation fees, school event fees, school and personal supplies, weather specific clothing, yearbooks, etc). We request that you make the purchases on your hosted student’s behalf and submit the enclosed Incidentals Allowance Expense Report with receipts to be reimbursed. We encourage you to submit your expenses as the year progresses; there is no need to save them all for a one time, end of the year reimbursement. For further instructions, please see the below Reimbursement Guidelines.
IMPORTANT Please note the following:
- The funding for our year-long vs. our semester arriving students differs; those YES and FLEX students arriving in August will each receive a $300 incidental allowance while those YES students arriving in January (our semester YES students) will receive $150 in incidental funding.
- Also, please note that this allowance is not renewed should a student move to a new host family. If you receive a student into your home mid-way through the year/semester, please contact the Sponsored Programs Associate in order to know what funds remain in your YES and FLEX student’s incidental fund.
INCIDENTALS ALLOWANCE REIMBURSEMENT GUIDELINES
STEPS TO FOLLOW
- 1. Fill out an expense report on your student’s behalf, leaving gray areas blank. (Each expense must be accompanied by an original receipt).
- 2. Send the completed expense report form and original receipts to the AFS-USA National Service Center in New York (address below).
- 3. Please retain copies of the receipts and the expense report for your records should anything get lost in the mail.
- 4. The AFS-USA Finance Department will send a check payable to the person specified on the expense report. The turnaround time is approximately three weeks.
ALLOWABLE EXPENSES
- Allowable expenses include such things as: school or community based activities or fees, gym or school sport uniforms, outings with friends, clothing, personal hygiene products, long distance phone bills, etc.
NATIONAL SERVICE CENTER
ATTN: Sponsored Programs Associate
AFS-USA, Inc
One Whitehall Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10004
