Expensify.org/hunger to reimburse families in need during COVID-19 crisis

David Barrett
David Barrett Expensify Team Posts: 40 Expensify Team
edited June 2020 in Expensify news

Update June 2020: [NEW] We're no longer accepting new participants as our focus is on reimbursing existing claims. Thanks for your understanding!

The number of families signing up for reimbursement has vastly outnumbered the limited funds available. Though we’re unable to provide a specific timeline on when your report will be reimbursed, we’re doing our best to drive donations and keep reimbursements moving forward. Rest assured, we’ll review every report that has been submitted per our instructions.

If you know anyone who can donate to this campaign please direct them to Expensify.org/donate.

These are unprecedented times, and it's inspiring to see communities rising to the challenge. However, not everyone has the resources to "shelter in place" especially the millions of people in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Living paycheck to paycheck is hard when millions of businesses around the nation are closing down indefinitely, and hourly workers (including those dependent upon tips) are the hardest hit. In particular, families with kids whose primary meals happen at school are especially vulnerable when those schools shut down.

With this in mind, Expensify.org is going to temporarily redirect all of its charitable funds to Expensify.org/hunger. With its ability to reimburse volunteers directly in real-time, Expensify.org is uniquely positioned to help families in need immediately. Until today, this fund was focused on paying off kids' "lunch debts" , but with schools closed around the nation, that isn't the top priority. Instead, we're devoting everything to a new program: matching SNAP grocery purchases (dated March 1, 2020 or later) up to $50 per family. It works like this:

  1. Purchase food as normal with your SNAP card
  2. Download Expensify on iOS or Android, for free
  3. SmartScan the receipt, which will tell us how much you paid and show that it was paid for with an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card
  4. Submit it to [email protected]
  5. Set up your bank account to receive the funds
  6. So long as we have funds available, we will reimburse up to $50 per family (one time), the very next day.

To be clear, we can't commit to reimbursing every single person in need — we have no idea how many people will do this, and unfortunately, we don't have unlimited funds. We also don't know how long this crisis will last and how far our brand new charity's resources will stretch. But we're going to do what we can with the funds donated on behalf of Expensify Cardholders via the Karma Points feature, as well as by the extremely generous donors who have signed up for our Corporate and Personal Karma programs.

This is a truly global crisis, and it is only beginning. We all need to work together to weather the storm, and on behalf of Expensify.org's many generous members, we're eager to help.

-david

President of Expensify.org

PS: If you're able to donate to helping those in the program or know someone who can, please share this with them. Helping our local communities is what Expensify.org is all about!

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