The American Exchange Project (AEP) is seeking the support of governors, state legislators, philanthropists, and philanthropic organizations to launch an initiative in their home states that will connect young people across the country in a domestic exchange experience that can help unite our nation in a time of great division.

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What is AEP?

To connect our divided country, the American Exchange Project sends high school seniors on a free, week-long trip to a hometown very different from their own. This life-changing domestic exchange experience generates bonds of friendship and understanding among the students who participate, and also among the families and community members who welcome them to their hometown. The organization has been sending students on domestic exchanges since 2021. Sixty-four high schools in thirty-five states have committed to sending their students on exchanges in 2024. 

What is the States United Initiative?

Through the States United Initiative, elected leaders, philanthropists, and philanthropic organizations will partner with AEP to launch the program within their home state. In the pilot year, more than 100 students will travel from their home state through AEP, while another 100 travel to the partner state. Most students will travel across the country, while some may travel between divided regions of their own state on a journey to discover what life is like for their fellow Americans. States United partners will be at the forefront of a movement to combat polarization and reignite civic pride and enthusiasm in our nation’s young people. This initiative offers an unprecedented opportunity to hometowns and their students, and serves as a beacon of hope to a divided country.

The Pilot Year: Scope and Costs

PARTICIPATION

In each state’s first year, AEP and the state’s Hosting Committee will enlist ten high schools that will each recruit twelve students to travel and host families for their local exchange. After this pilot year, AEP will work with statewide partners to develop a strategy to scale the program to one day provide experience to every student in your state that wishes to participate.

THE EXCHANGE EXPERIENCE

Seniors from participating high schools will be eligible to travel to any of AEP’s partner hometowns–roughly 75 in nearly 40 states–in the summer of 2025. They will also host travelers in their own hometowns. A portion of the pilot program’s students will also travel between divided regions of their own states. Click here to discover what an AEP week looks like.

HOSTING COMMITTEE

AEP will appoint a volunteer Hosting Committee of elected officials, and state-level leaders in education and philanthropy to oversee the initiative in their state. The Hosting Committee will select partner schools, help secure state-level partnerships, and work with AEP’s national staff on fundraising, programming, and scaling.

COST

The total cost per state for this initiative is $400,000 and it covers all flights, meals, planning, programming, and the stipend for a local high school teacher in each participating school who serves as the school’s Exchange Manager.

VISION

The States United Initiative 2025 pilot is the first step to one day offering every student in your state a free domestic exchange, cultivating generations of more connected Americans.

For more information or to register your state, please contact Lacey Buck at lbuck@americanexchangeproject.org.