American Exchange Project
American Exchange Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs a free two-week domestic exchange program for high school seniors, pairing a Travel Week in a different U.S. community with a Hometown Week hosting peers, funded entirely by foundation grants and individual donations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersChestnut Hill, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What American Exchange Project does
American Exchange Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, founded in 2019 by David McCullough III (CEO) and Paul Solman (Chair of the Board), with the late Robert R. Glauber as cofounder. The organization runs a free two-week domestic exchange program for high school seniors on track to graduate from partner high schools. The program is structured around a reciprocity model: each student spends one Travel Week immersed in an American community different from their own and one Hometown Week hosting peers from across the country in their own town. All essential costs—flights, meals, activities, lodging, and transportation—are covered, and the program is 100% free to participants, schools, and host families.
Operations are facilitated by Exchange Managers (typically educators at partner schools), host families, and volunteers across 100+ partner towns spanning all major U.S. regions. AEP has served 1,500+ students to date and reports strong participant outcomes, including a 100% recommendation rate and an average of three new cross-country friendships per participant. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors that includes former MacArthur Foundation President Jonathan Fanton, Yale Sterling Professor of Law Akhil Amar, and UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus Arlie Hochschild, lending academic and institutional credibility.
The organization does not sell products; it is funded entirely by donations from foundations and individuals, supported by a diversified revenue stack that includes foundation grants (Hearthland Foundation as cornerstone; Carnegie Corporation of New York; Bezos Family Foundation; Milken Family Foundation; Stand Together Trust; Omidyar Network; Rockefeller Foundation; Lubetzky, Shapiro, and Rosenzweig Coopersmith family foundations), individual giving (including Donorbox-powered recurring donations, stock and crypto gifts, and corporate matches), donor-advised fund grants, in-kind contributions, and United Airlines miles. The technology stack is intentionally lean—Squarespace-hosted website, Salesforce CRM, Donorbox for donations, Stripe/PayPal/Apple Pay for payments, and Google Analytics—with no proprietary platform. The core product is delivered as a single integrated service, with no paid tiers or modular add-ons.
American Exchange Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- American Exchange Project
- Legal name
- The American Exchange Project, Inc.
- Website
- https://americanexchangeproject.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- American Exchange Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs a free two-week domestic exchange program for high school seniors, pairing a Travel Week in a different U.S. community with a Hometown Week hosting peers, funded entirely by foundation grants and individual donations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
American Exchange Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Youth Intercultural Exchange Programs
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Short-Term Secondary Immersion & Cultural Exchange Trips (EDAIAHAD)
Keywords
Where American Exchange Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chestnut Hill
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
American Exchange Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Foundation Grants: Major funding from foundations including Hearthland Foundation (cornerstone partner), Carnegie Corporation of New York, Bezos Family Foundation, Milken Family Foundation, and Stand Together Trust. These grants support program operations, Exchange Manager training, and expansion.
- Individual Donations: Hundreds of individual donors across the United States contribute to the program. Includes major gifts, multi-year pledges, and smaller recurring donations through Donorbox.
- Crowdfunding for Specific Exchanges: Donors can direct gifts to specific exchanges via dedicated crowdfunding pages, funding travel expenses, activity costs, and host community support at a hyperlocal level.
- Corporate Matching Gifts: Many employers match charitable gifts from employees, retirees, and spouses. AEP provides a matching gift search tool for donors.
- In-Kind Gifts: Program enhancements, event tickets, transportation, meals, accommodations, and airline miles donated by individuals and businesses reduce operational costs.
- Stock and Cryptocurrency Donations: Donors can contribute stock options or cryptocurrency via Donorbox platform.
- United Miles on a Mission: United MileagePlus members can donate miles to support student flights. Campaign runs June-August 2026 with 520,000 mile goal.
- Donor-Advised Fund Grants: Grants recommended from DAFs through Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, BNY Mellon, Vanguard Charitable, TIAA Charitable, National Philanthropic Trust, and Goldman Sachs DAF.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | One time | $2,500 sponsors a full exchange (one student's Travel and Hometown Weeks) |
| Other | One time | $750 sponsors a student's Travel Week flight |
| Other | One time | $500 bridges communities - funds group activities |
| Other | One time | $250 supports warm welcomes - host family stipends |
| Other | One time | $100 sponsors a connection - local activities |
| Other | One time | $50 fuels a day of discovery - meals |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
American Exchange Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
American Exchange Project delivers a free, fully funded two-week domestic intercultural exchange program for graduating U.S. high school seniors. Participants spend one Travel Week living with a host family in a community geographically, culturally, or ideologically different from their own, and one Hometown Week hosting peers from across America in their own town. All essential costs—flights, lodging, meals, local activities, and transportation—are covered through foundation grants and individual donations.
Product overview
American Exchange Project is a nonprofit organization offering a single, unified core program: a free two-week domestic exchange experience for high school seniors. The program consists of two coordinated phases—Travel Week (students spend one week in an American community different from their own) and Hometown Week (students host peers from across the country in their own community)—with all essentials fully funded through donor support. There are no modular add-ons, premium tiers, or separate product lines; the program is delivered as one integrated service through a network of partner high schools, Exchange Manager educators, host families, and community volunteers across dozens of U.S. towns.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- American Exchange Project Free Two-Week Domestic Exchange Program A free, fully funded two-week domestic intercultural exchange program for graduating U.S. high school seniors enrolled at partner high schools. Participants spend one Travel Week living with a host family in an American community geographically, culturally, or ideologically different from their own, and one Hometown Week hosting peers from across the country. All essentials—flights, lodging, meals, local activities, and transportation—are covered through foundation grants and individual donations. Delivered through a network of 100+ partner towns, educator-led Exchange Managers, and host families.
Quantifiable outcome
- Students become substantially less biased towards those with different ideological viewpoints
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use American Exchange Project
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
American Exchange Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
American Exchange Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
American Exchange Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AFS-USA: AFS-USA operates intercultural exchange programs for high school students with a comparable volunteer host-family model and school-based recruitment. It is the closest structural analog to AEP's exchange-based approach, though predominantly international in scope.
- Close Up Foundation: Close Up runs civic education programs for high school students focused on government and civil engagement, serving a similar youth civic-identity mission and recruiting through partner schools nationwide — comparable in target customer and channel.
- Youth For Understanding USA: YFU operates student exchange programs with a host-family infrastructure and school partnerships analogous to AEP, though predominantly international in scope and longer in duration.
Broad incumbents
- CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange): CIEE is a large, established exchange organization running high school, college, and work-based programs with comparable volunteer-host infrastructure, though at much greater scale and primarily international focus.
- Rotary Youth Exchange: Rotary's Youth Exchange operates long-running high school exchange programs through a global volunteer-network model comparable in structure to AEP, though embedded in Rotary's broader service-club infrastructure.
- People to People International: People to People International has historically run student ambassador programs with a comparable mission of building cross-cultural understanding, though with broader programmatic scope and longer history.
Emerging players
- Braver Angels: Braver Angels runs programs to bridge political and ideological divides among Americans, sharing AEP's civic-bridge mission and foundation-donor overlap, though focused on adult rather than youth engagement.
- BridgeUSA: BridgeUSA is a youth-led organization building cross-partisan relationships on college campuses, sharing AEP's mission of bridging divides among young Americans through structured dialogue and exchange.
- Listen First Project: Listen First Project promotes respectful listening and bridging conversations among young people, sharing AEP's civic-purpose orientation and drawing from a similar foundation-donor base.
- Generation Citizen: Generation Citizen brings civics and action civics to high school students through school partnerships, sharing AEP's youth-civic-development focus and school-channel recruitment approach.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
American Exchange Project social profiles
Digital presenceAmerican Exchange Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
American Exchange Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles26 records
American Exchange Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
American Exchange Project M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about American Exchange Project
What does American Exchange Project do?
American Exchange Project delivers a free, fully funded two-week domestic intercultural exchange program for graduating U.S. high school seniors. Participants spend one Travel Week living with a host family in a community geographically, culturally, or ideologically different from their own, and one Hometown Week hosting peers from across America in their own town. All essential costs—flights, lodging, meals, local activities, and transportation—are covered through foundation grants and individual donations.
Is American Exchange Project a public or private company?
American Exchange Project is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was American Exchange Project founded?
American Exchange Project was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is American Exchange Project based?
American Exchange Project is headquartered in Chestnut Hill, United States, in the North America region.
How does American Exchange Project make money?
Eight revenue lines are on record. Foundation Grants are the primary driver. The others are individual Donations, crowdfunding for Specific Exchanges, corporate Matching Gifts, in-Kind Gifts, stock and Cryptocurrency Donations, united Miles on a Mission and donor-Advised Fund Grants.
Who are American Exchange Project's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are AFS-USA, Close Up Foundation and Youth For Understanding USA. Broad incumbents are CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange), Rotary Youth Exchange and People to People International. Emerging players are Braver Angels, BridgeUSA, Listen First Project and Generation Citizen.
Does American Exchange Project have an API?
No public API is recorded for American Exchange Project.
What industry is American Exchange Project in?
American Exchange Project's product category is Youth Intercultural Exchange Programs. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAIAHAD, Short-Term Secondary Immersion & Cultural Exchange Trips. Its NAICS code is 611.