American Exchange Project

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.

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

Product category

Youth Intercultural Exchange Programs

NAICS

Educational Services (611)

akta.pro primary industry

Short-Term Secondary Immersion & Cultural Exchange Trips (EDAIAHAD)

Keywords

• Youth exchange programs
• Intercultural education
• Civic engagement programs
• High school travel
• Nonprofit youth services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chestnut Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Corporate Matching Gifts: Many employers match charitable gifts from employees, retirees, and spouses. AEP provides a matching gift search tool for donors.
5. In-Kind Gifts: Program enhancements, event tickets, transportation, meals, accommodations, and airline miles donated by individuals and businesses reduce operational costs.
6. Stock and Cryptocurrency Donations: Donors can contribute stock options or cryptocurrency via Donorbox platform.
7. 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.
8. 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

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core 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

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct 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

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=LDAnlDl3aYA
• Instagraminstagram.com/americanexchangeproject
• TikToktiktok.com/@americanexchangeproject
• Pinterestpinterest.com/americanexchangeproject
• Xx.com/travelwithaep

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles26 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about American Exchange Project