AFS is a world leader in intercultural learning and offers international exchange programs for its students and educators. We operate in more than 50 countries as independent, nonprofit AFS organizations, each with a volunteer base, a professionally staffed office, and a board of directors. AFS has been exchanging young people and educators throughout the world for 60 years. AFS programs help diverse young people gain global perspectives, learn language skills and reach their potential.
AFS relies on our donors and sponsors to help support the global education and enrichment programs that are the hallmark of our organization. New supporters include the Burger King’s Have it Your Way Foundation and the Travelzoo Foundation. Both support our Faces of America program, a consortium of non-profits dedicated to providing intercultural and international travel opportunities to underserved students.
Support from Corporations and Foundations assist AFS-USA in the following ways:
Student Scholarships: Many AFS students rely on support for scholarships from companies and foundations across the United States. Every year, grants and sponsorships help hundreds of bright young people with financial need to reap the benefits of an AFS global education. Presently, we award nearly $2 million in scholarships to deserving and high-achieving students nationally. Still, increasingly more scholarship support is needed, since resources currently allow us to support only one in five students seeking scholarship support.
Global Educator Scholarships: AFS operates a teacher exchange program that enables educators from Asia, Latin America and Turkey to participate in professional and cultural residencies in schools in the United States during year-long stays. Companies and foundations help support these exchanges through offering scholarship support subsidies and educational and travel stipends.
Faces of America: The Faces of America program aims to provide disadvantaged students with a holistic global education experience. Our community partners give us a coast to coast footprint and include Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, Bardoli Global, SummerSearch, One World Now! and Link Unlimited. These organizations have 12 – 18 month leadership development programs that begin with local mentoring and educational enrichment before the students go on their summer study abroad programs with AFS. Returning to the United States, the scholars take advantage of mentoring, internships and active volunteer service. Every dollar invested by corporations and foundations in this program is matched by our community partners. Scholarships provide access to student exchange for bright and motivated young people from underserved communities.
Corporate Scholarships for Employees’ Children: Companies around the world often partner with AFS to offer student exchange opportunities as a low-cost, yet valuable, employee benefit. Companies who participate in the AFS Corporate Scholarship Program provide full and partial scholarships that are available for employees’ children, grandchildren and other family members.
General Operating Support: AFS-USA’s leadership programs and initiatives create a strong and vibrant youth citizen diplomacy network that can produce a new generation of leaders (at all levels of society and across all national borders who will make the choices to solve global issues. Grants from foundations providing general operating support will help us grow our services by:- Building new outreach and marketing strategies including developing new interactive technological resources, to attract young people to international exchange, help them to make informed decisions and simplify the application process;
- Enhancing orientations for students that prepare them culturally and psychologically for their exchange and pass on the benefits of intercultural education to their communities when they return; and
- Expanding and strengthening our national volunteer base with recruitment, training and succession plans that meet the needs of younger, as well as new and existing volunteers across the United States.
In-Kind Support: AFS-USA welcomes products and services that help us with our operations and programs such as computer software and hardware, communication {design, printing and transportation (air and ground travel)}.
To learn more about ways you or your company can get involved with AFS-USA, please contact Katherine Crawford-Gray, Senior Development Officer at (212) 479-1112 or through email at kcrawford-gray@afs.org.
