WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT CHALLENGE WE FACE IN YOUTH EXCHANGE TODAY?

IF YOU ANSWERED RECRUITING You are not alone!

BUT….WHO ARE WE RECRUITING?

If We Had More Students Apply…..

Wouldn’t We Have More Potential Host Families? I am going to tell you how to get more families

SO…. LET’S CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT IT!

AND THE WAY WE MARKET IT

INTRODUCING

THE YOUTH EXCHANGE SCHOLARSHIP provided by your local Rotary club

Re-Branding our Program Old: Rotary Youth Exchange New: The Youth Exchange Scholarship provided by your local Rotary club

But… Can it really be called a Scholarship?

Google Defines a Full-ride Scholarship as follows: “This type of award not only covers tuition and fees, but also books, room and board, supplies, and sometimes even living expenses. Some awards also cover the costs for study abroad programs.”

Isn’t that exactly what we provide?

Definition of a Scholarship (Google)

What do think our Youth Exchange Scholarship is worth?

If we said it was worth more than $24,000 what would you say?

plus School Tuition, etc., etc. What is it worth? Just to live abroad…. Using Berlin, Germany as an example ● A one room flat: €990/month ● €100/month stipend ● €30/day for food ● €21,890 Euros = $24,079 plus School Tuition, etc., etc. Let’s break it down, and this doesn’t take into account the cost of school tuition, books, transportation to and from school, etc.

The Youth Exchange Scholarship Included Room and board School tuition Monthly stipend In-country Orientations Language courses (?) Certified Administered Program Rotary Support Not Included Program fee (Approx. $1250) Airfare and travel Insurance Passport & visa Misc. What exactly does a student receive with our scholarship

Who is really paying for the Scholarship? Our overseas partners: ● Rotary districts ● Rotary clubs ● Rotarians ● Schools ● Host families ● Private donors In Kind Reciprocal: ● Rotary districts ● Rotary clubs ● Rotarians ● Schools ● Host families ● Private donors

Another Great YE Scholarship Funded by the US and German Taxpayers – only 250 are awarded annually

Why Re-Brand our Program? Rotary clubs get the bragging rights of awarding a BIG scholarship: 1. They get great PR in their community 2. The members feel good about being part of the club (helps membership recruiting and retention) 3. It makes it easy for the club to approach their schools

Why Everyone Else Likes It School counselors, teachers, and principals love scholarships, so they become our champions Parents and students love scholarships, and they look great on resumes Because the students have received a scholarship, we can require more from them (including help with recruiting host families)

Not An Overnight Wonder…. Re-branding can take 2-3 years before we see any real impact

Some Success Stories: D6690: 20 months after starting the rebranding 100% acceptance by Rotarians, Rotary clubs, school official, students and parents Highest number of exchange students in at least 20 years (34% more than previous year) 100% of our scholarship recipients secured all host families for the inbound students This district in the Central States that introduced this concept

More Results: 6 clubs that refused to sponsor outbound exchange students totally changed their minds and are now bragging about the scholarships they have awarded Several school counselors that use to be against youth exchange are now champions of the Youth Exchange Scholarship Dramatic increase of media coverage

Can the Scholarship Work for YOU?

YES….but it only works if: You buy in You get your club to buy in You get your school to buy in And….You Promote It…

We are here to help…. The Flyer: An editable version is available on the website.

PR Templates…… Press release - Scholarship available Press release - Scholarship awarded Student’s letter to school officers District Chair’s letter to school principal District level support

Sample Press Release (available scholarship) _________ Rotary Club Announces Youth Exchange Scholarship The _______ Rotary Club is proud to announce that it is offering the prestigious Youth Exchange Scholarship. Valued at over $24,000, the Youth Exchange Scholarship covers room, board, tuition, and monthly stipend for academic year of international high school studies. Annually, about 1,000 USA students between the ages of 16 and 18 years old participate in this program. This is for the 20xx-20yy academic year. In addition to the scholarship program, ______ Rotary Club is also offering a short term, family-to-family summer exchange program for high school students. Age limits are expanded for this opportunity For more information, please contact (insert YEO’s name/tel/email). http://www.rye5020.org Posted Date: MM/DD/YYYY

Sample Press Release (awarded scholarship) _______ Rotary Club awards Youth Exchange Scholarship The _________ Rotary Club is proud to announce that it has awarded the prestigious Youth Exchange Scholarship to (student name) from (school name) High School. Valued at over $24,000, the Youth Exchange Scholarship covers room, board, tuition, and a monthly stipend for one academic year of overseas high school studies. In (month), (year), (student’s first name) will be leaving for (country). Between now and his/her departure, he/she will be involved with extensive language training and preparation to be immersed in his/her new culture. Annually, about 1000 US students between the ages of 16 and 18 years old participate in this program. For more information, please contact (YEO) at (email) or (webstite) Posted Date: (mm/dd/yyyy)

Questions?

Thank You!