FFI Changes

FRIENDSHIP FORCE INTERNATIONAL

MEMBERSHIP AND EXCHANGE FEES FOR 2003

MEMBERSHIP

Annual FFI Membership Fees

·        Single (one person)            $10

·        Family (two or more persons/one household)            $15

FFI Membership fees replace the current Club Fees.

Clubs are asked to collect these Membership Fees and remit them to FFI on an annual basis with a registry of all members paying these fees.  

Membership Benefits

·        Regular electronic flyers announcing upcoming exchanges and programs (to all members providing email addresses to FFI)

·        Discounts on FFI exchange fees (up to $20) for each member registered with FFI Additional discounts on FFI exchange fees for student and youth members (up to $20)

·        Discounts on FFI conference and festival registration fees for each member registered with FFI  

Magazine Subscription Rates

One-year subscription to Friendship magazine (4 issues)           $15

Pro-rated fees for partial-year subscriptions available

INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL

CLUB-BASED EXCHANGES

Administrative Fees

·        International Exchanges are defined as those between clubs in countries that are not in the same region or within the European Union.

·        Regional Exchanges are defined as those between clubs in countries within regions as defined by FFI Administrative fees for multi-week exchanges that combine international and regional exchanges will be assessed the fees due for international exchanges.  

·        Administrative fees are for the initial exchange week of hosting Administrative fees for the second week of hosting (within one exchange) are $50 Additional weeks of hosting beyond two weeks (within one exchange) have no administrative fees.

·        Placement of countries into fee categories is based on the country's economic strength as measured by published country‑specific economic data available worldwide from an independent source.

·        Categories will be updated annually using the most current data available FFI members will receive discounted exchange fees as a member benefit.

·        Non­members who enroll on an exchange will be invited to join FFI at the time of enrollment for an automatic discount in their exchange fees.

·        Administrative Fees will take effect for exchanges departing after March 1, 2003.  

COUNTRY CATEGORIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE FEES

Category A Countries

COUNTRY ASSIGNMENTS BY REGION

Host Fees  

Exchange Director Fee Waivers  

Local Committee Fees

Youth Discounts  

DOMESTIC EXCHANGES

Domestic exchanges are defined as exchanges within the same country or within the European Union that are organized by the Friendship Force Clubs within that country or within the EU. Domestic exchanges should not exceed five nights in length. Domestic exchanges must be planned in a manner to ensure they do not displace or interfere with international exchanges assigned to a club. All clubs participating in domestic exchanges must be available to host a minimum of two international exchanges (each constituting a one-week hosting commitment) per calendar year. FFI will maintain an annual country-specific (or EU-specific) directory updated regularly as clubs notify FFI of their desire to participate in the domestic exchange program.

Fees paid to FFI for domestic exchanges recognize that such club exchanges would not be possible without the network of Friendship Force clubs built over time. In exchange, FFI will provide participating clubs with an electronic directory of all clubs in a specific country or the EU interested in domestic exchanges.

FFI Administrative Fees

Clubs will pay domestic exchange fees to FFI of $25 per Ambassador (if FFI member) or $45 per Ambassador (if non-FFI member) participating on any domestic exchange. Collection of domestic exchange fees due to FFI will depend on an honor system supported by all participating clubs.

TRAVEL SERVICES

PROVIDED BY

FRIENDSHIP FORCE INTERNATIONAL

Travel Services Fees for Club-Based Exchanges

The current mandate on U.S. Friendship Force Clubs to use FFI travel services will be lifted for all exchanges departing in 2003, unless FFI has already contracted for travel services (air reservations or land packages) for a particular exchange.

     All clubs worldwide may request land package pricing from the FFI Travel Services Team.  U.S. clubs may also request airfare quotes.

Land packages and airfares will be offered to Ambassadors at the most competitive rates possible.

The deviation-fee policy will remain unchanged and will be applied to all exchanges for which FFI arranges travel. Ambassadors requesting deviations at least 90 days before departure will pay a $50 fee in addition to any charges levied by the airline or tour operator; those requesting deviations between 90 and 65 days before departure will pay a $100 fee in addition to any charges levied by the airline or tour operator.

Those individuals participating on exchanges with travel services provided by FFI who choose to make their own travel arrangements for part or all of the exchange and related tours must pay a $150 fee in addition to all other FFI  fees. This charge acknowledges that efforts to provide low-cost group travel arrangements can be jeopardized by individual arrangements and increase the costs for other Ambassadors. Exchange Directors working independent of FFI travel services may want to consider imposing similar penalties on individuals making their own travel and tour arrangements.

Clubs must provide FFI all up-front deposits paid to travel suppliers for arrangements booked on behalf of their exchange by FFI when those deposits are due.

     Once a club approves a proposal from FFI Travel Services for airline and/or land arrangements and these arrangements are booked and confirmed, any change made to the confirmed bookings on behalf of the group will result in a $50 rebooking fee for each change made at least 90 days before departure and a $100 rebooking fee for each change made between 65 and 90 days before departure.

     Pricing for all travel services, both air and land, will follow the standard guidelines for the leader's fee waiver of one free seat for every 20 fully paid Ambassadors with prorating of the earned seat with 10 or more fully paid Ambassadors.

Travel Services Fees for U.S. National or Special Exchanges

FFI will continue to arrange complete packages for all U.S. national exchanges and all other special exchanges. Package costs will reflect competitive rates for all component parts of the package including airfares, land tours, and other costs. The total price may also be adjusted up or down to reflect considerations such as shared marketing costs with strategic partners or auxiliary contributions to support the charitable mission of FFI.

If FFI designs the full exchange program package for a national or special exchange or for a partner organization, FFI will pay any applicable deposits for airlines and land tours.

The standard policy regarding earned seats for Exchange Directors may be modified for some special exchanges to allow FFI to meet the needs of partner organizations (for example, to allow additional earned seats for chaperones on youth exchanges) or to allow FFI to pass along earned seats provided by tour operators so that pricing can be competitive with other sources.

Approved November 7, 2002

Friendship Force International Board of Trustees

FFI Changes