Frequently Asked Questions

• I am a student and would like to know how Young America’s Foundation can help me promote conservatism?
• Do you have chapters on college campuses? If so, do I need to start a group in order to host a speaker at my school?
• What Foundation programs are available so I may learn more about conservative ideas?
• Can you recommend a conservative college?
• What is the National Journalism Center?
• I am a speaker and would like to be included in your campus lecture program. How do I apply?
• Do you offer internships? If so, what do you look for from applicants, and when is the best time to apply for an intern position?
• Are you the former Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) organization?
• How can I donate to Young America's Foundation?
• How can I visit the Reagan Ranch?
  

  ---

Q. I am a student and would like to know how Young America’s Foundation can help me promote conservatism?
Young America’s Foundation specializes in helping young people advance conservative ideas at their schools.

We can help you sponsor the stars of the Conservative Movement such as Ann Coulter, Ben Stein, David Horowitz, Michelle Malkin and many others.

Young America’s Foundation has recently published two resources that will provide you with the ideas and information you need to make a difference at your school. The Conservative Guide to Campus Activism provides revolutionary ideas and information on how you can advance conservative ideas and challenge the leftist orthodoxy. This guide gives you information on how to start and build a campus organization, effectively promote your organization and club, avoid activist traps, and debate and defeat your opponents. The guide also includes exclusive advice from Ann Coulter, David Horowitz, Michelle Malkin, Bay Buchanan, Dinesh D’Souza, and many more!

Also, be sure to pick up a copy of the 2006-2007 Campus Conservative Battleplan. This publication provides you with specific ideas and activities that your group can organize throughout the school year. For example, you will learn how to organize an American flag memorial in conjunction with the Foundation’s 9/11: Never Forget Project, and how to organize activities supporting our troops as part of Freedom Week in November. Finally, Foundation team has decades of experience with campus activism. If you ever need advice or have questions about anything related to promoting conservatism at your school, don’t overlook the new, online resource, Activist 411 – Activism Made Easy. This program links you directly with a Foundation Activist Advisor who can provide the answers you need in a timely manner.

Q. Do you have chapters on college campuses? If so, do I need to start a group in order to host a speaker at my school?
Young America’s Foundation is not a chapter-based organization. We are willing to help any student who wishes to promote conservative ideas and host a Foundation speaker.

If you are interested in becoming more closely involved with the Foundation, you can join our activist rewards program, Club 100 – Rewarding Conservative Activism. Club 100 is the first and only program that awards you for promoting conservative ideas on campus.

The Conservative Guide to Campus Activism does offer two chapters on how to start and build a conservative student group. Also, do not overlook our Activist 411 service. Our activist advisors can give you unique advice and strategies on how to launch your group.

Q. What Foundation programs are available so I may learn more about conservative ideas?
Young America’s Foundation schedules many conferences throughout the year for both high school and college students to allow them to learn more about conservative ideas.

College students may attend our National Conservative Student Conference, which brings together more than forty of the Conservative Movement’s biggest leaders and activists who give our students a better understanding of conservatism and its principles.

High school students can take advantage of the National High School Leadership Conference. This is the only program of its kind that brings conservatives leaders in front of a high school audience.

Both high school and college students may attend our West Coast Leadership Conference held every fall in Santa Barbara, California. Young America’s Foundation’s breakthrough “Road to Freedom” seminar series held at the Reagan Ranch Center educates young people on the great thinkers that influenced Ronald Reagan. Programs featuring the ideas of Milton Friedman, Frank Meyer, Friedrich Hayek, Russell Kirk, and Ludwig von Mises are scheduled throughout the course of the year. Check the Foundation’s site for updates.

Q. Can you recommend a conservative college?
We are glad you asked! We receive many requests each year to aid students and their parents in their college search. As a result, we launched our "Top Ten Conservative Colleges" list. However, if none of our recommendations interest you, follow these guidelines to avoid enrolling in a left-leaning school.

First, review the course catalogs for any schools you’re considering.

Next, find out how many bizarre or politically correct courses are required for graduation. Reviewing a school’s course catalog will partly reveal what kind of education you will be receiving. Also be sure to research what type of speakers have been invited to speak on the campus.

Third, talk to people in your community, church, or other social groups about schools with which they have knowledge and experience. When parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and others start talking, you're bound to come up with some schools you may have never even considered! From there, you can begin further research on your own.

Q. What is the National Journalism Center?
The National Journalism Center (NJC) is an unusual venture in journalism education: Devoted to accuracy, balance, and comprehension of the issues, NJC has trained scores of students every year for over a quarter of a century in the skills of press work and assigned them internships at cooperating media locations.

Q. I am a speaker and would like to be included in your campus lecture program. How do I apply?
Young America’s Foundation already has a full list of speakers, and we are committed to promoting our current line-up. If you would still like to apply, please send a current biography, speaking topics, and a video of your presentation (preferably in front of a student audience) to:

Speaker Application
Young America’s Foundation
110 Elden Street
Herndon, VA 20170

We will not add a speaker to our list until we have seen his or her presentation.

Q. Do you offer internships? If so, what do you look for from applicants, and when is the best time to apply for an intern position?

Instead of giving traditional internships, Young America's Foundation offers students the opportunity to participate in the Sarah T. Hermann Intern Scholars Program in our northern Virginia office. Hermann interns are paid, and we encourage them to receive course credit if possible.

Because of the generosity of the Sarah T. Hermann family, the Foundation is able to offer reimbursement for a student's academic credit cost. Since the needs of each student vary, we do not offer housing as part of the Hermann program. You will need to make your own living arrangements, although we will be happy to suggest apartments in the Washington, D.C. area. Young America's Foundation is not Metro accessible, so you will need to have access to a car.

When considering internship applications, we look for students who: are active either on campus or in their communities;

• have been involved with Young America’s Foundation programs;
• maintain a respectable grade point average;
• are willing to work hard and show a real dedication to the conservative cause;
• are mature, creative self-starters who can work independently; and
• are ready to pursue a great opportunity to work with our team and help like-minded students across the country.

The application process does not require travel, although some students like to come to Virginia, meet the staff, and see the office before they apply. There is no official deadline for intern applications, but we recommend applying as early as possible.

If you are interested in applying to become a Sarah T. Hermann intern, please send a cover letter stating the dates you are available, a resume, a transcript, and two writing samples to Young America's Foundation, 110 Elden Street, Herndon, VA 20170. Internships are available during the summer as well as during the fall and spring semesters.

Q. Are you the former Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) organization?
The two groups are totally separate organizations. They have separate Boards of Directors, separate offices, and separate staffs.

Young America's Foundation is an educational organization that sponsors speakers on campus and in the community, provides activist resources and materials, holds conferences and seminars, and saved the Reagan Ranch. As an educational foundation, it engages in non-partisan and non-political activities; all contributions are completely tax deductible.

Young Americans for Freedom, on the other hand, engages in more activist programs such as political training and programs and more partisan activities such as demonstrations and conventions. As such, contributions to Young Americans for Freedom are not tax deductible.Young America's Foundation's leadership includes individuals who were or are active in Young Americans for Freedom including one chairman and three national executive directors. If you want your support to be tax deductible, you should support Young America’s Foundation.

Q. How can I donate to Young America's Foundation?
Advancing your conservative ideas through a gift to Young America’s Foundation is simple and secure. You can do so:

1.) By Check – Please make all checks payable to Young America's Foundation and mail to:

Young America's Foundation
F.M. Kirby Freedom Center
110 Elden Street
Herndon, Virginia 20170

2.) By Credit Card – Young America's Foundation accepts all major credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. To make a gift by credit card, please click here to make a secure online donation or call us at 800-USA-1776.

3.) Over the Phone – We gladly accept gifts over the phone. If you are interested in making such a gift, please call 800-USA-1776 and a Foundation leader will be glad to assist you.

Click here for more information about supporting our efforts.

Q. How can I visit the Reagan Ranch?
Young America's Foundation saved the Reagan Ranch in 1998. Our primary goal with the Ranch is to use it to inspire the next generation of conservative leaders for our country.

The Reagan Ranch is one component of the Foundation 's broader mission to "ensure that increasing numbers of young Americans understand and are inspired by the ideas of limited government, free enterprise, a strong national defense, and traditional values."  In addition to the many students who visit the Ranch through the Foundation's programs, Young America's Foundation also seeks to host as many leaders of the Conservative Movement, media, authors, and scholars as possible. Supporters of Young America's Foundation are also invited to visit the Reagan Ranch. Visits like this are normally reserved for our President's Club members which you become a member of by giving a tax deductible gift of $1,000 or more. President's Club members also have their names engraved on Freedom Wall, which you will see during your Ranch visit. For more information on visiting the Reagan Ranch, please complete this form.