The joy and adventure of a summer in Israel is more accessible than ever! RootOne offers a $3,000 travel voucher for Jewish teens who travel to Israel with BBYO in the summer of 2023.
A limited number of $3,000 RootOne travel vouchers are available for teens participating in any BBYO Passport Summer Experience in Israel, including programs that combine experiences outside of Israel (e.g., Europe + Israel, CLTC + Israel). Applications will be prioritized on a first-come, first-served basis.
In order to receive a RootOne voucher, families must register their teen for an eligible program in Israel. See voucher details and eligibility rules below. BBYO will send the RootOne voucher application directly to families within one week of their successful registration.
ABOUT THE VOUCHER
Eligibility rules are determined by RootOne. For more information on Voucher eligibility, please visit their website. Eligible voucher applicants must identify as Jewish, be currently enrolled in 9th through 11th grade, and must not currently attend an Orthodox day school. Teens must be citizens of the United States or Canada. If you have previously received a RootOne voucher, you are not eligible to apply again.
Voucher eligibility is not connected to financial need or merit. Additionally, applicants must be in good standing with BBYO, cannot be on probation, and/or cannot owe any funds to BBYO.
BBYO is the only trip provider that offers RootOne vouchers to graduating seniors! Teens must be registered to attend either Israel Journey (Class of 2023) or Ultimate Central Europe Israel (Class of 2023) to be eligible.
Seniors that attend International Leadership Seminar in Israel (ILSI) are not eligible to apply for a RootOne voucher because this program is open to teens outside of the Class of 2023. They must attend one of the two trips mentioned above.
No. If you have previously received a RootOne voucher, you are not eligible to apply again. However, other BBYO scholarships may be available. Find additional scholarship information here.
Voucher recipients must take part in engagement programming (~8 hours total) in the spring prior to travel, as well as complete a post-program confidential survey. Non-fulfillment of these obligations, cancellations requested after our final refund deadline, and/or removal from the program due to a Code of Conduct violation will necessitate repayment of the $3,000 voucher to BBYO.
The voucher can be applied to all BBYO Passport Summer Experiences in Israel, including connected programs that combine experiences outside of Israel (e.g., Europe + Israel, CLTC + Israel).
If your teen is a senior or in the Class of 2023, please reference the above question on eligibility and applicable trips.
Yes, you may receive the $3,000 Israel voucher and still be eligible for other forms of scholarship from BBYO as well as other funding sources.
Families are responsible for paying the balance in full minus any scholarship awards they are expecting to maintain a current account balance. If your family overpays for their teen’s experience—which results in an account overage—BBYO will refund your family (or funder) for your account overage by sending a check in the fall after account reconciliations have been completed.
You will only need to pay the program balance, minus any expected scholarship funding that BBYO is aware of. Please see the example chart below:
| Program Balance | RootOne Voucher | Amount Due to BBYO |
$4,450 | $3,000 | $1,450 |
Yes! Receiving a RootOne voucher does not currently impact eligibility for Birthright Israel.
The vouchers are funded by RootOne. Seeded by a generous gift from The Marcus Foundation and powered by The Jewish Education Project, RootOne provides major subsidies for trip participants (called RootOne vouchers), invests in elevating trip curricula and experiences, and works with its partners to create deeper pre- and post-trip engagement opportunities to help strengthen participants’ Jewish identities and connections to Israel before they begin college.
Additional information about RootOne Vouchers can be found on their website.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
RootOne voucher application availability varies from year to year. Once you apply for a trip that is eligible for a RootOne voucher, BBYO will communicate when the voucher application becomes available. Vouchers applications are still open for Summer 2023.
Applying for the travel voucher is as easy as:
(1) Choosing your Summer Experience in Israel, which includes connected programs that combine experiences outside of Israel (i.e. Europe + Israel, CLTC + Israel)
(2) Signing up with BBYO by registering for your desired trip
(3) Completing the voucher application with RootOne
BBYO will send the RootOne application only to families who have successfully completed registration for an eligible program within 1 week of registration. As of May 2023, voucher applications are still open.
Once registration opens and the voucher applications are available, we typically expect RootOne to send notifications within seven days of receiving your completed voucher application.
Yes! Register for any Israel program of your choice now to qualify for the voucher. If you want to change programs, switch dates, or add a connected experience in Europe or North America later, just email us to request to switch.
Please note that programs transfers are only available if registration is open and there are spots available on the desired trip. Transfers will be processed at the discretion of the BBYO Passport team and are not guaranteed.
The RootOne travel voucher is used to cover program costs on your behalf. As such, those funds are considered a recipient’s financial obligation to BBYO in the event a teen cancels their participation beyond the refund deadline. For this reason, we encourage you to purchase travel insurance that covers the combined cost of your direct program/travel costs AND the $3,000 RootOne voucher. Please visit our Travel Insurance page for more information.
Welcome to BBYO Passport! Please reach out to your original trip provider and ask them to cancel your RootOne voucher application. Once this is done, email our team at [email protected] for instructions on how to re-apply through us. Each trip provider has a separate grant, so a new application is required.
Please email [email protected] with your teen’s full name, trip name, and a screenshot of the issue so that our team can troubleshoot.
AFTER YOU APPLY
After applying, applicants are required to complete a series of educational experiences called nekudot—the Hebrew word for points. There are 18 nekudot to complete, which we estimate take approximately 5–8 hours to finish, depending on the activities and courses chosen.
Teens will complete their nekudot within an online portal, managed by RootOne.
For all Summer 2023 trips, the 18 nekudot must be completed by May 15, 2023. Please note that dates are subject to change each year and may change only at the discretion of RootOne and/or BBYO Passport.
Please email [email protected] with your teen’s full name and trip name and our team will provide an updated link to login. If you are experiencing a technical issue, please also include a screenshot of the problem.
Families are responsible for paying the balance in full minus any scholarship awards they are expecting to maintain a current account balance. If your family overpays for their teen’s experience—which results in an account overage—BBYO will refund your family (or funder) for your account overage by sending a check in the fall after account reconciliations have been completed.
You will only need to pay the program balance, minus any expected scholarship funding that BBYO is aware of. Please see the example chart below:
Program Balance | RootOne Voucher | Amount Due to BBYO |
$4,450 | $3,000 | $1,450 |
RootOne LLC, [a/is a] Delaware limited liability company, whose sole member is the Board of Jewish Education, Inc. d/b/a The Jewish Education Project, a New York not-for-profit corporation.
*NOTE* A completed voucher application does not guarantee approval. Voucher decisions will be at the discretion of RootOne.
