by M. Deborah Bialeschki, Ph.D., and Jon C. Malinowski,
Ph.D.
While every summer millions of children attend camp, as many or more
never get this experience. The American Camp Association (ACA) believes
so strongly in the positive benefits of the camp experience that one
of the Ends of the Association is to increase the number of children,
youth, and adults of all social, cultural, and economic groups who can
attend camp. Our commitment to this end rests in our ability to track
and provide a dynamic snapshot of how we are doing — this article
provides that overview for summer of 2007 as well as comparisons to the
two previous summers.
In the fall of 2007, 622 camps completed ACA's
Web-based enrollment survey (23 percent response rate), which was the
same rate as the previous year. The camps who answered the survey were
closely representative of the ACA camp community in terms of type, affiliation,
and region, and so provided a reasonably comparable view for this discussion
about enrollment (see sidebar on page 50). The questions were almost
identical to the previous two enrollment surveys (2005 and 2006); therefore,
we can make comparisons across years.
A Snapshot of Camper Enrollment
for Summer 2007
The overall word from the directors on enrollment was
that the 2007 summer season was a good summer for the majority of camps
with evidence of steady improvement since the summer of 2005 (see
Table 1). Over 34 percent of the camps said that this summer was
the highest of the last five years, and another 21 percent indicated
that this summer was higher than most of the past five summers. Another
24 percent of the directors thought enrollment was about the same. However,
some directors (14 percent) provided a different view on enrollment when
they indicated they had fewer campers this summer than most of the past
five summers. However, only 7 percent said the 2007 summer was their
worst enrollment for the last five-year period.
Almost half of the camps (49 percent) operated at 90-100 percent of
their potential capacity with another 28 percent at 80-89 percent capacity.
When asked about their targeted enrollments, over 71 percent of the camps
were within 90-100 percent of their targeted enrollment for the 2007
summer. When compared to 2005 targeted capacity figures, we see more
than a 10 percent increase in the number of camps hitting between 90-100
percent of their targeted enrollments.
The number of camper weeks generated
is one way to assess the impact of camp opportunities for children. Directors
indicated their total enrollment in camper weeks rather than total campers
as a way to equalize different session lengths. For example, if one hundred
campers attended for one week, that was equal to one hundred camper weeks.
However if one hundred campers attended camp for eight weeks, that was
eight hundred camper weeks. Table
2 shows the distribution of camper
weeks generated by the camps in the survey. Over 78 percent said camper
weeks in 2007 were equal to or higher than last year (see Map 1). When
asked how much higher this year was for camper weeks, 55 percent said
between 1-7 percent higher. If they indicated they were lower on camper
weeks compared to last year, 63 percent were lower by 1-7 percent. When
asked about enrollment in specialized programs (horseback riding, etc.),
camps indicated that the interest was about the same as last year (56
percent) or higher (32 percent). This increased interest in specialized
activities was almost 15 percent higher than first reported in 2005.
While interest in specialized programs seemed on the rise, 29 percent
of the camps said they offered no specialized programs.
The survey this
year found continued growth in the enrollment of both girls and boys
at camp. Forty-four percent of the directors said their enrollment of
boys had increased from last year and only 16 percent said it had decreased
(see Table 3). Almost 60 percent of the camps with increased numbers
of boys said they were higher by 1-7 percent. Even if boys' enrollment
dropped, 42 percent of these decreases were small (1-3 percent decreases).
A similar picture emerged for girls' enrollment with almost a 10
percent increase since last year (see
Table 3). Forty-six percent of
the directors indicated a higher enrollment of girls in 2007 while only
18 percent were lower than the previous year. For both higher and lower
enrollments of girls, approximately 30 percent said the difference was
in the 1-3 percent range. Only 17 percent of the camps with decreased
girls' enrollment were lower by more than 10 percent.
Some camp
professionals have expressed concerns about getting the youngest children
to camp as well as keeping them into their teens. Table
4 shows enrollment
by three age groups: less than or equal to nine years old, ten to twelve
years old, and teens. The majority of camps for 2007 felt their agegroup
enrollments were the same or higher than the previous two years. Similar
to last year's information, we generally found larger percentages
of positive changes in enrollment and lower percentages for decreased
enrollments. For example, for ten- to twelveyear- old campers we found
39 percent of the camps were higher by 1-3 percent, and 34 percent were
lower by 1-3 percent. For nine years and under, we found 17 percent were
up by more than 10 percent while 24 percent were down by 10 percent or
more. For teens, a pattern of change was seen similar to last year. For
example, 65 percent of the camps with increased teen enrollments were
up by 1-7 percent while 60 percent of the camps who had experienced a
decrease in teen enrollments said they were down by 1-7 percent.
Information
on how camps financially supported campers through scholarships, donations,
etc. was also collected. Similar to last year, most camps (84 percent)
indicated their organization offered financial support of at least 50
percent of the camp costs to campers in need. When asked about the number
of supported camper weeks generated, 76 percent of the camps stated they
supported up to 199 camper weeks. Over 60 percent of the camps said their
financial support of campers had not changed from last year. In terms
of actual dollars for camper support, a slight increase was indicated
with 44 percent of the camps (compared to 38 percent in 2006) saying
they generated more than $25,000 for financial support of campers.
Lastly,
many camp professionals are interested in the trends in camper return
rates as well as enrollment of ethnic/minority campers. More than half
the directors (54 percent) said they had camper return rates between
50-74 percent. Return rates seem very stable since 64 percent in 2007
and 62 percent of the directors in the 2005 and 2006 surveys said they
had about the same number of returning campers. For camps with higher
rates of returning campers, almost 22 percent said they had increased
by more than 10 percent. For camps who had fewer returning campers, only
8 percent saw decreases greater than 10 percent. Almost no change was
seen in ethnic/minority diversity in camp with 73 percent of the directors
indicating the same enrollment as last year.
How Do Camp Characteristics
Influence Camper Enrollments?
For the past two years, significant differences
were often found based on camp characteristics such as type of camp (day/
resident); affiliation (agency/governmental, religiously affiliated,
independent for profit, and independent nonprofit); and region of the
country (Mid-America, New England, South, West, Mid-Atlantic). However,
this year we saw fewer differences based on these characteristics. While
a few differences were apparent, the message this year is that enrollment
issues are more commonly experienced across all sectors of camps.
Does Type of Camp Matter?
Some people question whether enrollment issues
are different for day camps than resident camps, so we took a closer
look at the information from that perspective. That comparison showed
only a couple of areas with meaningful differences around narrowly focused
concerns. The two main differences in 2007 were related to financial
support generated by the camps and enrollment of teen campers.
The finding
from last year's survey where resident camps generated more financial
support for campers was repeated in 2007. Thirty-six percent of the resident
camps indicated they raised more than $50,000 while only 11 percent of
day camps generated this sum of money for campers. This money difference
translated into more weeks of support for campers by resident camps.
For example, over 57 percent of day camps said they generated 1-99 supported
weeks for their campers while only 38 percent of the resident camps indicated
this number of weeks, which leaves almost 20 percent more resident camps
to generate higher numbers of financially supported weeks of camp.
The
other area of difference was in enrollment of teens in their programs.
Day camps had a split response from the camps that answered the survey.
About 25 percent of the day camps indicated a decrease in teen enrollment
compared to last year but another 35 percent said their numbers had increased
(and were higher by at least 10 percent). Forty-eight percent of resident
camps had more teens than last year and indicated a modest growth (between
1-7 percent) in teen campers. Overall these differences are somewhat
minor and indicate that the issues around enrollment are commonly shared
by camps.
Do Regional Influences Exist?
The last two years indicated
quite a few regional differences around various aspects of enrollment.
This year, the regional comparisons were much more similar. For example,
all regions experienced increased enrollments from last year with at
least half the camps stating growth, with the exception of camps in the
West (46 percent said enrollments had increased). When asked how the
summer of 2007 compared to last year, more than half the camps in Mid-
America, New England, and the South said this summer was among the highest
(or highest) of the past five summers. The West and Mid-Atlantic camps
were close behind with slightly less than half able to make that same
statement (see
Table 5). The only areas with significant difference
were related to gender, age, and financially supported campers.
- While
most regions saw increases in the girls attending camp, the greatest
increases were seen in Mid-America, New England, and the West.
- When
comparing the numbers of young children who attended camp in 2007,
camps in Mid-America, the West, and New England saw fewer campers under
the age of ten. Camps in Mid- America, New England, and the South actually
saw increases in the number of ten- to twelve-year-old campers, while
the West and Mid-Atlantic remained constant.
- When asked about
the numbers of financially supported campers, camps from Mid-America
and the West indicated the most growth in this area while the other
regions stayed the same in their support.
Does Camp Affiliation Make a Difference?
Last year, we saw a number of enrollment differences based on camp affiliation
(agency/ municipal, religious, independent for-profit, and independent
nonprofit). While differences were noted again this year, they were not
as dramatic as previous years. Across the board, at least 50 percent
of the camps in each affiliation said enrollments in 2007 were higher
than last year. Approximately onethird of all camps in each group said
2007 was their highest enrollment in the past five years. However, more
than 25 percent of the religiously-affiliated and agency camps still
experienced decreased enrollments.
The following list highlights several
other significant differences based on affiliation:
- Sixty-three
percent of for-profit camps followed by nonprofits (50 percent) and
agency camps (49 percent) filled to 90-100 percent capacity. Religiously
affiliated camps still struggled with only 35 percent hitting that
capacity level. Clearly one-third of the religious camps fell below
the 80 percent capacity mark. However, when asked if they met at least
90 percent of their targeted capacity, all the affiliated groups had
approximately 70 percent of their camps at that level.
- Significant differences in the amount of
money raised for financial support for campers were seen among the
groups. Fifty-six percent of nonprofits and 50 percent of agency/governmental
camps each raised at least $25,000 or more followed by 45 percent for-profit
and 36 percent of religiously-affiliated camps. This difference also
translated into similar findings for the number of weeks provided for
financially supported campers with nonprofits generating the most weeks
while religiously-affiliated offered the fewest weeks.
- Increased
interest in specialized activities was seen in all affiliations except
in for-profit camps where only 14 percent indicated their campers were
more interested in these activities.
Informed Perspectives About Enrollment
Trends
Issues around camper enrollment in our programs are like a hologram… if
you hold the image one way, you see something in a clear way; yet shift
the image even slightly, and a whole new perspective is seen. After three
years of systematic data collection, we are beginning to better understand
our base foundation but are constantly reminded that an individual camp's
reality may be very different because of the microcosm of social and
economic factors that surround it. With that caveat, the data from 2007
suggest that camper enrollments are steadily increasing and that the summer
of 2007 was a very good year for getting children to camp.
Several messages
can be taken from this study:
- For the second consecutive year,
camps in general experienced growth in enrollments with fewer camps
indicating decreased enrollments by age and gender. Over half the camps
put the 2007 summer as one of their best.
- While regional differences around
enrollment continue to fluctuate, fewer differences were evident this
year.
- Major enrollment differences between day and resident camps
did not emerge again this year.
- Religiously-affiliated camps may
have reasons to feel some guarded optimism about enrollments. Last
year's
disparate enrollment statistics seemed to have moderated this year.
However, religiously-affiliated camps still experienced significant
enrollment challenges compared to other camps.
- For the third year, enrollments
of ethnic/minority campers did not experience any real growth in any
segment of the camp community.
- While most camps are generating
dollars to help children enroll in camp who otherwise may not attend,
these sponsorship levels have lots of room for improvement.
We hope these
survey results provide camp decision-makers with accurate information
that helps produce marketing and recruitment strategies and retention
plans based on the most informed research data from the camp community.
Thanks to the 622 ACA camps who took the time to complete the 2007 survey,
we have valuable data from which to talk about trends and issues related
to enrollment. We hope that even more directors will find this information
valuable and contribute their information next October, so we can continue
to make wise choices that lead to improved practices based on solid evidence.
Average Camp Enrollment for Participating Camps by 3-Digit Zipcode Area
Originally published in the 2008 March/April
issue of Camping Magazine. |
