The American Camp Association (ACA) invites ACA‑Accredited® private, independent camps to expand access to camp while fostering inclusion and appreciation of differences.
Through the ACA Campership Program, your camp can fundraise to support camperships for your own sessions using ACA’s tax‑exempt status. This program helps camps strengthen enrollment while ensuring more campers can experience the lasting benefits of camp.
Each year, participating camps award scholarships to children and youth who might not otherwise be able to attend—enhancing the diversity, vitality, and sense of belonging within their camp communities.
Together, we help ensure camp remains accessible to all.
Are you a parent or family member looking for scholarships?
Please review some information and tips about affording camp.
Steps for Camps
- If you are an ACA-accredited camp, you are eligible. To get started, you must develop the benchmarks by which your scholarship recipients will be evaluated and selected. Here is a sample list of benchmarks you may use as you consider your camp's benchmarks. You will also fill out a Camp Scholarship Agreement. Submit both to Marna Redding at [email protected].
- Solicit contributions from parents, businesses, organizations, and foundations. All donor checks must be made payable to the ACA Campership Program with your camp's name in the lower left memo line. Checks may be sent directly to ACA, or you may collect and forward them.
- For online donations, you can add this link to your website: http://www.acacamps.org/campership.
- If you would like to offer recurring gift-giving, you may also add this link to your website: https://acacamps.formstack.com/forms/aca_camper_scholarship_program_for_camps_recurring.
- Here is an example of what one of our program camps does on their website: https://bar717.com/donations.
- ACA credits funds received to your camp's account* and routes a donor acknowledgment for each gift back to you so you can attach a personal "thank you" to the donor. Note: Camp owners and operators may not make contributions to their own camp's scholarship fund.
- Select your scholarship recipients. Camp directors must complete an online application for each scholarship. Relatives of a camp’s owner, operator, or employees are not eligible for scholarships, nor may the individual choosing the scholarship recipients be a donor or be influenced by a donor.
- The ACA issues a check and account balance statement within fourteen working days of receiving the participating camp’s request for scholarship funds. The total amount requested cannot exceed the amount in your camp’s account.
* A 7.5 percent administration fee will be assessed on all campership contributions at the time they are credited to a camp's account.
Contact ACA's Funds Development team at [email protected] for more information on how you can help change a child's life, applications, or for general information about joining the campership program.
