2024 Annual Impact Report

This was a year to reconfirm that camp is a socially enriching, experiential environment that plays a significant role in helping today’s youth and future leaders thrive — and a great time to focus on expanding quality communities of belonging and social connectedness at camp.

Read this year’s letter from ACA Board Chair Liz Fogel and ACA Interim President/CEO Henry DeHart to learn about ACA completing a significant update to its strategic plan and receiving an incredible $45.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to advance the work of youth character development at camps through our six-year Character at Camp initiative.

Read the Message

Collectively, ACA impacts 26 million campers annually. ACA helps you make a positive impact in the lives of the children you encounter every day. ACA provides just-in-time educational resources, tools, research, and advocacy to help you build safer, healthier environments where children and youth can become leaders, environmental stewards, and socially, emotionally skilled individuals. More than 3,400 new individual members joined the association in fiscal year 2024.

Learn about the Benefits

The ACA Accreditation Program is an independent, national, peer-review program of camp operations. Volunteers are the heartbeat of the program, with over 100 serving on accreditation committees and over 200 new volunteers participating in accreditation volunteer trainings. The Annual Accreditation Report is an integral program component that supports and emphasizes accredited camps’ ongoing improvement of their policies, procedures, and practices. More than 1,840 Annual Accreditation Reports of currently accredited camps were reviewed this year. Additionally, summer 2024 site visits maintained rigor, integrity, and educational emphasis.

Find Out More

2024 Professional Development Impact and image

Business Development stat and smiling campers

ACA’s sponsors, advertisers, exhibitors, and corporate and brand partners provided the Association with over $1 million of support. These funds support research, education, and training that promotes the highest level of health, safety, and risk management at camps. This work could not have happened in 2023–2024 without the support of our corporate and brand partners like Trinity/HPSI, Chaco, UltraCamp, and The Redwoods Group, just to name a few. ACA collaborates with a diversity of organizations, including businesses, agencies, associations, foundations, and educational institutions.

Partnership Resources

Affiliate Overview

ACA, Illinois

ACA, New England

ACA, New York/New Jersey

Individual & Camp Supporters

Group of campers around a pretend campfire

Foundation Supporters

Business/Corporate Supporters

Acorn Society & Living Endowment Supporters

Contact Andrea Stearley at astearley@ACAcamps.org or 765-349-3305 for any corrections to the supporters lists.

Download the PDF

A Message from the Board Chair and Interim President/CEO

Membership

Accreditation

Professional Development

Business Development

Research