My oldest child, Jane, once said she wished camp could be all year. Naturally, I asked her why, and she said, “We get to do everything at camp — when we hike in the woods, the camp staff tells stories about the plants and trees. It makes it easier to remember them. My camp friends care about me. They want me to make it to the top of the climbing tower. I’m not afraid to do things at camp that I am at school. Camp is happy. I love my camp friends. Grades, clothes, and money do not matter at camp. We see each other for who we really are.”

The products, services, and relationships provided by your bank have a direct impact on your camp’s overall financial success. The needs of each camp are as diverse as the camp industry itself. Your banking needs are directly tied to, or based upon, the type of organization you operate (for-profit or nonprofit), the level of camper growth experienced, the amount of revenue generated, the overall economy in your region, and many other factors. These ten significant bank products, services, and programs will positively impact your camp.

Camp operates as a business, when we all know it is more. In order to focus on what matters at camp, it is crucial that camp operations run without friction. That means adopting the best business practices possible, which will allow you to focus on serving campers and staff in a way that promotes your camp's mission.

After reviewing the results of the 2015 Enrollment Survey, in general, camps had a good year as enrollment continued to rise. The majority of camps reported at least maintaining the same enrollment numbers compared to 2014, and, in many cases, they were higher. Generally, the camps in the sample were representative of overall ACA membership (231 camp directors responded). The following data, charts, and graphs are based on camp directors’ responses.

When the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) was signed into law by President Obama on January 2, 2013, it included a number of extensions of small businesses tax incentives that could be utilized by camps. Some of those tax incentives have been extended through 2015. The tax incentives include:

Running a summer camp is a noble endeavor. Summer camps impart skills and values to all types of children. Nevertheless, every summer camp, small or large, private, religious, nonprofit or for-profit, is a business. If a summer camp takes in less money than it spends, it will eventually fail. Not coincidentally, summer camps that run well as businesses are usually effective in executing their mission. The same talents and skills required to run a business—focus, persistence, attention, and intelligence—are also required to run a quality summer program.