ACA Home Forums Seeking Consulting for Starting a Summer Camp

My wife and I have developed a preliminary business plan for a history and international culture themed overnight camp focused (initially) on the 8-12 year old age range. The idea is to explore history and culture through art, theater, music, reenactments, food, and sports & martial arts. We are hoping to have the camp located in Southwestern New Hampshire, Southeastern Vermont, or Western Massachusetts (the area where we grew up). We do not yet have a location.

We?ve reached the point where we feel we could benefit a lot from the consulting services of someone experienced in starting and running summer camps. My wife and I have experience with camps as campers and counselors, but have never run a camp. That being said, my wife has a masters in business from MIT, I am a lawyer, and we have started up a few businesses in the past ? so we have a few assets to bring to the table.

We are hoping to consult with someone who could evaluate our current business plan and help us develop and understand:

(1) Our target market, pricing strategies, budgets, and realistic growth projections;

(2) The pros and cons of buying a large acreage property and building camp facilities vs. leasing a camp vs. trying to buy an existing summer camp;

(3) An understanding of the current business climate and most frequent challenges faced by start-up camps;

(4) Developing the proper timing for when to quit our current jobs and begin launching the camp on a full time basis;

(5) (optional) Assistance with program/curriculum development.

It also might be useful to be in contact with a real estate agent who specialized in camp real estate (if such a thing exists).

Do you have any recommendations of who I should contact?

Many thanks for your advice!

Ben Wyatt

Hi Ben
I too am in the process of opening a summer-camp and am facing many of the same issues you have mentioned. In the course of my due diligence, I have found that building a state of the art camp to hold a population of 100 campers and staff can run upwards of 20 million dollars. This does not include the cost of the land. The infrastructure alone will eat up more than half that amount. If you go more primitive it may be less. Annual maintenance and overhead should be budgeted for upward of $250,000. In the past 3 years, I have seen camps selling for as little as 1.5 million to 7 million, add to this several hundred thousand dollars for renovation and you will have a more accurate assessment of the costs.
If you contact the ACA, they can recommend professional consultants on camp development.
Allow 12 to 18 months for advance PR and marketing.
PROGRAMING: I recently met a man that is developing an international exchange camp program between the states and China. He is in the early stages of development and may be someone with which you can develop a collaborative effort.
The costs of opening a camp are substantial, and it may be advisable to take on a small staff to spear head the efforts.
I will be happy to share what I have learned to help you along the way.
Good luck
Scott Slater
wanderen_star@yahoo.com

If you're still interested, call me, I can help. Dan Zenkel (914) 607-2019.

Hi ALL!

I am senior at The Ohio State University studying Sports & Leisure and a Education minor. Myself, and a few friends want to start a Non-profit summer resident camp in Ohio that focuses on educational enrichment, physical activity, and connecting youth to nature. We have done extensive research and begun writing our business plan. We are, however, stuck in the financial projects of the business plan because we are having a very hard time locating property on-line in the midwest and really grasping our financial needs. Im not sure if we're looking in the right places but we need HELP!!! We're in the process of copyrighting our camp name which is Camp 3 Keys. Any advice given is greatly appreciated regarding:
- Start up
- Property
- Insurance
- Bussiness Plan

Thanks!
jennifer.rice@camp3keys.org

Do you have contact with the gentleman who wants to create an exchange camp program between the states and China.

Please let me know?

Thank you,

Charleen Wignall
Contact information for Camp is
frances.wignall@comcast.net

Ben,

Re: Camp Indian Meadows. Can we work together?

In 1960 my Mother and Father purchased 61 acres of undeveloped land eighty miles north of San Francisco, in scenic Cobb Mountain, Lake County, California. My parents began developing the land into a Children's Camp in 1982 and our family operated Camp Indian Meadows / Inter Mountain Sports Camp from 1987 through 2000. As it stands now, there is a modern cafeteria and kitchen, swimming pool, showers and bathrooms, a recreation building, basketball courts, baseball field, an all-year creek, a pond, and thirteen sleeping structures. We have a lifetime Camp permit and are allowed to build up to 20 sleeping structures if needed.

Over the years the facility has been used as a sports camp, children's summer camp, health retreats and as a campus for Kelseyville Extension High School.

Now we are presently remodeling the Camp and plan to re-open this Summer. The facility is able to accomadate 150 people. We have had up to 180 children and staff there at one time . Also I will send you photographs via regular mail or e-mail if you would like to see the place..

Sincerly,

Charleen Wignall
email is
frances.wignall@comcast.net