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Ring, ring! Ring,
ring!
Hello?
This is your friendly telemarketer asking you to support the American Camp Association.
But, I already gave during CAMPaign '07,
and I donated for our camp when I
paid our dues this year. Plus, someone
sent me a letter last year, and I keep
seeing articles in my Section's local
newsletter asking me to give. I attend
conferences to support ACA, and I pay membership
dues. Why
does ACA keep asking me for more money?
Why Does ACA Keep Asking Me for More Money?
Did you know that the national association
and your local office of ACA run on charitable
gifts? Only about
one-third (36 percent) of ACA's national
budget comes from membership dues and camp
fees. This means in order to continue
providing the great services they offer – providing camperships,
promoting camp to parents and the public,
lobbying for fair regulation of camps,
offering professional development in recreation
and youth development, etc. – they
must rely on individual donations, foundation
grants, and corporate sponsorships.
Did you also know that it
doesn't
matter how much you give to
ACA? When corporations and grant-giving
foundations look to ACA as a charity, one
of the first things they check is the percentage
of the membership that has donated – they
don't care how much each person has
given, but they want to know that the members
support their association's mission
enough to put their money where their mouth
is. Currently, fewer than 10 percent
of the association's members have supported
ACA financially. Your
gift of any amount counts!
Your gift to ACA will go to fund general
operations – helping with the things
ACA does every day, like educational programming,
research, parent outreach, and political
influence. You can also earmark your gift
and request that it be used for something
specific – e.g. educational programs,
fundraising, media outreach, outcomes research,
or camperships. If your Section is participating
in the Annual Fund, 50 percent of your
gift will automatically be directed to
your Section so that your local office
can keep bringing you great programs specifically
designed for area camps like yours!
We need your gift now more than ever.
ACA relies on donations and grants to provide
the basic level of services each year.
It is in tough economic times such as these
that we rely most on our association to
draw more people to camp, to increase the
number of campers, and to continue to provide
high quality services at low costs. If
you are able to, at any amount, please
give.
We are expecting
each and every member to consider “whatever
amount” fits
into their charitable giving budget – we
hope to achieve the goal of 100 percent
participation!
It's not too late to give! If you haven't
already contributed, you can still donate
by calling ACA at 1-800-428-CAMP (2267),
or you can give
online.
It's for the kids!
Remember, ACA does
not exist solely for us, the camp professionals! As
a 501(c)(3) corporation, it exists for
the public good, to promote a quality
camp experience. More families
and camps need to know what we do so
that we can ensure every child gets a
quality camp experience – help
ACA help children everywhere!
What Happened to All That Money from
CAMPaign '07?
CAMPaign '07 was a great start to
get ACA going in the right direction. While
the fundraising effort was successful,
we didn't quite raise the full amount
we had hoped for. This means we have a
lot of great ideas we haven't been
able to implement yet! We have been
able to invest a small portion, and the
rest was put to good use. ACA
needs your continued financial support
so we can keep doing the great things we
do for
children and camps throughout the country.
Specifically, CAMPaign '07 donations
have already been used to fund:
- Improvements in ACA's identity:
- Updated logos, taglines, and our
association's name!
- CAMP – ACA's first publication
targeted toward parents
- CampParents.org– ACA's
parent Web site
- Camp E-News – An online parent
newsletter about camp
- Spanish versions of the Web site
and CAMP, as well as Spanish translation
for phone services
- More media placements, both traditional
print and TV and online
- Increases in ACA's influence,
including seats at the table with:
- The Children
and Nature Network – a
group that encourages and supports
the people and organizations working
to reconnect children with nature
- Search Institute – an
organization that provides leadership,
knowledge, and resources to promote
healthy children, youth, and communities
- High Scope – a research
foundation dedicated to participatory
education, where both students and
teachers shape the learning experience
- American Academy
of Pediatrics – an
organization of 60,000 pediatricians
committed to the attainment of optimal
physical, mental, and social health
and well-being for all infants, children,
adolescents, and young adults
- Ongoing updates to best practices in
the field of camp:
- New and expanded online services
for members, including a staffing site
- Completely revised Standards for
the accreditation program, including
expansion outside regulatory safety
compliance to: camp/camper outcomes,
camper and staff interactions, staff
training guidelines, etc.
- Continued research:
- Benefits of a camp experience – increases
in social skills (like self-confidence
and independence and teamwork) as
well as physical skills; this helps
non-camp people understand why camp
is great
- Healthy Camps study – learning
what contributes to trends in illnesses
and injury in camps and how to better
prevent them
- Trends and Enrollment – information
for camp professionals on what to
expect: session-length, demographics,
economics, etc.
- Operations – benchmarks for
fellow directors/owners on staff
positions, salaries, and benefits
- Program-specific – such as
nature programs
- Increased efficiency in our association
management:
- New hardware and software, including
a true constituent management system
(member database) to be shared by National
and all Sections
- Created a National Office Business
Plan
- Revised our Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation,
and Charter Agreements
- Adopted policy governance on the
national level to make us more agile
- Initiated more aggressive fundraising
- Continue to address non-dues revenue,
internally and externally
- Experienced modest membership growth
- Outsourced our publishing efforts
to Healthy Learning
Biographical Information:
Jessica Coleman
is the Phone-a-thon Leader for ACA's Fund
Development Committee; she works with Sections
to create and implement fundraising events
for members. Experienced
in day, resident, for-profit, nonprofit,
family-run, and agency camps, Jessica is
known for her connection with staff, her
organizational skills, and her no-nonsense
manner. She is an active volunteer with ACA
on a national and local level, and she is
proud to be a Standards Visitor.
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