Retaining Campers - CampHacker #51

Keeping campers is much easier than finding new ones

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher App  (search for CampHacker)

One of the great tricks of being a good camp director is finding ways to keep campers coming back year after year.

I have heard a number of directors, when I talked to them at conferences, who have said that they feel like they need to add something new and exciting to their program every year.   I know from my own experience that it was never the programs that I remembered each winter when I was at school but it was my counsellors and the other kids that I went to school with - many of whom are still friends today.

Dan, Joe, and Gab share great, easy to implement ideas from their very successful camps.

How to you make sure that as many campers as possible will return year after year?  Please leave us a comment!

Tool of the Week – Make yourself a better Camp Director

Travis: Strobist Ducktape Keyfob
Joe: Google Ad Words Grant
(US - http://www.google.com/grants/)  (Canada - http://www.google.ca/intl/en/grants/)
Dan: ACA’s 2013 Emerging Issues Results
Gab: Wireless speaker Bluetooth speaker - Philips Sound Shooter
 

Your Hosts:

• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - CampHacker.org
• Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams Christian Centre
  
• Dan Weir, Director of Camping Services - Frost Valley YMCA
  
• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau

Thanks for the evening, friends.

Camperships - CampHacker #44

Financial Aid for Summer Camp

Winter is coming...

But so is next summer and so we thought we should take some time to talk about how we support families who can not afford to send their children to camp.

We all have different names for our programs that help cover the cost of camp: campership, scholarship, bursary, financial aid; but we are united in purpose.  We want camp to be available for all kids.
In this week’s CampHacker podcast we talk about the criteria that we use to give out the funds and creative ideas for raising the money.
As a campership kid, myself, I know that support from my church to attend Camp Kintail has led me to truly appreciate the camp opportunities that I have been given.

We are please to welcome back Jacqui Raill from Camp Ouareau and Paul Sheridan from Four Winds.  It was wonderful to have their perspective on Campership.

Do you have a creative way of raising money to assist families with sending their children to camp?

Please leave us a note in the comments below or tweet us @CampHacker with your suggestion.

Tool of the Week – make yourself a better Camp Director

Paul: Magic the Gathering (nerd alert!)
Jacqui: Online Postage Service, Paperless Post
Travis: Secure Director to Staff Texting, Remind 101
Joe: Campership Conference, Buckeye Leadership Workshop
&
Smartphone Podcast Application, Stitcher

Your Hosts:

• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - CampHacker.org
• Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams Christian Centre
• Paul Sheridan,  Director at Four Winds, Westward Ho Camp
• Jacqui Raill, Owner/Director - Camp Ouareau

Thanks for the evening, friends.

Camp Alumni - CampHacker #25

How Do We Best Look After Our Summer Camp Alumni?

Our summer camp alumni are such a huge part of our camp community.   They support us as directors, they give us new energy and they are camp's best ambassadors. In this week's CampHacker we talk about ways that our camps have reached out to their alumni - for big anniversary events (such as Ouareau's 90th last month), for fundraising (such as Pearce Williams' upcoming building project) and to build word of mouth. Thank you to Natasha Dunn of Cairn Camp's Alumni committee for joining us for this week's show.

What do you do to keep in touch with your camp alumni?

Tool of the Week – make yourself a better Camp Director

• Gab - Poppy Talk: Design Blog
• Joe - Tul Retractable Gen Pen
• Natasha - Qik.com for streaming video
• Travis - Taylor guitars

(please note: Amazon products are affiliate links)

Your Hosts:

• Gabrielle Raill, Director at Camp Ouareau
• Joe Richards, Executive Director at Pearce Williams Christian Centre
• Natasha Dunn, Teacher and Blogger
• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Leadership and Marketing Consultant at Walking Maverick

Thanks for the evening, friends.

Building Staff Community - CampHacker #24

How Do I Build Staff Community At Summer Camp?

Building community within a staff requires some very conscientious efforts.  On today's CampHacker we talk about what we do to bring people together to work in the magical world of summer camp.

It was great to have Beth back on the show and also to welcome an old camp friend - Sol Birenbaum - to the discussion.

How do you build staff community in your camp program?

Tool of the Week – make yourself a better Camp Director

• Beth: Have a support person for yourself
• Dan - Thesis Wordpress Themes
• Joe - Toodledo
• Sol - Trails iOS app
• Travis - AppShopper

(please note: Amazon products are affiliate links)

Your Hosts:

• Beth Allison, Summer Camp Leadership and Marketing Consultant at Walking Maverick
• Dan Weir, Director at Frost Valley YMCA
• Joe Richards, Executive Director at Pearce Williams Christian Centre
• Sol Birenbaum, Owner/Director at Camp Walden
• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Leadership and Marketing Consultant at Walking Maverick

Thanks for the evening, friends.