Camp Directors Resource Hub

Many Camp Abilities and programs work with their local Lions Club/Rotary Clubs to support a variety of needs in preparation or during camp. Support could be fundraising money for equipment, financially supporting sport specialists, lodging, food, transportation, etc. To find a Local Lions Club near you, please visit www.lionsclubs.org/en/start-our-approach/club-locator or Rotary Club near you https://my.rotary.org/en/club-search. Some clubs will encourage directors or administrative staff to attend Lions Club meetings to present on what Camp Abilities is and how they can best support the program. Camps have been successful when they create or share videos of Camp Abilities, bring an athlete to speak about their experience, and/or come prepared with an estimated cost or time commitment to help them understand how they can support your program. 

Camp Abilities couldn’t exist without generous donors around the world. Many times local businesses, Lions/Rotary Clubs, or other donors will donate throughout the year or at specific events. Some Camp Abilities will host Golf Tournaments, 5k Run/Roll/Walk, send Holiday Letters, GoFundMe pages, and more to help raise funds to support children and staff attend Camp Abilities. 

Each Camp Abilities collects funds/donations in different ways. For example, Camp Abilities Brockport collects donations through The College at Brockport Research Foundation and other camps will collect funds through a typical bank account monitored by their Board of Directors/Administrative staff. Camps may want to consider creating a PayPal account for donations. PayPal offers discounted transaction rates for all confirmed 501(c)(3) charities and competitive low rates for all other nonprofits fundraising through PayPal. With no platform fees, you only pay when you receive donations. For more information, please visit www.paypal.com/us/brc/article/how-to-set-up-a-nonprofit-account-with-paypal

TechSoup supports nonprofits, charities, and libraries by providing access to donations and discounts on software, hardware, and services from major. Once a Camp Abilities has established the non-profit status, they can apply for additional software & hardware at discounted rates. Technology services include accounting, website and social media publishing, and Office 365 Support Services for Nonprofits.

The Microsoft Nonprofits program from Microsoft provides  501c3 corporations with free or discounted subscriptions to Microsoft solutions such as Microsoft 365 Business Basics package which can be used with the corporation’s domain to provide corporation branded emailing addresses (ex. webmaster@campabilitiesworld.org ) along with Office 365 applications and OneDrive Cloud storage.

GE ElFun Society is a New York based nonprofit organization who accepts new and used computer equipment and donates the refurbished systems to nonprofits. They bridge the digital divide by providing FREE computer systems to schools and nonprofit organizations that cannot afford to buy new equipment. They extend the useful life of computers that are no longer wanted by individuals and businesses through REUSE rather than recycling them for scrap materials.

Camp Abilities is often associated with a local school or community program to help with equipment for all the activities. Many camps partner with other organizations/companies to offer different activities and opportunities for children to learn and engage in. Camps will work with equestrian centers, portable rock climbing, water sport companies for stand-up paddle boards, surf boards, and kayaks, dance companies, and so much more. Many camps will utilize their geographic areas to their advantage and plan activities that will be common in the area and/or children can go do with their families when they leave Camp Abilities. Ex.) If a camp is close to the mountains, they may go on a day hike or if a camp is close to a waterpark, they will spend the day there as recreational activity.

May We Help is another resource camps will use to help children stay engaged. Sometimes, a device is all that stands in the way of an individual with a disability achieving independence or pursuing their passion. When that device is not available in the marketplace, that’s when May We Help’s volunteers step in. They are a team of engineers, industrial designers, inventors, welders, woodworkers, seamstresses, doctors, occupational and physical therapists whose skill sets come together to design, build and deliver custom devices at no cost to hundreds of recipients every year.