Camping

The Mission and Service Fund supports United Church Camps in a variety of ways:

• the work of the National Camping Task Group
• General Council Office staff (4) who work on behalf of camping ministry
• Conference staff who work on behalf of camping ministry
• accreditation/standards work and resources for camps
• communications for camps (Camping News newsletter, Camping Online Network, etc.)
• Connections, the triennial camping conference (over 70 percent of the event is funded by M&S)
• I Am Camp—resources for the 2010 national camping awareness campaign
• The Vision Fund for Youth & Young Adult Ministry
• Learning in Community Grants
• Local Initiative Grants
• contact your local Conference office to find out if they support camps with M&S funds

United Church Funding Sources for Camps

• Capital Assistance for Camps and Retreat Centres
  Grants and loans are available to assist camps to upgrade, replace, or repair program areas, cabins, dining rooms, or washrooms, or to upgrade technology and other capital items. The maximum loan is 50 percent of the total cost, not to exceed $50,000. A camp or retreat centre may apply for a matching grant of up to $4,000.
• The Vision Fund for Youth & Young Adult Ministry
  Supports innovative, creative, and new congregational and other youth and young adult ministries in The United Church of Canada. Camps have had successful applications for projects such as: the purchase of an audiovisual projector, an Adventure Camp to celebrate a camp’s 100th anniversary, the creation of a vegetable garden and composting facilities, and youth leadership camps. Camps have also partnered with local congregations, presbyteries, and Conference offices to apply for funds for a special week at camp.
• Learning-in-Community Grants
  To encourage the development of small groups across the country who gather on an ongoing basis for mutual support and education. These grants are available to congregations, presbyteries, Conferences, and local consortiums of congregations or church-related bodies (e.g., camps). London Conference had a successful application for a learning community made up of counselling staff from nine of their camps.
• Local Initiative Grants
  These grants help subsidize the cost of organizing and offering a continuing education event for a local region. They are available to congregations, presbyteries, Conferences, and local consortiums of congregations or church-related bodies (e.g., camps).
• 2009 Seeds of Hope Granting Program of The United Church of Canada Foundation*
  This program is currently under review.

How You Can Support United Church Camps

• Support camps nationally through the Camp Trust Fund administered at the General Council Office. This fund is being grown to support camp capital expenses and the Connections conference. We invite bequests and other contributions to the fund. Contact Camping for more information.
• Volunteer your time and expertise, or donate funds directly, by contacting your local camp.
• To discover if your local Conference office has a fund for camps, contact them directly.
• Congregationally: Talk to your local camp and your minister about how your congregation can support a local camp, or if you have no camp in your presbytery, how you can support a camp in another presbytery.
• PAR (Pre-Authorized Remittance): Another way to support camps is to give directly to a camp through a monthly deduction if the camp you wish to support is on PAR. So far only four United Church camps are signed up to receive donations through PAR, but you can encourage your local camp treasurer to contact Cathy Guo at 1-800-268-3781, ext. 3050, to arrange a PAR account for the camp. Individuals then are able to arrange their own monthly donations for that particular camp. Donations also may be made to United Church Camp Meeting Associations through PAR.