In addition to
increased revenues and
cutting costs, more than 2/3 of camps in the Fall 2024 JCamp 180 Camp Insights societal trends survey they are managing their increasingly fragile economic position by deferring important expenditures.
The following conclusions from this analysis stand out:
- Camps are deferring and spreading out a wide range of expenditures -maintenance, staff, operations, programming, as well as capital projects
- Camps are concerned about the risk of their core product being harmed by continued deferral of staff and programming costs
- Camps are also concerned about the increase of long-term repair and facility costs rising from delayed maintenance and capital investments
Areas of Camp Deferred Expenditures
Deferred Maintenance
“We've delayed certain capital improvements…this usually means we spend money on band aid repair solutions that only last a season rather than permanent fixes which cost more.”
“Maintenance has been put off for years, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars of deferred costs that are becoming increasingly difficult for us to ignore.”
Camps are:
- Delaying maintenance projects, leading to significant deferred costs they feel are becoming critical.
- Stretching the lifecycle of equipment and facilities through temporary fixes.
Camps recognize that short-term benefits will give way to long-term costs as facilities age and, without sufficient preventative maintenance, will further deteriorate and require even greater repair and costs.
Deferred Facility Investments
“We've delayed capital projects, especially building new cabins/adult housing.”
“We were in the process of a fairly extensive plan in building out new softball and basketball facilities and have had to significantly cut back the scope of work.”
Camps are:
- Postponing non-essential renovations, upgrades, and capital improvements such as dining halls, adventure courses, and facility enhancements unless fully funded by donations.
- Scaling back larger projects, with many focusing only on critical repairs, delaying aesthetic or expansion-related enhancements.
- Unable to fully staff camp because of deferred staff/adult housing projects.
Staffing Adjustments
“We have not been able to offer raises to our seasonal staff each year. This results in us losing some very good staff who need higher paying jobs [to cover] their own costs.”
“We've delayed providing full benefit packages to our professional staff.”
Camps are:
- Leaving positions unfilled or consolidating roles.
- Delaying hiring additional full-time staff or seasonal staff.
- Freezing wages for seasonal and full-time staff despite rising costs of living.
- Limiting benefits packages for full-time staff.
- Exploring more flexible staffing models, such as shifts or co-director models.
Programming Cuts
“We are doing everything we can not to cut our programming or sacrifice things that make our camp special.”
“We have delayed and/or spread out costs of some program equipment that we would like to have: lighting for our theatre/drama program, sewing machines to expand our sewing program, Chromebooks or similar to open a graphic design program, etc.”
"We have tried to limit spending on materials for our camps. We have encouraged staff to center more activities on nature and games and use what we already have to limit spending on activity materials.”
Camps are:
- Scaling back on high-cost, non-essential or new programming initiatives to reduce expenses, e.g., ropes courses, waterfront upgrades, and field trips.
- Reducing the scope and/or number of year-round programs to prioritize seasonal camp operations.
A number of camps expressed concern about balancing budget constraints with the need to maintain high-quality programming and facilities to retain campers and staff.
Operational Adjustments
“We did not professionally film a new promo video last year to save [money].”
“We have reduced the number of rental vehicles we have for the summer.”
Camps are:
- Delaying payments, scrutinizing budgets, and limiting expenditures on marketing, professional development, and non-essential upgrades.
- Exploring partnerships with other organizations to share costs or rent affordable spaces.
About the JCamp 180 Camp Insights Societal Trends Survey
Since 2019, JCamp 180 has conducted an annual survey of Jewish camp leaders to understand the implications of a wide range of economic, demographic, technological, cultural and other societal trends on Jewish camps. The goal of this work is to support effective future planning by Jewish camp professionals and boards so that camps can navigate the myriad issues coming their way. 230 individuals from 100+ camps responded to the November 2024 Trends survey, which included a number of qualitative questions relating to financial sustainability.