How are Jewish camps tackling endowment building, especially in a time of many competing needs? In a recent webinar, JCamp 180 showcased three camps who have made major progress in growing their permanent endowment funds. These camps did not have active endowment campaigns prior to 2024 and have now launched new efforts to secure their future. This is the story of how these three camps, Surprise Lake Camp, Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake, and Camp Stone leveraged JCamp 180’s Endowment Accelerator grant to invest in endowment building.
Seizing the Moment with the Right Donor
Helene Drobenare Horwitz, Executive Director at Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake
At Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake, endowment giving wasn't on the radar before they applied for JCamp 180’s Endowment Accelerator Grant. The camp set up a new fund as part of the grant and decided to offer the opportunity to make a leadership gift to seed the fund to a major donor to whom they were already submitting proposals.
"It was one of four options," Helene shared. "We didn’t expect them to pick it."
However, the donor was excited by the idea of making their money "work harder" for camp through investment returns. This donor found the idea of securing camp’s future so compelling that they ended up making a larger commitment than initially discussed and gave $100,000 to kickstart the fund.
Helene realized that offering the endowment option changed the conversation: “Capital projects or program gifts speak to some donors. Endowment speaks to others. It’s another powerful tool — and we almost missed it."
What’s Next for Endowment Building at Sprout Lake?
Heading into their 50th anniversary year, Sprout Lake will continue offering endowment giving as an option to major donors, alongside their annual and capital proposals, seeing it as a way to engage donors who want to leave a lasting legacy.
Engaging the Whole Community, One Swimathon at a Time
Adam Bendeson, Executive Director at Surprise Lake Camp
Prior to 2024, Surprise Lake Camp had an endowment fund but it had been dormant for many years. They weren’t discussing it with donors or actively raising funds for it. "It wasn’t something we concentrated on daily," Adam said, "We focused on annual scholarships and capital needs."
The Endowment Accelerator grant gave Adam and his team permission—and structure—to think bigger. They decided that they didn’t need to limit themselves to only their top, six-figure donors for this effort. Instead, they ran a swimathon to engage campers, alumni, and even friends of friends. They revamped their website, positioned endowment giving prominently, encouraged tribute gifts to go towards the endowment, and made it easy for people to contribute at any level. "We leveraged the Grinspoon name every day," he said. "People knew their dollars were being matched—and that created momentum."
In just one year, they raised over $120,000, completing their four-year goal ahead of schedule.
Adam’s advice?
"Don’t under-ask. And don’t estimate someone’s generosity before they even have a chance to hear your vision."
What’s Next for Endowment Building at Surprise Lake Camp?
The Surprise Lake team plans to continue their focus on growing their endowment fund for the next couple of years, before they switch gears for their 125th anniversary campaign in 2027. They also plan to continue growing their 1902 Society for Legacy Donors, as legacy giving has proven another successful strategy to grow their endowment over the long term.
Weaving Endowment into the Camp’s Big Vision
Yakov Fleischmann, Co-Director at Camp Stone
When Camp Stone joined the Endowment Accelerator, Yakov and his team had no endowment—and were in the middle of their first-ever capital campaign. Many leaders would have seen the two efforts as competing. Yakov found a way to weave them together.
Instead of seeing the two as competing, he positioned the endowment as a natural complement to their capital project—a new training lodge tied to a leadership fellowship program funded by the endowment.
"It actually helped the capital raise," he said. "Donors loved that we weren’t just constructing a building—we were investing in our future leadership."
The results were immediate: a donor who initially pledged to the building shifted their gift to seed the endowment, unlocking the matching dollars in the process.
By having individual conversations with donors that tie the two projects together, Yakov has been able to raise $150,000 into their endowment fund in the first year of the grant without the workload of running two separate campaigns at the same time.
What’s Next for Endowment Building at Camp Stone?
The Camp Stone team plan to take a step back from actively growing their endowment for the next year to finish their capital campaign effort. In the long term, Yakov aims to grow their endowment fund to $5 million and this will be his priority once the capital campaign wraps up.
Key Takeaways- Lessons for Other Camps
Through different strategies, all three camps showed that building an endowment—even starting from scratch—is possible.
Whether by tapping new energy through community engagement (Surprise Lake), offering creative options to donors (Sprout Lake), or integrating capital and endowment in a single compelling story (Stone), they each found their own path forward.
Their advice for others thinking about building their endowment? Helene shared, "It’s within reach. And asking isn’t as scary as you think." Yakov noted that, "I wish I had started even earlier." And Adam shares a reminder every fundraiser needs to hear, "Remember—giving is a gift, for the donor as much as for you."
Watch the Webinar
For the full conversation with these three camp leaders, you can watch the recording of their webinar - Endowment Success Stories - recorded on April 28, 2025.