Whether you’re planning to launch a sports camp, arts camp, space camp, or any other type of camp, starting a new summer camp is always exciting. However, there’s also a lot to plan, from finding a venue to setting a summer schedule to registering your camp with your state.
Additionally, to get your camp off the ground, you’ll need funding. Whether you’re relying on donors, grantmakers, investors, lenders, or sponsors, your camp will need a solid business plan.
To help your camp get the financial backing it needs, this guide will go over the core elements of a summer camp business plan and even provide a template to help you create your own. But first, let’s answer a few common questions about this type of business plan.
What is a summer camp business plan?
A summer camp business plan provides an overview of your camp’s current status. This includes details about your programming, market positioning, marketing strategy, business model, and finances.
All types of organizations create business plans to help them navigate finances, growth potential, and possible risks. Usually, the organization’s founder will create the business plan, though some individuals will work with an external business plan consultant if they need professional advice.
Why does my summer camp need a business plan?
The process of creating a summer camp business plan forces you to think about aspects of your camp that you might have otherwise overlooked, making it useful for nailing down the details of your camp and ensuring it will be a success. For example, you might have put a lot of thought into your camp’s programming, finances, and management, but have yet to consider its position in the greater market.
Once your business plan is created, you can use it in conversations with various funders to get the loans, grants, donations, and sponsors you need to operate. A complete, professional business plan demonstrates to external funders that you have thought through every aspect of your camp and are poised to create a successful organization.
Creating your summer camp value proposition
Before creating your business plan, consider your camp’s value proposition. A value proposition is a one or two-sentence explanation of who your audience is and what they need, how your camp meets those needs, and how your camp differs from other competing camps.
For example, you might explain that your six-week art sleep-away camp aimed at middle and high schoolers is designed for kids who are serious about advancing their artistic skills and potentially pursuing a career in the arts, in contrast to other casual art camps aimed at elementary schoolers. Or, you might emphasize that your day camp for kids aged 10-4 provides educational day activities and a safe environment while parents are at work, all at a reasonable price point.
Having a solid value proposition will make completing your summer camp business plan far easier, particularly when it comes to completing your market analysis. Remember, a business plan is a document used for presenting your camp to funders. This means it should clearly articulate what your camp does, why it deserves funding, and why it will be a success.
Components of a summer camp business plan
Executive summary
Summer camp business plans can be long documents. In fact, it’s not unheard of for these documents to be 30 pages or more. That’s why many people will want a quick summary before diving in.
An executive summary should introduce your camp and provide the major highlights of each section of your report in one or two pages. This means the general structure of your executive summary will be something like this:
- Introduction to your camp, including what type of camp it is, relevant history (such as how long you’ve been operating), and your camp’s goals
- A snapshot of the current state of the summer camp sector and an explanation of how your camp fits into it
- A quick overview of your target market and marketing strategy
- A list of your top personnel and their qualifications
- An overview of your financial plan
To ensure all of these points are addressed, some executive summaries will include headers to break up text and ensure readers can quickly find the highlights they’re most interested in. Additionally, because you need to include top highlights from all of your other sections, consider writing your executive summary last. This way, you’ll know exactly what your key points are and how to frame them.
Company/mission overview
Explain what your business is, share your mission statement, and discuss your organization’s goals.
For a summer camp, this means explaining what type of camp you’re running, such as a sports camp, day camp, or arts camp. Additionally, clarify what your camp’s business model is. Are you an incorporated business, a registered nonprofit organization, in the process of applying for nonprofit status, or something else? State what your organization type is, as well as any other relevant details, such as if your camp is a religious entity, owned through a partnership, or has been brought under new ownership as part of a recent buyout.
This is also the place to discuss relevant details of your camp’s history. For example, you might share what year your camp was founded, how your organization has evolved over time, and any major awards or accomplishments your camp has achieved.
You should also share your camp’s mission and vision statement. These are two closely related concepts, but there is a distinction between the two. Specifically:
- Mission statements are an overview of your camp’s current operations. Your mission statement should explain what your camp is currently doing and why it matters.
- Vision statements are about your camp’s future. Explain your camp’s long-term goals and what a future where your camp achieves its goals would look like. Optionally, discuss your organization’s values here, such as your dedication to helping each child reach their full potential or your commitment to letting children explore and be adventurous in safe environments.
Usually, a mission or vision statement should only be a sentence or two long, but you can expand on it in your business plan to provide any details you think are necessary for explaining your operations and securing funding.
Program offerings
Go into detail about your camp’s various program offerings. Specifically, be sure to include your:
- Program goals. What is the desired outcome of each program or your camp’s programs as a whole? For example, you might explain that your sports camp hosts activities meant to encourage a healthy, active lifestyle and instill a lifelong interest in exercise. Then, for your basketball program description, you might emphasize its focus on teamwork and encouraging an interest in social sports.
- Programs’ structure. Explain how each program will operate, such as what activities campers will participate in and how long the program will last. For instance, you might share that your theater camp hosts daily four-hour rehearsals with scheduled breaks throughout your entire month-long camp in preparation for a performance for campers’ families and friends.
- Number of campers. How many campers will attend your camp? For activities with limited spots, mention how many campers can register for each program. Otherwise, provide a ballpark estimate of how many campers will likely attend your camp in general.
While your summer camp business plan is a serious, professional document meant to provide an overview of your operations, it is also a persuasive tool that should encourage funders to take an interest in your organization. This means splitting up text by adding visuals that draw the eye and showcase your camp.
In particular, your program offerings section is a great opportunity to showcase pictures of your camp in action. Consider pairing each description of a program with a photograph showing campers participating in that program.
Market analysis
Most sections of a business plan can be completed based on your knowledge of your summer camp, with maybe the occasional need to pull up a document for reference. Your marketing analysis is the exception and will require a significant amount of research.
In this section, your summer camp has three objectives:
1. Provide an overview of your industry.
Your industry analysis should provide a general overview of the current state of summer camps. Remember that your business plan’s audience may not be familiar with the summer camp industry, so this is your opportunity to give them the necessary background knowledge to understand potential risks and opportunities your camp will navigate.
In your industry analysis, include:
- Industry statistics. Look up statistics relevant to your specific summer camp. For example, if your camp offers programs that support campers with disabilities, include statistics related to summer accommodation policies or the percentage of summer camps that serve special needs campers.
- Industry forecast. Share recent industry trends and, based on your data and observations, how you predict the summer camp industry will change in the next 5-10 years. In particular, discuss the industry’s current market size and whether you expect it will grow or shrink in the near future.
- A competitor analysis. List your top competitors, explain their offerings, and analyze how your camp compares to them. This is also an opportunity to emphasize your value proposition and discuss the unique benefits your camp offers compared to similar organizations.
In addition to providing relevant background information to external parties, researching your own industry can help inform your strategy. For example, you might have never seriously considered who your competitors are and why parents might send their child to your camp over another one in your area.
2. Share an analysis of your target customer base.
Who are your target customers?
For summer camps, the answer to this question might be a bit confusing since parents are the paying customers, but your services and programs are tailored to children. Fortunately, there is a definitive answer: your customers are the ones paying for your camp. This means your audience is going to be “parents of kids interested in ___.”
With this in mind, you can provide an overview of who your average customer is. This should include:
- Demographic information. Give a basic overview of your typical customer’s characteristics, such as their age, gender, and location. For example, you might notice the majority of parents who reach out to you are middle-class moms in their forties who live in a nearby city.
- Price range. How much is your average customer willing to spend on your summer camp? Consider your customers’ disposable income, how much you have charged in the past, and how previous price changes have impacted enrollment numbers.
- Psychological profile. There’s no need to go armchair psychologist on your customers. Instead, consider their needs, wants, and worries. For example, a parent might want to give their child a memorable summer experience but worry about trusting their child’s care to strangers. In this case, you might explain how your camp addresses this fear by leveraging communication tools that provide daily camper updates.
This information can also help you determine your market size. For example, if you’re targeting middle-class families with children aged 5-10 in your local community, you might have a natural cap of around 100 customers each season.
3. Explain how your summer camp fits into the current market.
Now that you’ve explained the current state of your industry and what your target customers are looking for in a summer camp, it’s time to explain why your camp will succeed in this environment.
This is the place to go into depth about your value proposition. State your value proposition clearly and explain how it sets you apart from your competitors and why these differences matter. For example, you might share that the average summer camp in your area has a 1:10 staff-to-camper ratio, whereas your camp boasts a 1:5 ratio, which provides campers with a more hands-on experience and ensures greater supervision.
Marketing plan
Marketing strategy is an overview of your organization’s approach to outreach and includes your high-level goals. A marketing plan details the specific steps your organization will take to fulfill its marketing strategy.
For example, your strategy might include leveraging a mix of online channels to connect with parents on multiple platforms. Then, your marketing plan would go into detail about your use of Facebook Ads, Google search ads, and email marketing.
In addition to your specific promotional strategies, share your marketing budget and timeline. For a summer camp, you might detail your plans to start advertising in the winter and ramp up heavily in the spring as your camp registration deadline approaches. Additionally, you might share your expected return on investment for each camper to justify your marketing costs.
Management plan
Provide an overview of your camp’s management strategy. Some business plans will break down the minute details of a typical day’s operations, whereas others focus on high-level information and goals.
Regardless of your approach, a few core elements you should include in your management plan are:
- A list of team members. Provide two lists of important individuals at your summer camp: one of your board members and one of your operational staff. Ensure everyone has their job title and any specific qualifications listed, such as if they are a trained nurse.
- Insurance details. Confirm that your camp has proper insurance based on its type. Provide the name of your insurance provider and how much your camp is insured for to confirm that your camp is protected in the event of an emergency.
- Timetable. Share a calendar explaining when you expect to conduct specific marketing activities or hit marketing-related milestones, such as having enough campers register that you break even.
Additionally, depending on your camp’s setup, you might also describe your specific equipment and technology in detail. For example, an adventure camp with multiple obstacle courses might provide a breakdown of its equipment and safety gear.
Or, if your camp is high tech, you might explain how technology enhances various aspects of your camp. For example, you might use summer camp management software to make down-to-the-minute schedules, stay in touch with parents, and ensure camp counselors are always where they’re needed.
Financial plan
Since you’ll be presenting your summer camp business plan to potential funders, it’s essential that you have a detailed breakdown of your finances. This allows funders to make an informed decision about whether to invest in your summer camp. Plus, the process of assembling a final plan will force you to analyze your finances and ensure you have a workable budget.
A few key elements of a financial plan are:
- Start-up costs. Even if your camp has been operating for years, you should still provide a breakdown of your upfront costs, such as purchases of land and equipment. You should also include recurring, static expenses like state taxes.
- Revenue projections. Based on your knowledge of your fundraising sources, do your best to create a 5-year revenue projection chart. This should provide conservative estimates of approximately how much funding you expect to bring in from various sources, such as $5,000 from donations and $10,000 from grants.
- Balance sheets. Provide a balance sheet to show how your summer camp is spending money. In some cases, a statement of financial position that provides a snapshot of an overview of your assets and liabilities might be enough, but some funders may prefer a complete breakdown of your balance sheet to understand exactly what your funding is going toward.
Based on how thorough your business plan’s financials need to be, you might also include your annual budget, income statement, and cash flow statement. Additionally, if your camp has a corporate social responsibility program that impacts spending, you might share it here.
More summer camp resources
With a summer camp business plan, you’ll know the ins and outs of your camp’s finances, market positioning, and operations. Leverage this information to create a marketing plan that helps you stand out, design a financial strategy to power your camp for years to come, and have productive conversations with potential funders.
For even more resources on how to run a successful summer camp, check out these top guides:
- Summer Camp Registration Forms: 5 Top Tips + Free Template. Start your registration process off on the right foot by designing user-friendly registration forms with these top tips.
- How to Increase Summer Camp Enrollment: A Complete Guide. Every summer camp needs campers! Discover how to boost your camp’s enrollment numbers.
- Summer Camp Survey Questions: Easy Examples + Tips. Survey your audience to ensure your camp is even better next year. Learn how to create a survey that provides the information you need.
