Why is now the right opportunity for us to look at growth?
Our mission is to develop in promising young people a commitment to ethical leadership. Our certificate of incorporation describes that the purpose of the LAJF is to “establish, maintain and operate (but not for profit) a camp or camps or other programs for young people,” highlighting that our mission and purpose is not limited to running a summer camp program.
We believe that Camp Rising Sun and the Louis August Jonas Foundation remain highly relevant in today's world. Wherever you look, young leaders are emerging. We have a responsibility to our mission to try and reach as many young future leaders as our means enable us to, to teach them the values of compassionate and ethical leadership.
Simultaneously, growing our programs will help sustain Camp Rising Sun and our broader organization in the longer run as a smaller operation focused solely on a summer camp is more likely to have a harder time withstanding volatile times.Running a broader slate of programs, some with revenue streams, expands our ability to achieve our mission while diversifying sources of income. It also more fully uses our capacity and assets.
In recent years, organically driven by an engaged and qualified staff, we have grown and expanded our organization already. While the programs outlined in the strategic plan are new, the ideas have been cultivated in our organization for years. Incorporating growth in the strategic plan for our organization serves to formalize and support the undercurrents of growth and change that exists already today. In the spirit of our founder, Freddie’s wish for us, “Our Reach should exceed our grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”.
2. How will the increase in number of campers per summer be addressed?
Each year we turn hundreds of qualified and deserving applicants away, because of limited spots. We aim to incrementally increase the number of campers from 65 today to 80 in five years - about 5 per year. By increasing the number of campers per summer, we are extending the impact of our mission and reaching more future leaders.
We believe that an increase in the number of campers can be done both safely and responsibly, without compromising the meaningful relationships that make Camp Rising Sun a transformative experience. We are dedicating resources to updating our facilities and will ensure that we are adequately staffed during the summer, to live up to external requirements for camper-supervision, as well as our own high standards for camper-counselor interaction.We will monitor progress each year, to ensure that the number of campers is appropriate and we are maintaining a high quality program.
3. Will we return to 7-week season of Camp Rising Sun?
We have strived to reach the fundraising levels required to make a return to 7-week seasons, but there is still a significant financial shortfall before we can consider that possibility. As such, it is not the focus of the plan to return to 7-week programming in the duration of the plan. Once this becomes a possibility again, this will be evaluated by the Program Committee alongside other program opportunities available to us.
The 4-week season has been evaluated since its implementation, and based on the results of evaluation and testimonials from campers, counselors, parents, teachers and selectors, we believe that a 4-week Camp Rising Sun program remains an innovative, highly educational, once in a lifetime experience for youth across the globe.
4. How will fee-based programs work?
As part of the expansion of our programs, we aim to develop both virtual and in-person, fee-based programs. Camp Rising Sun will remain a full-scholarship program. Developing fee-based programs will serve to extend the reach of our organization, while strengthening our organization by diversifying our streams of revenue.
Offering fee-based programs is not a new thing for the LAJF - in the initial years, there was a weekly cost to attend Camp Rising Sun. However, CRS quickly became a full-scholarship program. Following the same philosophy of charging attendance-fees as our founder, Freddie, the new fee-based programs will be charged on a sliding scale, to ensure that all who desire so, are able to attend.
5. What is the vision for the use of the Red Hook campus?
The Red Hook campus remains an asset to the foundation and our program. In recent years we have extended our use of Red Hook by hosting outdoor activities, camper-wilderness trips, staff retreats and alumni events. We own and will continue to maintain the Red Hook property.
As part of the new strategic plan, the Building & Grounds Committee will work to identify suitable capital improvements that would allow for an increased use of Red Hook with the goal of increasing its use for our programs and making it suitable to be leased out to program partners, non-profit organizations, etc. Pending assessment of project costs and scope, we are aiming at spending a maximum of $500,000 to make capital improvements to Red Hook during the duration of this plan,
We recognize that the above is not sufficient to renovate and fully reopen the Red Hook campus, but the legacy site remains a valuable asset and part of our organization. By making these smaller capital improvements, we hope to further extend our use of the property and campus in the years to come.
6. What will growth mean for our financial sustainability and organizational health?
A successful implementation of the strategic plan will require substantial investment in our infrastructure, facilities and staff, and will mean an increase in spending year over year. The fourth pillar of the plan focuses on the diversification of revenue required to expand our organization and programs in a financially sustainable and responsible way.
So far, our annual operational budget has been financed solely through individual giving and annual withdrawals from our investment portfolio. This leaves few levers for our staff to control, when striving for financial sustainability and programmatic continuity. As a small non-profit, we have operated leanly and we have previously missed critical opportunities for investing in our infrastructure and staff that would help ensure long-term sustainability.
To counter this trend, and to build more financial sustainability for our organization, we aim to lessen our reliance on our investment portfolio by diversifying and growing our funding streams over time:
Partnering with a professional fundraising consultancy to maximize individual giving: We have formed a multi-year partnership with a professional fundraising consultant. The partnership will help us to examine gaps in fundraising systems, deliver coaching to staff and Board, and grow our fundraising through a multi-year fundraising plan.
Develop a system for fee-based programs: Several of our new programs will have fee-based participation. The programs will be launched with an intentional revenue model, with generous scholarships to allow for equal-access.
Grant-seeking: So far our program has received a limited number of grants. As we develop new programs, we aim to seek out opportunities for grant funding from private and public organizations, both nationally and internationally.
Leasing our Camp properties to partner organizations: earn rental income by identifying meaningful, mission driven partnerships and maximize the use of our facilities when not in use by us.
7. What role will alumni play, and what is the relationship we aspire to have with alumni?
Living the mission – bettering the world through our alumni community
CRS alumni share the unique experience of having been together at Camp Rising Sun, having been identified through selection as young people with high potential for leadership. At Camp, they were exposed to a set of values embedded in the program. The shared Camp values of teaching and learning, critical thinking, giving back and making the world better are the strongest foundation on which to build a relationship between alumni and LAJF.
Alumni constitute a remarkably diverse and accomplished community, pursuing interesting careers and important projects across many disciplines, resultign in a community of people making the world better in different ways and living out the shared values of Camp. Continuing to create opportunities for alumni to further our mission remains an important aspect of our alumni engagement.
The relationship between alumni and LAJF:
The values and impact of Camp Rising Sun are preserved and strengthened through the active engagement and further involvement of our alumni. Connecting our alumni around the mission athrough intentional and educational programming, as well as social networking and reunions, allows us to bolster the impact of Camp by supporting our alumni in ‘living the mission’.
In the next five years we will focus on a) alumni programming, b) supporting young alumni, and c) Events, reunions and community outreach. This strategy combines activities that we have undertaken for many years, as well as newer initiatives, started in the last one to two years.
Alumni Programming: In the past two years our international alumni community has flourished. As the world got more used to virtual interaction, our staff were quick to think creatively and design activities to allow our community to come together to share knowledge and experiences, through a series of alumni instructions and panel-discussions. Educational programs that allow alumni to share, and receive experience will be a core focus of our alumni engagement strategy. Similarly, we will continue to formalize professional networking opportunities.
Programming focused on supporting young alumni navigate the end of high school through university and first job(s): We aim to continue to be a resource to young alumni as they embark on new experiences and journeys, upon finishing their summer at Camp. We will further our college-guidance program, which includes the G.E.J. Scholarship, and offer new opportunities centered around mentorship and professional networking. We will also extend the fellowship program, a paid program that offers young alumni the opportunity to work on a project of their choosing beneficial to both LAJF and the alum’s professional development.
Events, reunions and community outreach: We will continue to nurture and develop our global alumni community. Our annual reunions and events offer the opportunity for alumni, who did not attend Camp in the same year – or even decade, to meet and connect. We believe that these opportunities to engage with other alumni remain an important part of creating a cross-generational community around Camp Rising Sun. We will continue to augment these efforts and support our local alumni associations as they welcome new alumni, select future campers and serve as an anchor-point for alumni to stay in touch.
Ensuring Successful Alumni Engagement
As we develop and expand on our alumni programming, we will continue to monitor and report on unique individuals served. Simultaneously, we will work to define success criteria for new opportunities and initiatives, to ensure that new initiatives are impactful. We will continue to develop the infrastructure in place to serve our alumni community, and will routinely assess the options for digital platforms, communication metrics and methods, etc. that may aid us in our efforts.