Campership Fund

CAMP KENNEBEC ALUMNI FUND
(March 1, 2022)

The Camp Kennebec Alumni Fund (our “Fund”) was founded to commemorate Kennebec’s centennial in 2007 by Steve Laden, Paul Tobias, Mickey Langsfeld and Gerry Tishler. Gerry arranged to have the American Camp Association (“ACA”) administer our Fund so we would not have to establish a separate foundation. Donations to our Fund through ACA are fully tax deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. ACA has followed our suggestions on grants from our Fund similar to a donor- advised charitable fund. Gerry has managed our Fund with ACA since its inception and it is time to pass the torch (see below).

 

The purpose of our Fund is to financially assist campers to attend summer camp who otherwise could not afford it. Initially, grants were earmarked for individual campers at specific camps that seemed to share Kennebec values. But we did not raise enough money to continue to finance this approach, so instead we made grants to tax exempt organizations that provided financial aid to many campers in a variety of camp settings. Most recently, we have made grants to the ACA itself which conducts a national camper support program and to Wildflower Camp Foundation which subsidizes camp tuition for children of a deceased parent. We are always open to alumni suggestions for additional grants.

 

The 2021 calendar year end balance of our Fund was $117,000, the highest it has ever been despite aggregate grant distributions totaling $70,500 since 2007. This is due to the excellent financial management of the Fund by the ACA Foundation which charges our Fund very modest fees for administration and investment. We have tried to keep grants to an average annual maximum of 5% of the value of the Fund to retain its continuity but are not required to do so if larger grants are warranted.

 

We welcome donations which may be made by check payable to Camp Kennebec Alumni Fund and mailed directly to:

 

Camp Kennebec Alumni Fund
c/o American Camp Association
5000 State Road 67 North
Martinsville, IN 46151

 

For further information, please contact Gerry Tishler at gptishler@gmail.com. It is time to transition management of our Fund to younger alumni. Please contact Gerry directly if you are interested.