About Summer Camp Fund
The Summer Camp Fund primarily supports local youth access to summer camp and enrichment programs in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg area by funding scholarships and program support. Grants are heavily concentrated to YMCA branches, camp organizations, Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs and a few disability‑focused and outdoor-preservation programs, indicating a focus on removing financial barriers for children to attend camps and structured youth activities. The foundation tends to fund recurring, targeted scholarship requests rather than large capital or policy initiatives. Its distinctive profile is high-volume, local, youth-centered giving that prioritizes summer camp participation and related supports.
Focus Areas
Scholarship funding for local YMCA summer camps (multiple YMCA branches across the Charlotte region)Summer camp access for underserved children via Scouts and Boys & Girls Clubs (Girl Scouts Hornets Nest, Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs)Outdoor residential camps and nature preserves offering youth experiences (Camp Grier, Camp Celo, Green River Preserve)Support for children with special needs to attend camps (Autism Society of NC)Local after‑school and learning centers providing camp‑style enrichment (Learning Help Centers, 4‑H Mecklenburg)
Who They Fund
About Summer Camp Fund
The Summer Camp Fund’s recent giving is defined by scholarship support for summer camp access, with large recurring awards to Charlotte-area youth programs and camp operators. In 2024, the fund gave $53,820 to Ymca-stratford Richardson for 130 scholarships, and in 2025 it awarded $44,520 to Girl Scouts Hornets Nest Council for scholarships. Those grants fit a broader pattern of paying for participation rather than capital projects, with funding routed to organizations that can place children in structured camp and enrichment settings. The foundation’s grantees include YMCA branches, Scout councils, Boys & Girls Clubs, and residential camps, alongside a smaller number of disability-focused and learning-support groups. Recent awards also reached YMCA Camp Thunderbird, Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs, Learning Help Centers of Charlotte, Camp Grier, Camp Celo Inc, Trusted Parents, and Autism Society of NC. The organization’s giving is local in scope and centered on North Carolina children, especially in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg area, where scholarships appear to be the main tool for removing financial barriers to camp participation.
What Summer Camp Fund Funds
Youth camp access is the clearest theme in the portfolio. The Summer Camp Fund gave $41,250 to Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs in 2024 for 165 scholarships, showing a strong emphasis on placing children into organized summer programming through community youth agencies. It also supported Learning Help Centers of Charlotte with $27,050 in 2025 for scholarships, extending camp-style enrichment beyond traditional camp operators. A second cluster centers on YMCA branches across the Charlotte region. The fund awarded $39,725 to YMCA Camp Thunderbird in 2025 for scholarships and $25,650 to Ymca-camp Harrison in 2025 for scholarships, alongside grants to Ymca-simmons and Ymca-steele Creek. Disability and special-needs access appears as a separate strand, with $15,600 to Autism Society of NC in 2025 for scholarships. Outdoor residential camp experiences also receive support, including $15,675 to Camp Celo Inc in 2025 for scholarships.
How Summer Camp Fund Gives
Typical awards fall in a fairly tight band: p25 is $10,219, the median is $13,325, and p75 is $18,331. That points to repeated mid-sized scholarship grants rather than large, occasional commitments. The recent record also shows repeat support to the same organizations across 2024 and 2025, including YMCA branches, Camp Grier, Camp Celo Inc, and Trusted Parents. The fund is a grantmaking foundation rather than a donor-advised fund or an operating charity, and it does not make program-related investments. The available data shows scholarship-oriented, restricted-purpose grants, with no evidence of an application process in the provided record.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$366K
Total Assets
$0
Total Revenue
$368K
Total Expenses
$455K
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $18K, with a median of $13K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$13K
75th Percentile
$18K
Geographic Reach
Local2 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
DEBBIE ABELS
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