Congratulations! You have taken the next step to take your camp to the next level by using the Camp App! The Camp App is a tool that will improve communication with your parents, keep you organized, and improve your marketing to past participants. Don’t limit yourself to just using the Camp App for Summer Camp! The Camp App can be used for any type of child care program to include your specialty camps, seasonal camps, in the classroom and within your afterschool programs.

The intent of the Camp App is to be as camp friendly, easy, self-sufficient, flexible, and accessible as possible. There are no contracts, no licensing fees, and no sales teams trying to upsell you on free vs paid versions. All camps are always able to use all features free for the organization and we provide all the guides, tutorials, and resources to be able to do it easily on your own. From start to finish you could set yourself up and use the App without ever having to contact us, if you choose.

Here are all the great features the Camp App offers to improve your program.

1. Camp Newsfeed: Post any updates and reminders you want to send to parents in real time. You can also just post fun camp things to engage parents.
   
   
2. Picture Gallery: Upload individual pictures or picture galleries for your parents to view and download directly to their mobile device
   
   
3. Video Sharing: Link YouTube videos to the App that will be viewable in a player in the app and will notify parents when a new video is up.
   
   
4. Camp Document Center: Upload all of your camp schedules and any other documents you hand out such as parent’s packets, manuals, brochures, etc. These documents will be available for parents to view and download for the duration of your program.
   
   
5. Camp Calendar: Use the Calendar feature to add camp activities, trips, and events so parents are always in the loop on your camp schedules.
   
   
6. Trips and Events: Post detailed information about your camp field trips or camp events. These will also automatically be added to your camp calendar.
   
   
7. Messaging: Send messages to your parents within the app. You can send messages to the entire camp or individual parents.
   
   
8. Push Notifications: Anytime you upload or post something to the App it will send a push notification to parents. The App has a notification tracker to help parents organize information and take them where the new information has been posted or uploaded.
   
   
9. Marketing and Promotion: Use the Camp App to market upcoming programs to past participants on the App.
   
   
10. Fundraising: Easily fundraise through the app by setting your fundraising goal and allowing parents to make a donation with the click of the button.

The remainder of this User Guide will explain in detail how to get set up and use all the features in the app as well as ways to maximize your Camp App experience. It is strongly recommended you read through the User Guide as well as view the tutorials, other guides, and FAQ’s on the Support page our website that will walk you through each feature to ensure the best experience possible.

Your Camp App Account is created by clicking the Sign Up Now button on the home page of our website www.thesummercampsource.com and filling out the required fields. Once the Sign Up Form is submitted we will receive a notification and set up your account based on the information you have given us. Within 3 business days of your sign up you will receive an email with your account credentials and link to your Camp Admin Panel Dashboard.

Once your account is created you can sign in through the website to have access to the Camp App and all of our downloadable resources to include our Camp Activity Guides, our Camp Administration 101 educational handouts, forms, templates, and more. You can sign in from the website on a computer or any mobile device.

**NOTE: If you have a camp with multiple sites, it is recommended that the person that regularly communicates with the parents is the one who creates an account for that site. An organization can have as many accounts as you want to fit your needs without changing any pricing or app functionality. This will be outlined in detail in the Section 5: Creating a Camp.

All the Camp App features will always be 100% FREE for the camp, if you choose it to be. Your account will always default to this option when your account is created until you tell us otherwise. The payment methods below are one or the other. All up to date pricing is listed on the app page on our website. Here is an outline on the App payment methods:

1. Free for Camps (preferred method): The default setting for your Camp App account is the 100% Free version for camps. By using this version parents will pay a ONE TIME nominal account activation fee.

• • As mentioned above this is a ONE TIME activation fee that parents pay on their first login to unlock the app. They can connect to your camp or any other camp using the App with as many kids as they need anytime moving forward without ever paying again.
    
    
  • If a parent has already activated their account with another camp, they can join your camp on the app at no charge.
    
    
  • You will not have to worry about how many participants you have on the app. As many parents as you need can join. You can have as many camp admin accounts as you need for different staff or sites.
    

2. Annual Subscription: We also offer annual subscriptions that start the day you purchase it. If you purchase a subscription parents do not pay the activation fee above. Pricing is tiered and based on the amount of participants you have annually and sold in user blocks. All pricing is listed on the app page on our website. All subscriptions are per account and will be tied to a single dashboard. Our multi-site plan allows you to have as many accounts as you need under your subscription.

When you login to your Camp App account you will see your Camp Admin Panel Dashboard which is where you set up, upload, and post all the content that you want on the app. Your Dashboard screen will display the amount of users you have on the app and the fundraising dollars you have received broken down per camp if you have multiple sites and totaled at the top.

All the App functions will be listed on the left menu. To start you will see Dashboard, Camp, Fundraising, Messaging, and Contact Us. When you click on Camp it will populate all the app functions available for you to use. Make sure to navigate the Admin Panel so you can get a feel for where everything is located and how it works before moving forward to onboarding your parents.

All menu items have an export option as well if you need to extract any of your data from the system to an excel sheet.

Camp Administrators are able to set up as many camps as they want in their account and have as many different accounts as they want. As mentioned in Section 1, it is recommended that the person on site that is regularly communicating with parents such as the Camp Director, Head Counselor, or Site Supervisor be the account holder.

Think of each camp in the Camp App system as a communication thread. Only those parents attached to the camp will receive the information you send out. A camp can be the entire camp, each camp site you operate, or a portion of your camp such as an age group or a week of camp. Structure it based on who you want to send the information to. If all parents receive the same type of information then it may be best to just create one camp with all parents, but if not then you can break it down. You will be able to further segment who you send to with your Camp Groups, outlined in the next section.

Once you have decided on how to structure your camps in the Camp App and who will create the account and control content for that camp, you are ready to Create Your Camps! Creating a Camp in the App is Simple:

• From the Admin Panel click Camps on the left menu
  
  
• From there click Camp List
  
  
• To the right of the search bar click the orange button that says Add.
  
  
• Complete all fields. The picture that you add to your camp will be your default picture in the App if you do not add pictures in other sections.
  
  
• Contact Us: To activate the Contact Us feature to allow parents to contact you through he App, check the Enable Contact Us box. This feature is explained further in the Contact Us section of this User Guide.
  
  
• Fundraising Page Information: To activate fundraising check the check box next to Enable Fundraising Page. Fundraising in the Camp App is reviewed in detail further in the Fundraising section of this User Guide.
  
  
• Scroll down and click Submit.
  
  
• Your Camp is now created. The camp will also have a default group created labeled All Camp where all your camp parents will be placed for that camp, regardless if you use the Group feature to create additional groups or not.
  
  
• You can continue to add as many camps as you need under that account.

The Camp Groups feature allows you to group your campers in a specific camp together so you can choose to send different information to each group that only those groups can see. Camp Groups could be each week of a camp, age groups, different sites within a camp, etc. The Group feature is completely optional. When you create your camp a default All Camp group is created with it so if you do not create more groups, the information sent or uploaded goes to everyone in that camp. To create Camp Groups you need to create your camps first. From there, create a Camp Group:

1. Go to your Camp List
2. Click the Group button on the Camp you want to add groups to.
3. The next screen will have your Camp Groups for that camp listed. To add a new one Click Add.
4. Name your Camp Group and hit Submit.

When your groups are all set up you can begin to onboard your parents to each group. If you have groups created, you must onboard your parents by group, not the entire camp. This will be outlined in detail in the next section.

Onboarding is the process of getting your camp parents on the App. This section reviews the functions in the App Login (Parent), Child and Camp – User menu items on the left menu in your Admin Panel. Parents and Children have two separate menu items on the left Admin Panel menu but it can be done together in bulk by uploading an excel sheet with the required information or you can add them individually. Importing a roster in bulk from a spreadsheet will add all the parents and campers.

When your rosters are uploaded the system will automatically send an email to your parents to join. We recommend you also send a follow up email to them to let them know it is time to download and login to the App. If your parent is a new user and they have to pay the activation fee it will prompt them to do so before connecting. If your camp has subscribed or they are a returning Camp App user, they will not have to pay. Parents can connect to as many camps with as many kids as they need and can switch between them all on their end.

Importing Rosters

To import your camp rosters into the App the process is simple. First export your rosters from your registration system. From there, do the following to onboard your parent’s and campers in bulk from a roster spreadsheet:

1. From the Admin Panel click Camps on the left menu
   
   
2. Then click App Login (Parent)
   
   
3. On the right of that page click Import. On the Import page choose which Camp and Camp Group you want to onboard parents. If you do not have Groups it will default to All Camp.
   
   
4. On the import page you will see a button to download our Sample Roster. Download it and copy and paste the required fields into the sample roster. DO NOT change any headings, add headings or titles, change formatting or have any additional information in the spreadsheet or it will not accept it. Simply copy your roster under the current headings. This sheet MUST match exactly or it won’t accept it.
   
   
5. The information that is required in our roster for the App are email, child’s name, child’s birthday, and parent’s name. Gender is optional.
   
   
6. These fields can be uploaded with the names merged in one cell or separate cells like our sample spreadsheet. If your roster has First and Last name merged in the same cell, copy these into the First Name box on our roster and leave Last Name blank.
   
   
7. If your registration system does not provide all those fields and you do not want to spend the time to enter them manually, you can put placeholder fields in your sheet. As long as something is in the cell it will populate. For example, if your registration system won’t export parent’s names, you could copy and paste the child’s names in the parent’s field. The important fields to make sure you have are children’s names, birthday, and the parents email to be accepted.
   
   
8. Once the roster is accepted those parents are not connected to that camp or camp group and will receive an email to connect to the camp.

**We can assist with formatting your rosters so they onboard properly! If you need assistance please contact us anytime!

To onboard your parent’s and campers individually it is a two step process:

1. First, you have to enter the parent in the App Login (Parent) menu by clicking Add. Entering a child individually will require you to assign them to the parents’ account.
   
   
2. Second, enter the child in the Child menu item by clicking Add and assigning them to the parent you just added.

Camp-User Manu: This menu item shows who is connected to what camp and also used to connect current users already in the system to a camp. To connect a current user you do not need to do all the steps above because they are already in the system. You can simply hit the Add button to add them to any camp in your system. You can filter this menu by camp to see all of your camp rosters.

Passwords and Login Credentials: Once you have your parents uploaded to the App it will automatically send them an email to connect to the camp. Every parent’s starting login credential is their email with password 123456.

You will notice an Email Button next to each parent account in the App Login (Parent) section that is a small envelope. You can use this button to reset and resend them their passwords. Parents can also use the “forgot password” function at the app login screen. You also have the ability to change passwords by using the wrench button next to the user you want to change.

Once you have onboarded your parents they can start to connect to your camp. Your dashboard will show the total amount of users you have in your system. We recommend being diligent on reminding parents to sign on and telling them in person when you get the opportunity to make sure they have it and do not miss out.

*All parent accounts are connected to their email address. The system allows two parents to login with the same email so mom and dad can share and both have access on their devices. Any more than that you would have to create additional accounts for them.

**All system emails come from noreply@thesummercampsource.com. Make sure to give this email to parents so they can add it to their address book, look out for it and avoid it getting caught in spam.

Tracking Users Login

To view who has logged into the App go to your My Camps list and click the blue arrow (Show Roster) button next to the Camp you want to see. This screen  will show all participants connected to that camp. You will notice an App Login column. If there is a blue check mark in that column it means that they have logged into the App.

The Newsfeed is where you can keep parents in the loop with your daily operations, post important reminders, or just post fun engaging content for your parents to get an inside look on all the great things you are doing for their kids throughout the course of the day. It is one thing when a child comes homes and raves to mom and dad on how much fun they had on camp. It takes it to another level if the parents get the opportunity to see it for themselves and follow along with all the fun things you are doing throughout the day. Use your Newsfeed as much as you can to keep your parents engaged, they will appreciate it! To post on your newsfeed do the following:

1. From the Admin Panel click Camps on the left menu
2. From there click Camp News
3. To the right of the search bar click the orange button that says Add.
4. Choose the camp you want to post to from the Select Camp dropdown menu and then select your group. If no groups are set up it will be sent to All Camp.
5. Fill in all the fields and add a photo if you’d like. We always recommend adding a photo for your newsfeed posts.
6. Click Submit to post to the Camp Newsfeed.
7. You can continue to make as many posts as you want for the duration of your program!
8. You will see the listing of all posts where you can edit or delete them as needed.
9. Anytime you post to the Camp Newsfeed a push notification will alert the parents of that camp.

This feature is available to you to upload PDF versions of your camp schedules or any type of important camps documents. Once uploaded to the App parents will have access to view and download it throughout the camp. To upload documents to this section of the App do the following:

1. From the Admin Panel click Camps on the left menu
2. From there click Camp Schedule
3. To the right of the search bar click the orange button that says Add.
4. Choose the camp you want to post to from the Select Camp drop down menu and then select your group. If no groups are set up it will be sent to All Camp.
5. Name and upload the document.
6. Click Submit to upload it to the App for parents to view.
7. You can upload as many PDF documents as you would like to share with parents.
8. Anytime you upload a new schedule or document a push notification will automatically alert the parents of that camp.

Your Camp Calendar is where you can share all your schedules or highlight certain activities to keep yourself and your parents organized with all the happenings at camp. All your field trips and events posted to the App will automatically be posted on your Camp Calendar as well. To create a calendar post, do the following:

1. From the Admin Panel click Camps on the left menu
2. From there click Camp Calendar
3. On the top right above the calendar click Create Activity
4. Choose the camp you want to post to from the Select Camp drop down menu and then select your group. If no groups are set up it will be sent to All Camp.
5. Fill out the required fields. You can also repeat a calendar entry daily, weekly, or monthly.
6. Click Submit to post your calendar entry.
7. Anytime you create a calendar entry a push notification will automatically alert the parents of that camp.

**You cannot change the date in repeated calendar entries, but can update times for a single entry or all entries associated. If your repeat dates change, simply delete the activity and create a new one. You can change the date for a single entry.

Off Site Field Trips and In Camp Events are the highlight of summer for your campers. Camp events would be things that happen at camp such as in camp guests, a camp lip sync or play, camp water day/field day or large scale activity that may require they do or bring something out of the ordinary that you would want to make an event for it.

The Field Trips and Camp Events are entered the exact same way but are listed as two separate features on your Camp Admin Panel Dashboard. They will appear in the same section on the mobile side but they will have the ability to toggle between the field trip section and the camp event section. Trips and Events will also automatically appear on your Camp Calendar. To add a field trip or camp event to the App do the following:

1. From the Admin Panel click Camps on the left menu
2. From there click either Camp Trip or Camp Event
3. To the right of the search bar click the orange button that says Add.
4. Choose the camp you want to post to from the Select Camp drop down menu and then select your group. If no groups are set up it will be sent to All Camp.
5. Fill in all the fields and add a photo if you’d like.
6. Click Submit to post to the Camp Trip and Events section in the app.
7. Anytime you post a new trip or event, a push notification will alert the parents of that camp.

Sharing pictures are one of the most important features of the Camp App that will allow you to upload pictures for your parents to view and download right to their mobile device.

1. From the Admin Panel click Camps on the left menu.
2. From there click Camp Album
3. To the right of the search bar click the orange button that says Add.
4. Choose the camp you want to post to from the Select Camp drop down menu and then select your group. If no groups are set up it will be sent to All Camp.
5. Create your album then hit submit.
6. Now go to Camp Gallery to upload pictures to that album. You cannot upload pictures in the Camp Gallery without creating the Camp Album first.
7. You can upload as many pictures as you would like to share with parents. Select all pictures at once and hit submit. You can keep adding to the same album or create new ones at any time.
8. Anytime you upload new pictures to an album a push notification will automatically alert the parents of that camp.

Sharing your camp videos in the Camp App is a quick and easy way to get them to your camp parents. Videos must be uploaded to YouTube first, the app cannot accept video links from any other platform. If you do not want to share videos publicly on YouTube you can keep them private to your YouTube account and then only share them to parents within the App. Once a video is shared, parents will be notified and the video will be able to be viewed from a video player in the App. To share a YouTube video, do the following:

1. From the Admin Panel click Camps on the left menu.
2. From there click Camp Video
3. To the right of the search bar click the orange button that says Add.
4. Choose the camp you want to post to from the Select Camp drop down menu and then select your group. If no groups are set up it will be sent to All Camp.
5. Copy and Paste your YouTube video link and Submit.
6. Anytime you share a new video link a push notification will automatically alert the parents of that camp.
7. You can preview your videos or go directly to your video on YouTube on your Camp Admin Panel Dashboard.

** The YouTube link needs to be the browser link with the full youtube.com name in it. It will not accept the shortened link that you would share directly from your channel page.

Within the Camp App you will be able to message the entire camp, different camp yours or even individual parents. Use this function to provide more detailed informational messages than you would post on the newsfeed. Do the following to send a message:

1. From the Admin Panel click Messaging on the left menu
2. To the right of the search bar click the orange button that says Add.
3. Choose the camp you want to send to from the Select Camp drop down menu.
4. Select the entire camp, a specific camp group or individual users to send the message.
5. Type your message in the message box.
6. Click Send to send the message.
7. Anytime you send a message a push notification will automatically alert the parents of that camp that they received a message.

Parents have the ability to contact you directly within the App through the Contact Us function within the parent’s side of the mobile app. When they send a message, you will get an email notification and it will land in the Contact Us section on the left menu of your Camp Admin Panel Dashboard for you to view the message. You will also get notified on the top right of your dashboard when you have a new message. You can reply or mark messages as read right in the Contact Us section of the App. This is a completely optional feature and can be turned off when you set up your camp, if you do not want parents contacting you through the App.

One of the great features of the Camp App is that is allows parents to easily give a donation to your program with a click of a button while using the App. The approach to fundraising within the Camp App is similar to a crowdsourcing campaign where you can expect a lot of small donations to come in to reach whatever goals you want to set.

You will receive 96% of the funds raised within the App that will be sent to you once your camp concludes. The 4% is to cover processing and transaction fees that we incur to offer this feature. This is another tool for you to generate revenue by using the app. We pay out fundraising on a quarterly basis so you will receive your funds shortly after camp ends. See our Maximizing the Camp App Experience Guide on the website for guidelines and tips to fundraising with the Camp App.

Setting up your fundraising page that the parents see on the mobile side of the App is done when setting up your camp (Section 5). It is an optional feature and can be turned on or off. Setting up this section includes setting your goal, a description of your fundraising campaign, and a picture. Make sure to add this content so parents are able to see all the details on your campaign before they donate.

The Fundraising menu item on your left menu in the Admin Panel will show all the parents who donated, what the amounts were, and what camp it was for. You can see the totals on your Dashboard that will be broken down by camp for multi-site camp organizations. Parents will not see individual donations on their end only the total that has been raised and your goal.

Receiving Fundraising Payment
As previously mentioned, if you use the fundraising feature of the app you will receive 96% of funds raised (4% to transaction fees). Here is how that process works:

1. We will pay out camps fundraising three times a year towards the end of every August, January, and May. Once your camps are completed within those time periods, we will contact you via email with your statement to verify before we send your payment.
2. The email statement will go to the account holder’s email. If your organization has multiple accounts we will reach out prior to the end of camp to figure out who should get the statements and how many you need for multi-site camps, such as sending to each site or putting it all on one.
3. Review your statement and reply to us to confirm it is correct and we will send you payment.

You can have access to the mobile side of the app by adding yourself to your roster using the same email you use to login on your Camp Admin Panel. The system will recognize your email as an admin and will not charge you. Once you download the App on your mobile device you will use the same email you have to login to the App on the Admin side, with password 123456.

Review Onboarding Parents section on adding parents individually starting in the App Login (Parent) menu item and just use your information and email in the fields. Once you add yourself as a parent and follow those steps you will send yourself the welcome email and will now have access to the mobile side of the app for whichever camp you add yourself. When you login to the mobile side of the app you can change your password in your profile so both can then be the same.

This is an optional feature and is only there to give you this ability so you can see what your parents are seeing from your posts, which is recommended. This feature also allows you to test out the system yourself if you would like to by setting up a test camp and adding yourself to it. You can then test all the app features to see how to use them and how they come across on the mobile side of the app.

We recommend adding yourself to all of your active camps so you are able to see how all your posts and uploads come across on mobile and can see everything your parents are seeing.

The only way to access our FREE downloadable resources on our website is by having a Camp App account. They include our Camp Tool Kit with sample documents and educational handouts, our printable activity guides with hundreds of activities separated by type of activity, and our Camp Administration 101 educational handouts. Whether you are using the Camp App at the time or not, you can still have access to these resources.

Resources are located in the Resources section on the left menu on your Admin Panel. Anytime a new resource is uploaded from us you will receive an email notification to sign in and check it out! These Camp App Guides for Camps and Parents will be located here as well as on our Resources page on the website.

You made it! At this point your camp has concluded and your parents cannot stop talking about how great your camp was with the Camp App! You can now inactivate your camps but continue to post to send information to past participants on upcoming camps.

1. When your camp is complete go into your Camp List and deactivate your camp. To do this find the camp you want to deactivate in your list. On the right side of the camp listing you will see buttons under the Action menu. You can hover over these buttons to see what they do. Click the “X” button to deactivate the camp. Inactive camps will stay in your list to access for promotion to past participants, unless you delete it.
   
   
2. Closing your camp will close the Contact Us section on the mobile side of the app for parents so they can no longer send messages to you. Everything else will remain available to them to go back and view until you delete the camp in your system.

There are two ways to continue to market to past participants through the App:

1. You can continue to post to inactive camps. Anytime you post or upload something it will still send a push notification to the parent. Use this to improve your marketing and send notifications on upcoming camp registrations or events.
   
   
2. You can set up a camp for informational purposes only. Add every roster you upload to this camp as well so that your entire database is connected. Then use this to get information to all participants in the system that they can see on an ongoing basis.
   
   

Using the App for marketing and promotion will improve your ability to reach your participants through multiple avenues. Take your marketing and promotion to the next level to make sure that your current and past participants never miss a thing!

Many camps use the Camp App to communicate with camp staff, the same way you would communicate with parents. You can use the App before, during and after camp to send updates and reminders to staff. Set up a Camp Staff camp thread in the App and onboard your staff the same exact way you would onboard your parents. From there, start to use all the great Camp App features to make your staff have all the information they need and never miss a thing!