Sunbridge Youth Mental Health Camp Program

Words in [brackets] are blanks you fill in with your own details when you adopt this sample in Supreme Plan AI.

Executive Summary

Sunbridge Youth Mental Health Camp Program is a nonprofit in Colorado that runs free weeklong outdoor day camps for young people ages 10 to 17 from low-income families. Licensed counselors teach coping skills, communication and mindfulness through hiking, teamwork and time outdoors, and connect any young person who needs more help with licensed providers.

Many young people carry more stress, worry and loneliness than adults realize, and counseling can cost too much or have long waits. A week outdoors with skilled adults and new friends can give them tools and a first step.

With this grant we will serve about 120 young people in Year 1 at 2 sites. We are not a treatment program and do not diagnose or treat any condition. Our crisis plan names 988 and 911. We promise safe camps, caring staff and honest information for families.

Our Year 1 budget is about $236,500, growing to about $335,500 by Year 5 as we add sites, coaches and participants. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year. We have 7 staff in Year 1 (an Executive Director, a Camp Director, two part-time licensed counselors and three seasonal youth counselors) and 12 by Year 5.

We are asking the Rocky Mountain Youth Wellness Foundation for $60,000 for the Camp Director and licensed counselor stipends. Our other income and startup support cover the rest. These numbers are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end of this proposal, and we do not promise any result beyond what we describe.

Company Description

Sunbridge Youth Mental Health Camp Program is a nonprofit organization in Colorado. We are a registered charity with a volunteer board of directors, a written conflict-of-interest policy and a yearly budget the board reviews.

Our mission. Every young person should have a safe, outdoor place to build coping skills and friendships, whatever their family's income.

What we do.
- Run free weeklong outdoor day camps for young people ages 10 to 17.
- Teach coping skills, mindfulness, communication and teamwork through outdoor activities.
- Staff every camp with licensed counselors and trained youth counselors.
- Offer a family night and a follow-up session in the school year.
- Connect any young person or family who asks for more help with licensed providers.
- Provide meals, transportation and gear so cost never keeps anyone away.

Our values. Respect for every participant, honesty with families and partners, safety first and a place for everyone who wants to belong.

What we do not do. We are not a treatment program and do not diagnose or treat any condition. Our counselors follow a written crisis plan that includes the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and 911. We explain the limits of confidentiality, including mandatory reporting of suspected abuse, to families before camp. We do not promise any outcome. We follow the rules of our partner sites and our insurer.

How we got here. A group of counselors, teachers and outdoor educators began taking small groups of young people on day hikes after a hard year in our schools. Young people asked to come back and families asked for more. We kept simple records of who came and what they said. This proposal asks for support to move from day hikes to a steady program with paid, trained staff and the materials to match.

Problem & Opportunity

Many young people are carrying more stress, worry and loneliness than the adults around them realize, and few have a safe place to build skills for coping.

Cost. Counseling can be expensive, and private camps and outdoor programs cost more than many families can spend.

Access. Mental health services for young people have long waits, and many families do not know where to start.

Safety and trust. Parents want to know that staff are trained, that supervision is close and that there is a plan if a young person is in distress.

Missed benefits. Young people who never find a safe place to practice coping skills may struggle in silence.

What we hear.
- A school counselor says her caseload has doubled in two years.
- A mother says her daughter stopped going outside and stopped talking about her day.
- A teen says the hike was the first time he did not feel like a problem.
- A pediatrician says families wait months for an appointment.

We do not claim that a program can solve every challenge. We believe that time outdoors, skilled adults and a chance to practice coping can help a young person find steadier ground.

Products & Services

Sunbridge Youth Mental Health Camp Program gives young people ages 10 to 17 from low-income families a safe, welcoming place to build coping skills and friendships outdoors.

How the program works.
1. Sites. We partner with two outdoor education centers and a parks department that provide trails, shelters and fields.
2. Camps. Each camp runs five days, with groups of about twelve and one counselor for every four young people.
3. Skills. Each day teaches a coping skill such as breathing, grounding, talking about feelings or asking for help, followed by an outdoor activity.
4. Counselors. A licensed counselor leads each camp and is on site at all times.
5. Crisis plan. Every counselor knows the written plan, including 988, 911 and notifying the family.
6. Family night. Families attend a short evening session at the end of camp.
7. Follow-up. Participants are invited back for a monthly meetup in the school year.

What a typical session looks like. Participants arrive and check in with a staff member, settle in together, work on the day's activity in small groups and finish with a short talk about what went well. Staff praise effort, correct mistakes kindly and make sure no one is left out.

Staff. Our licensed counselors pass a background check, complete our crisis training and are paid for their time.

Access and fairness. Programs are free. Camps are free, with meals, rides and gear provided. We welcome every young person and adjust activities for different abilities.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Young people ages 10 to 17 from low-income families who live near our partner sites and are referred by schools, clinics and families. Eligibility is based on school lunch status or income guidelines our board sets, and no young person is turned away for lack of experience.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every young person who could benefit, so we plan from what we can see. In our day hikes we served full groups and kept a waiting list. Counselors and pediatricians told us that more young people could use a program like this than we can serve. For Year 1 we plan to serve about 120 participants at 2 camp sites. By Year 5, with more staff and sites, we plan to serve about 280.

Where participants come from.
- School counselors and nurses.
- Pediatric clinics and community mental health centers.
- Parks and outdoor education staff.
- Families who tell a friend.

Who else benefits. Families gain support and information. Schools gain a place to refer students. Clinics gain a step between no help and ongoing therapy.

What the numbers mean. Every number here is a young person smiling on a trail. We keep our early counts modest and honest so we can do the work well.

Competitive Landscape

What young people can find today, and how we are different.

1. Counseling and therapy. Essential, with long waits and costs. We refer young people who need it.

2. School counselors. Dedicated, with large caseloads. We support them.

3. Private camps. Strong programs and costly. We offer a free alternative.

4. Youth sports and clubs. Valuable and not designed to teach coping skills.

5. Online resources. Helpful, with no person beside you.

What makes us different.
- Free to every participant, with meals and rides.
- Licensed counselors on site at all times.
- A written crisis plan with 988 and 911.
- Outdoor activities that make skills easier to practice.
- Follow-up in the school year.

Why this gap matters. Existing programs do good work, and most serve people who can already pay or who live close to them. The people we serve are the ones left over: they live in the wrong neighborhood, have the wrong schedule or have no one to ask. We are built to reach them.

We have spoken with school counselors, clinics and other youth mental health programs to make sure we are filling a gap and not duplicating services. Their letters of support are in the attachments.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How young people and partners will find us.

Reaching young people.
- Schools. We will work with counselors and nurses to share a one-page referral form in English and Spanish.
- Clinics. We will leave flyers and give short talks.
- Families. We will hold a short information night before each camp.
- Community groups. We will talk with leaders who know families.
- Word of mouth. Many families will find us through a friend.
- A simple website and a phone line with a text option.

Reaching staff and sponsors.
- Invite licensed counselors, outdoor educators and teachers through professional groups and colleges.
- Offer an orientation, a background check and training in safety, privacy and respectful practice.
- Give partners a short report each quarter with counts of participants and what they said.

How we decide who joins. We use a simple sign-up form and enroll participants in the order received, with priority for those with the greatest need and for people new to the program. We keep a waiting list when the program is full.

What we watch. Sign-ups, attendance, coping skills practiced, follow-up meetups attended and how many participants return for a second season.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (July and August): Hire the staff, buy equipment and materials, finalize the waiver, consent form and privacy policy with our attorney and sign site agreements.
- Month 3 (September): Hold the first weeklong camp at one site.
- Months 4 to 10: Run weeklong camps in spring, summer and fall, with monthly meetups.
- Months 11 and 12: Survey participants and families, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. Camps are held at partner outdoor education centers and parks, provided at low or no cost. We store gear in locked bins.

Safety and privacy.
- A licensed counselor is on site at all times, and every group has at least one adult for every four young people.
- Our crisis plan names 988 and 911, and every counselor is trained to use it and to notify a family at once.
- Every staff member and volunteer passes a background check and completes safety training.
- Staff work in pairs or in view of others whenever participants are minors or in a vulnerable situation.
- We keep an emergency plan at every site, and participants complete an emergency contact form.
- We keep records private, share them only with a participant's permission or as the law requires and follow a written policy.

Equipment. We buy about $8,000 of equipment once at the start: camp gear: tents, packs, first aid and safety equipment ($4,000), group activity and teaching equipment ($2,500), locking storage bins and a small trailer hitch kit ($1,500). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as Executive Director. The Camp Director, paid $48,000 a year, manages camps and partners. Two part-time licensed counselors, each paid $22,000 a year, lead camps and the crisis plan. Six seasonal youth counselors, each paid a stipend of $4,500 a year, help lead groups.

Management & Organization

Dr. Naomi Hartley, Executive Director. I lead the organization, report to the board and am responsible for budgets, partnerships and reporting. I came to this work as a licensed counselor and outdoor educator who saw how a week outside could change how young people talked about themselves. I will complete the training we require of our counselors so I understand the program from the inside. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Staff. The Camp Director manages camps, schedules and partners, and part-time licensed counselors and seasonal youth counselors lead groups. Each passes a background check. These positions are part of our grant request.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a licensed counselor, a school nurse, a parent, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney, an outdoor educator and a former participant. The board meets every other month, approves our budget and reviews our safety plan. No board member is paid, and members with a conflict of interest step out of related decisions.

Advisory partners. A pediatrician, a school counselor and a mental health center clinical director give guidance twice a year.

Staffing and pay in this plan: Executive Director, paid $52,000 a year; camp Director, paid $48,000 a year; licensed Counselor (part-time), paid $22,000 a year; seasonal Youth Counselor (stipend), paid $4,500 a year.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals, how we will measure them and when we plan to reach them.

Year 1 outcomes (July 2027 through June 2028):
- Serve about 120 participants at 2 camp sites.
- Run at least two full seasons and a summer session.
- Have at least 85 percent of participants attend most sessions.
- Have at least 80 percent of participants return for a second season.
- Receive positive feedback from at least 90 percent of families who answer our short survey.

What we count and how.
- Participants enrolled, sessions and games attended, from our records.
- Skills learned and goals met, from the coach's checklist.
- Equipment issued and returned, from our log.
- Participant and family feedback, from a short, confidential form.
We report what we find, including what did not work, and use it to improve.

Growth over five years.
- Year 2: About 160 participants at 2 camp sites.
- Year 3: About 200 participants at 3 camp sites.
- Year 4: About 240 participants at 3 camp sites.
- Year 5: About 280 participants at 4 camp sites.

Learning along the way. At the end of each quarter, the director and the board review the numbers and decide whether we are on track. If we are behind, we will adjust our outreach, our sites or our schedule before asking for more money.

After the grant. By Year 5, grants make up about 60 percent of our budget, down from about 70 percent in Year 1, as partners and donors give more. We will keep building those relationships every year.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $60,000 from the Rocky Mountain Youth Wellness Foundation for the Camp Director and licensed counselor stipends, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Camp Director salary, $40,000.
- Personnel: Licensed counselor stipends for camp weeks, $20,000.

Other money in the program. This request is about 36% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $236,500, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $9,900 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $166,500; state Youth Mental Health Funding $40,000; children's Hospital Partner $20,000; individual Donors $10,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $52,000; camp Director $48,000; licensed Counselor (part-time) $22,000; seasonal Youth Counselor (stipend) $4,500; camp Programming and Materials about $10,000; site and Facility Rental about $12,000; meals and Snacks about $8,000; transportation about $6,000; clinical Supervision and Training about $8,000; administration and Insurance about $10,000; about $3,600 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $17,500 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $4,000 for camp gear: tents, packs, first aid and safety equipment; $2,500 for group activity and teaching equipment; $1,500 for locking storage bins and a small trailer hitch kit; $2,500 for attorney review of the consent form, confidentiality policy and crisis plan; $1,800 for banners, bilingual flyers and a simple website; $2,200 for background checks and crisis training for the first team; $3,000 for first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($17,500), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $56,300, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $74,000. We start with $8,000 from our founding board and $68,000 in startup support from a community foundation and a hospital partner, $76,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $236,500 in Year 1 to about $335,500 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $166,500, $163,000, $183,500, $181,000 and $201,500 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: state Youth Mental Health Funding from $40,000 to $64,000; children's Hospital Partner from $20,000 to $44,000; individual Donors from $10,000 to $26,000. Our surplus is planned at about $9,900 in Year 1, about $10,500 in Year 2, about $12,900 in Year 3, about $14,200 in Year 4 and about $16,300 in Year 5. We grow from 2 camp sites to 4 by Year 5, adding a part-time coach for each new site.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $70,000, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $9,460 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per participant. In Year 1, our total costs are about $1,888 per participant served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more participant served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $1,140 per participant.

After the grant. State youth mental health funding, corporate sponsors and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Participants and families share their stories, and businesses can sponsor a team or a season by name. We will look for partnerships with schools and the city that want a safe, free camp option for every child.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- An injury. Certified coaches, proper equipment, groups matched by age and skill, a written emergency plan and insurance.
- A site is no longer available. We keep agreements with more than one site and a plan for bad weather.
- A coach leaves. We keep a list of trained backup coaches and share lesson plans.
- Low attendance. We adjust sites, times and rides based on family feedback.
- A privacy problem. We follow a written policy, use secure systems and train every staff member and volunteer.
- A grant ends. We keep savings and grow partner and donor support each year.

If you are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status through a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for you and passes them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Another way is to start smaller: one neighborhood, a handful of participants and a small team, tracked carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants easier to win.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach with this proposal:

- Your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current year budget.
- A list of your board members and what each one does.
- Signed letters of support from partner schools, agencies and sites.
- Your site agreements and your insurance certificate.
- Your consent, waiver and privacy policy.
- Your safety plan and background check policy.
- Your program outline and schedule.
- Quotes for equipment and materials.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and key staff.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Grant Revenue: $166,500 in Year 1, growing to $201,500 in Year 5.
- State Youth Mental Health Funding: $40,000 in Year 1, growing to $64,000 in Year 5.
- Children's Hospital Partner: $20,000 in Year 1, growing to $44,000 in Year 5.
- Individual Donors: $10,000 in Year 1, growing to $26,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $52,000; camp Director $48,000; licensed Counselor (part-time) $22,000; seasonal Youth Counselor (stipend) $4,500.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: camp Programming and Materials $10,000; site and Facility Rental $12,000; meals and Snacks $8,000; transportation $6,000; clinical Supervision and Training $8,000; administration and Insurance $10,000. These grow between 4% and 5% a year.
- Equipment: $8,000 at the start, then $2,000 to $3,000 a year.
- Startup costs: $17,500, paid once from $76,000 in startup money.
- Participants served: about 120 in Year 1, growing to about 280 in Year 5. Sites: 2 in Year 1, growing to 4 by Year 5. Weeklong camps run in spring, summer and fall, with monthly meetups in the school year.
- About 4% of each year's income is still owed to us at year end.
- Tax: none, as a nonprofit.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and real budget.

Startup Costs