Summer Attendance Drops – BY ONE!
String of New Summer Records Ends at 11

For each summer from 1996 through 2006, Camp Lakeview has set a new record for summer attendance.  In 1996, the new record was 648 and the number kept rising each year until it hit 1,682 last year.

Sadly, the camp’s attendance dropped for the first time in over a decade this year, but only by a single camper!  So we still rejoice in the 1,681 campers who came to camp to enjoy the fun and fellowship that has become a trademark of Camp Lakeview.

Although it was sad to see the string broken, the camp’s leadership is not agonizing over a drop of one camper.  Instead, we are agonizing over the hundreds of kids that we had to turn away because of the lack of space.  That is why the future building program (see page 4) is such a high priority.

The summer of 2007 was filled with swimming, hungry horses, campfire devotions, silent coyotes, crazy costumes, mud-pit tug-of-wars, sneaking behind enemy lines in “Chaos vs. Control”, All-Camp Monopoly, and much, much, more.  We had a great time!

      Most importantly, though, campers were told about a God who loves them dearly!  It is through this gracious God that we have been blessed this summer.  To Him be all the glory and praise for another great summer season at Camp Lakeview!

Buck-D Resigns

      The face of Camp Lakeview is changing.  Program Director Matt “Buck-D” Jung submitted a letter of resignation to the Board of Directors in June, and it was accepted at the June Board meeting.

      The Program Director position will not be permanently filled at this time. 

      We pray the Lord’s blessings on both Matt and Ingrid as they enter a new phase in their lives.

Update on New Camping Facility

One of the most common questions from parents this summer has been, “What’s happening with the new camp site?”

As many know, we are planning to build another camping facility on the south side of Lake Road, where we currently own 70 acres.  Plans are progressing, but not in a way that can be easily seen.  We have hired an engineer to design the new lake and lead us through the lengthy approval process required of the DNR and IDEM.  We also have completed a survey of the land and have engineered the entrance road, steps necessary to transfer a 1.5 corner of land from the Lutheran Lake Association which will be used for a portion of the lake and entrance road.  All this, plus a master site plan must be completed before the fund-raising can begin.

Even under an ideal scenario, we couldn’t get the new camp operational until the summer of 2010.  So we have explored the possibility of renting other camping facilities for the next couple of years, and are currently negotiating with Bradford Woods (near Martinsville) and Columbus Youth Camp to rent their facilities as “satellite camps” in 2008.

We are working as quickly as possible to provide additional camping opportunities for the hundreds of kids we turn away each year.  But we also want to practice good Christian stewardship as we move forward, and to take the time necessary to make the best decisions for the camp’s future.

Campers Donate $4,018.35 to LWR

      Lakeview summer campers bring lots of spending money to camp to purchase snacks at the canteen.  At the end of each week, they are given the option of donating some of the unspent money to Lutheran World Relief, who will in turn use it to help feed the hungry worldwide.  Campers and staff donated a grand total of $4,018.35 this past summer!  We give all the campers a huge pat on the back for their generosity on behalf of the needy.  Thanks!

      Construction on Camp Lakeview’s newest facility, a new maintenance shed located right at the bottom of the camp’s entrance hill, was completed in January 2007.

      The original 24’x40’ pole barn, which was built in 1981, became too small for our growing ministry.  Besides that, the posts were rotting out at the ground!  So it will be leveled once all the contents are removed.

      The new maintenance shed’s interior is 40’x 100’, more than four times the size of the old one.  It has a 40’x 60’ garage area, a 480 sq.-ft. heated storage area, and a 28’x 40’ heated work space for year-round projects.  The back side has an 8’x 100’ overhang running the length of the building to store outdoor building materials.

      Many thanks go to the following chapters of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, who helped provide funds for the materials to complete the new maintenance shed.

            Barren River (Kentucky)                   Hoosier Hills

               Bartholomew County           Jackson-Jennings County

                  Dearborn County                       Morgan County

                 Hendricks County               North Central Kentucky

Sneak Preview of New Camp Site

   Have you heard that the leadership of Camp Lakeview is planning to build a new camp site?  It's true!  We are currently turning away so many campers from our existing programs that an additional site is necessary to meet the demand and to maintain the high level of quality that Lakeview campers have come to expect.

    Although the new site will be on existing or adjacent property, it will be completely "independent".  Under normal circumstances, campers staying at the new site would not need to venture back to main camp during their stay, and vice versa.  The new location will have its own dining, sleeping, and recreational facilities.

The objectives for the new camp site are:

• To create an outdoor recreation program targeted primarily towards Jr. and Sr. High youth, focusing on an adventurous experience and village living, teaching skills in camping, cooking, biking, canoeing/kayaking, climbing and more.

• To use the new site in a way that is consistent with Camp Lakeview's Ministry and Mission statement, taking full advantage of faith-growth opportunities including small and large group Bible Studies, devotions, and experiential learning moments.

The new site will include the following physical components:

• Lake.   Plans are underway to construct a 5-10 acre lake which will become the visual centerpiece of the camp and allow for swimming, canoeing, kayaking, and other recreational activities.

• Villages.   Campers will reside in one of four themed "villages" throughout the site.  Each village would house a maximum of 20 campers, two Counselors, and two Junior Counselors, and would be equipped with its own bathhouse, fire-pit, and outdoor cooking facilities.  Campers would prepare at least one meal per day at their village, usually over an open fire.  In addition to summer camp use, the villages could be used by retreat groups in the fall and spring, but would close for the winter.   The village themes will be...

• 1.  Fort Village.  Campers will sleep in one of the four "lookout" posts situated in the fort's  four corners.  Elevated walkways will connect the four corners for those on "sentry" duty.  Restrooms, showers, and cooking facilities would remain on ground level within the fort.

• 2.  Treehouse Village.  Campers will sleep in elevated structures that will be accessible by ladder or by rope-bridges connected to a central meeting platform (like "Swiss Family Robinson").

• 3.  Tiki-Hut Village.  Imagine "Gilligan's Island" here.  Campers will sleep in huts adorned with palm fronds and bamboo.  We may even sleep in hammocks and cover the floors with sand!

• 4.  Pioneer Village.  Campers will stay in log cabins sleeping 4-6 people each, using bunkbeds or maybe even a loft area (like "Little House on the Prairie").

• Dining Hall.  The dining hall would be the center of activity for the new camp, containing dining space for 150, a kitchen, a large multi-purpose room, sleeping rooms for summer staff or retreat participants, restrooms, and showers.  This is the only completely winterized building at the new camp site, and will have 32-40 beds available for year-round use.

• High-Ropes Challenge Course.  This high-adventure area would include such popular items as a climbing wall, zip line, Pamper Pole, Jacob's Ladder, and Flee-Hop.

• Athletic Field.  We need to clear and level enough space for a soccer field and ball diamond.  Volleyball courts and a paved basketball court will also be constructed.

• Trail Bikes.  Another new activity offered at the new camp site will be mountain biking, requiring many bikes, protective gear, a storage garage, and lots of smooth trails. 

Camp Lakeview Receives $50,000 Thrivent Grant

         Camp Lakeview and the Camp Lakeview Foundation recently received a $50,000 Charitable Gifting Initiative grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.  The grant money will be used to inform the camp’s users, supporters, and other interested parties about the many ways to give “planned” gifts to charitable organizations.  Though most estate giving is done through wills, gifts given during your lifetime through other options such as life insurance, charitable remainder trusts, and gift annuities can bring large tax advantages and provide steady income for the rest of your life.  The goal of the grant is to generate these types of gifts for Camp Lakeview and for other charitable organizations as well.

          “This grant gives us the chance to do some things we’ve never done before,” says Camp Director Tom Franke.  “Normally, we don’t have the resources to do things that may not pay off until twenty years down the line.  But this money will allow us to lay a solid financial foundation for the camp’s future.”

         Plans for the money include hiring a Planned Giving Coordinator.  This part-time position will be responsible for educating the camp’s constituency about the various methods of planned giving and the financial advantages of each method through newsletters, targeted mailings, and informational dinners held in Seymour, Columbus, Evansville, and Louisville.  In organizing the informational dinners, we will seek the cooperation of local congregational foundations and local Thrivent representatives, all of whom would benefit from a Lutheran community that knows more about planned giving.

         Finally, the Planned Giving Coordinator will coordinate personal visits with those who have a long-term giving relationship with the camp or who have expressed an interest in discussing some sort of planned gift.  Some of these visits will ultimately culminate in planned gifts for the camp, but many will not.  Either way, we know that the Lutheran community as a whole will benefit from these conversations.  Our goal for the camp the Camp Lakeview Foundation is to generate at least one million dollars in future gifts.

         Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a nationwide Fortune 500 fraternal organization which provides a wide range of competitive financial services to its membership of over 3 million people.  As a non-profit organization, all of its earnings are sent back to the community through a variety of grant programs.  During 2006, organizations in the Indiana region alone received over $3 million in grants or gift-matching opportunities.  We thank Thrivent and its members for giving Camp Lakeview this wonderful opportunity.

In our last newsletter, we asked for help in locating a replacement llama for our dearly departed mascot “Dolly”.  Well, our pleas were answered times two!  These two llamas, yet to be named, arrived in December and have spent the winter enjoying the Camp Lakeview pasture.

A big “thank you” goes to Lesley Sarlls for finding them and donating one of them.

Feasibility Study Examines Plans for Expansion

         Because we are currently turning away so many campers from our existing summer programs, the leadership of Camp Lakeview has been developing plans to build a new camp site elsewhere on our existing property.  This additional site is necessary to meet the demand and to maintain the high level of quality that Lakeview campers have come to expect.

         The new site will be completely “independent”.  Under normal circumstances, campers staying at the new site would not need to venture back to main camp during their stay, and vice versa.  The new location will have its own lake, dining hall, sleeping quarters located in themed “villages”, athletic field, and other recreational facilities.

         In addition to the new camp site, the camp’s Board of Directors also wishes to address two needs on the main camp site.  First, we are lacking a large indoor meeting space to facilitate conference groups and to provide activity space on rainy days.  Second, as the camp has grown, we need more office space and a larger first-aid station.

         To find out what our users think about the current camp and about our plans for the future, the camp hired Dickerson and Associates from Colorado to conduct a feasibility study this summer.  The study consisted of meetings with the staff and Board, personal interviews with key constituents, and a mail survey sent to the remainder of our mailing list.

                           New summer camp       Indoor meeting        “Welcome Center”
                           facilities, allowing          space for            for more office
                             more campers        conference groups      space and larger
                                to attend            and rainy days        first-aid station

Essential                                 26%                       11%                        9%

Very Important                    38%                       32%                      23%

Important                          24%                       32%                      35%

OK, but not a priority              7%                        17%                      25%

Not Important                      1%                         2%                        2%

No Response                       4%                         6%                        6%

Other relevant findings included…

Æ      Nearly all respondents believe Camp Lakeview is a wonderful place, a summer camp with great programs and staff.

Æ      The greatest overall need for Camp Lakeview is more space.

Æ      With a quality capital campaign, it is likely that $1.7 million could be raised over a three-year period or $2.5 million plus over a five-year period provided there are some six-figure lead gifts and there is a good gift-in-kind program.

Æ      50% of respondents indicated they would give during a capital campaign for the camp.  37% were unsure and only 13% felt that they would not participate.

Æ      Possible negative factors regarding a fund-raising campaign included the economy and competing fund-raising efforts among various Lutheran churches and schools.

Æ      Many would like to see the camp offer more programs for high-school-aged youth so that the Christian camp experience can extend beyond the ninth grade.

Camp Lakeview Acquires Forty Additional Acres

      Camp Lakeview has recently purchased a 40-acre tract of land located on the south side of Lake Road.  This new land, combined with the adjacent 30 acres previously owned by the camp, opens the possibility of creating a new camp facility on the south side of Lake Road which would be completely independent of the current main camp area.

      For the past two years, the camp’s Board of Directors has been involved in a strategic planning process that will address the overwhelming demand for the camp’s summer programs.

      While no comprehensive plan has been officially adopted yet, members of the Board are seriously considering the idea of building another camp facility housing approximately 80 campers, with its own dining hall, sleeping quarters, restroom/shower facilities, and recreational areas (lake, stables, athletic field, etc.).

      Although 30 acres may have been sufficient, the additional land will create more opportunities and will result in a higher quality camp.  This was essential!

      The land was bought from the living descendants of Ben Wehmeier in exchange for cash and for the promise that any new lake built on the land will be named “Wehmeier Lake”.

      To complete this new land “block”, the camp has submitted an offer to purchase the 15-acre tract between the new property and Lake Road.  This land is currently owned by the Lutheran Resort Association, which will make its decision on the offer at their semiannual meeting in October.  After the land issues are settled, a new site plan can then be established.

  The “Pooled Income Fund”  --  Make a Gift to Camp Lakeview and Receive an Income for Life

         Do you know you can make a gift to Camp Lakeview and at the same time receive an income for life? Are you aware that frequently this income may be larger than what you are now earning on invested funds?

One of the ways this is possible is through an intriguing gift plan offered by Camp Lakeview called the Pooled Income Fund.  It is similar to a mutual fund with which you probably are familiar.  It works like this – you make a gift (minimum is $5,000) to Lakeview for sustaining and expanding our Christian Outdoor Ministry.  This gift will be invested in the Pooled Income Fund with the earnings from the Fund paid to you for life according to the number of units your gift purchased.

Our Pooled Income Fund is administered by the LCMS Foundation and is currently paying 4% but this will vary from year to year, just as in a mutual fund.  This income is fully taxable to you but there are some tax benefits.  For example, there is a sizeable charitable deduction available in making the gift and there will be no estate or inheritance taxes.  Should you give appreciated securities, you will also avoid the capital gains tax.

Age is not a factor in the income earned, so the Pooled Income Fund is an appealing method for both young and old. Your funds will be professionally managed plus you have the satisfaction of knowing that, at your death, the balance in your Pooled Income Fund account will be transferred to Camp Lakeview for its charitable purposes.

To help you learn more about this intriguing gift method, we are making available, free of charge, an interesting little folder entitled “Pooled Income Fund – Lifetime Income plus Help for Future Generations.”  Just write or send the coupon below to Camp Lakeview, 13500 W. Lake Road, Seymour, IN 47274.  Or you can phone Tom Franke at 812-342-4815 to request your free copy.

Receive an Income You Cannot Outlive Through a Gift to Camp Lakeview

Did you know you can make a gift to Camp Lakeview and receive an income from that gift for the rest of your life?  Moreover, the income will be fixed and guaranteed, as well as partially tax-free, and there will be other tax savings as well.  And the income from your gift may be higher than you are presently earning on savings or other investments!

Sound too good to be true?  Well, it’s not.  This method has been employed by millions of donors to help charities and at the same time receive needed income.  It is called the Charitable Gift Annuity and has been in use for over 150 years.

Gift Annuities may be written on one or two lives.  Rates are based on the age of the donor at the time of the gift.  They range from 5.7% at age 60, to 6.5% at age 70, to 8% at age 80, to 11.3% at age 90 and above.  (Rates for Two Life Annuities are slightly lower because the income is paid over two lives.)

Would you like to learn more about this wonderful method of receiving a life income through making a gift to help Lakeview and its ministry and programs?  Our free brochure, entitled “The Gift Annuity”, will provide specific information about the many benefits of a Charitable Gift Annuity.

To receive your free copy of this helpful and interesting piece, e-mail us at lakeview@hsonline.net or phone Tom Franke at 812-342-4815 and request your copy.  There is no cost or obligation.

An Inexpensive and Interesting Way to Give!

Would you like to make a gift to help Camp Lakeview in an amount much larger than you ever thought possible?  Or make a pledge to Lakeview that would be paid in full at your death at no additional cost to you, your heirs, or your estate?  Or make a gift that would cost you much less than its total value?

If these possibilities intrigue you, why not explore a gift of Life Insurance to Camp Lakeview.  Yes, that’s right – Life Insurance!  A gift of Life Insurance is simple and easy.  Moreover, it provides many benefits to you and helps the outdoor ministry of Camp Lakeview at the same time.  There are a number of ways you can make such a gift.

One way is to assign ownership to Camp Lakeview of an existing policy you no loner need.  You receive a charitable deduction for the present value of the policy and the camp will benefit from the full proceeds of the policy at your death.

A second way is to take out a new policy with Camp Lakeview as owner and beneficiary by contacting us or your life insurance agent.  You then make an annual, tax-deductible gift to the camp to pay the premium each year.  The gift is fully protected in the event of an early death, and you never have to pay as much in premiums as the camp will eventually receive from the policy.

A third way is to make a one-time deductible gift to Camp Lakeview by purchasing a single-premium policy on your life.  The overall cost would be less to you by doing this, and you would not have the bother of paying annual premiums.

If any of these ideas interest you and you would like to know more about using Life Insurance to make a gift to Camp Lakeview or any other charitable organization, please request a free copy of our brochure entitled “Insuring Tomorrow”.  To request your free copy, just call Tom franke at 812-342-4815 or write to Camp Lakeview, 13500 W. Lake Road, Seymour, IN 47274.  There is absolutely no cost or obligation.

CRUTS, CRATS, and Things Like That!

      A CRUT and a CRAT?  What in the world are they?  They are agreements that allow you to make a gift to help the ministry and mission of Camp Lakeview and, at the same time, receive an income for life.

      “CRUT” is short for Charitable Remainder Unitrust. “CRAT” stands for Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust.  These are wonderful tools for donating appreciated securities or property to Camp Lakeview and, in turn, receiving tax savings and an income for life.

      By law, the rate of return must be a minimum of 5%, but can be as high as 7%, 8%, or even more.  The income tax benefits include a sizeable charitable contribution deduction plus complete freedom from capital gains taxes, estate taxes, or inheritance taxes.

      Your gift is invested to provide an income stream for you as long as you live, with the remainder, at your death, going to Camp Lakeview to support our Christian outdoor ministry.  The rate of return is unaffected by age and more than one person can share in the Trust income.

      Would you like to learn more about these intriguing gift methods?  To help you do so, Camp Lakeview has available an interesting brochure entitled “Trusts for Tomorrow”, which describes the many advantages of Charitable Remainder Trusts.  To receive you FREE copy, call the camp office at 812-342-4815.  There is no cost or obligation.

            Have you ever considered using Life Insurance to make a gift to help Camp Lakeview?  There are many advantages and benefits in doing so, not least of which, you will be assuring the future of our ministry!

            You may have a policy that you took out many years ago, but the protection is no longer needed.  You can assign ownership of that policy to Camp Lakeview.  At your death, Lakeview will receive the full proceeds to use in strengthening and expanding its Christian outdoor ministry.

            You will benefit, not only from the satisfaction of having made a significant gift to assist our beloved camp, but also from receiving a charitable income tax deduction for the value of the policy.  If you are still paying premiums on the policy, you make an additional tax-deductible contribution each year to Camp Lakeview so we can pay the premium and keep the policy current.

            Or you can take out a new policy through your favorite Life Insurance agent, making Camp Lakeview the owner of the policy.  Then each year make a tax-deductible contribution to us so we can pay the premium.  You will be astounded at how large a gift you can make at a relatively small annual cost by using Life Insurance to make your contribution!

You can also select a new single premium policy, making a single tax-deductible gift to Camp Lakeview for the amount of the premium.  Or you can designate the camp as a partial beneficiary of an existing or new policy.

 If you would like to know more about making a gift utilizing Life Insurance, we have a very interesting and helpful folder entitled, “Insuring Tomorrow”, which we will be pleased to send to you.  To receive your free copy, just write, e-mail, or call Tom Franke at the camp office (812-342-4815).  As always, there is absolutely no obligation.