As a parent of two school-aged children, I’m well aware of the intense demand for summer camps.
One time, my wife and I sat on our couch, both poised "to add to cart" at exactly 12:00 PM for highly sought-after summer swim lessons for our two boys.
We had the page loaded, clicked "Add to Cart," and…
They were already sold out! No!
One of our friends even joked, “These camps are harder to get into than a Taylor Swift concert.”
In my line of work, I get a behind-the-scenes look at this process, and even with that insight, I’m just as caught in the registration scramble as everyone else.
Now, being a tech and data guy, I have to acknowledge that I don't have a pool of data proving that summer camps are harder to get into than a Taylor Swift concert, but I can confirm (on a personal and professional level) that summer camps are critically important to the organizations that run them, the kids that attend them, the parents, and by extension the community.
That means, how your organization manages summer classes and camps matters.
The piece that we can help with is creating a seamless experience for both your staff and the campers.
Here’s how:
The best way I can describe summer camp registration is that it’s kind of like booking an airplane ticket.
Both involve limited capacity and tight schedules. You need to set up a profile, pick your seat (or in this case, program), maybe even add a few extras.
But camp registration is even more complex.
Most online systems only handle the basics—date, capacity, and payment. But there’s so much more families need to share:
If your system doesn’t gather all this up front (when you have a parent’s full attention) it creates a ripple effect of follow-up emails, one-off phone calls, and unnecessary stress for your staff.
And unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all tech solution built to handle this kind of detail.
That’s where we come in.
In the story below, you’ll see how one of our clients transformed their summer camp process from manual chaos to streamlined.
Before working with Foglight Solutions, an organization was struggling to capture all the necessary information upfront during camp registration.
They’d get the basics, but not everything they needed to complete the registration. This inevitably led to a flurry of calls, emails, and manual follow-up with staff… because parents often didn’t realize they were missing key forms until the day before camp.
Needless to say, this resulted in last-minute scrambles and a messy first day for everyone involved.
After a few weeks of learning their entire process, we built a custom technology solution where:
The organization can provide a smooth, reliable registration process that meets the expectations of busy, anxious parents. And what used to be a stressful and inconsistent process is now streamlined, family-friendly, and reliable - and sets everyone up with clear expectations!
Another major pain point the client faced was around providing financial aid and promoting membership-based pricing.
They wanted to make camp more accessible for all families, but their existing process just couldn’t keep up.
Financial aid had to be manually tracked.
Membership discounts weren’t automated.
And worst of all, families had to jump through hoops to take advantage of discounted rates, which meant missed opportunities to both serve families better and grow membership.
Now, families can purchase a membership at the same time they register for camp. And, in many cases, it’s such a great deal that the membership practically pays for itself, especially for families with multiple kids.
It’s a win-win for the organization and the community!
This approach isn’t just more convenient; it’s more equitable. It helps reduce barriers for families and gives them access to more.
On the financial aid side, things were even messier.
The organization receives donations from generous donors who often include specific criteria for how their funds should be used for education programs. Matching those donations used to require a tangle of Excel spreadsheets, manual exports, and time-consuming guesswork.
With everything now living on a single platform, staff can match donor intent with family needs quickly and accurately.
No more wasted time, no more errors, and a whole lot more impact!
The last big hurdle we had to overcome with the client was to smooth out the process in between registration and attendance. Before switching to Salesforce, the week leading up to camp was always a scramble for this team.
They had to:
It worked… but just barely. And it took a lot of time and energy from staff already stretched thin. Which meant less time for them to engage and interact with the kids!
Now, all the data lives in one place.
Because Salesforce captures everything during registration, staff can quickly generate accurate rosters and pre-camp documentation (emergency contacts, authorized guardians, medical alerts, etc.) all with just a few clicks.
Yes, they still print forms, but what used to take days of tedious work is now organized, fast, and far more accurate.
The result?
Sometimes, the biggest win isn’t what gets added, it’s what you no longer have to worry about.
Whether you’re juggling registration chaos, tracking financial aid in spreadsheets, or just trying to deliver a better experience for families, know that it can be easier.
We’ve helped organizations like yours shore up the entire summer camp process from initial registration, to pre-camp communication, to on-site coordination.
With custom, scalable tech solutions that meet the real needs of your staff, your community, and your mission, you’ll be able to focus on the smiling faces of the campers instead of being busy behind the scenes!
Let’s make next summer simpler, smoother, and more inclusive for everyone.
Get in touch with us to learn how we can help.