Eligibility: Any YMCA operating a Day or Overnight Camp. Additional consideration or preference may be given to camps/Ys that have actively participated in MACC previously.

Effective Dates: February 2025 to December 2025 - Implementation of the request should be completed within the grant calendar year. 

Award Amounts:  Awards are typically between $1,000 and $2,000.

Award Description: The Mid America Y Camping, Inc. (MAYCI) Board will be recognizing individuals and camps who are pioneering innovation in service in camping through annual MACC Idea Award Grants! Encouraging internal creativity is imperative to moving the camping industry forward, and thus has been identified as a priority. The goal of this grantmaking process is to recognize and reward leaders and teams at all levels of camping who are finding new solutions to the challenges our communities face. 

MACC Idea Award Grants will be separated into four categories – Innovation, General Operating Needs, Staff Investment, and Miscellaneous. 

• Innovation - Seed funding to launch a new (or new to you) program, process or approach.

• General Operating Needs - Budget relief to an existing budgeted program or process. 

• Staff Investment - Funding for staff to receive training that will benefit the camp long term. For example, sending staff to become a Day Camp Director Training Instructor. (This can not include travel or attendance to MACC. There is a scholarship process separate for that which will be available prior to the conference)

• Miscellaneous - Does your idea or need not fall directly into one of the above categories? This category is for you! 


For Full Details:  MACC Idea Grants Request for Proposals
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APPLICATIONS DUE MARCH 25th, 2025


Please direct all questions regarding the MACC Idea Grants to: [email protected]

GRANT APPLICATION

Previous MACC Idea Grant Awardees

2024 Awardees: 
Des Moines YMCA Camp - Camp Career Connections
YMCA Camp Winneabago – Earth to Art 
YMCA Camp Minikani - Husbandry/Egg Hatching Program 
YMCA Camp Wakanda - Pin Program 
YMCA Camp Pinewood -  Quest Packs 
YMCA Camp Tumbleson Lake - CampWell Training 

2023 Awardees: 
YMCA Camp Santa Maria - Outdoor Adventure Camp
Mahaska County YMCA - Day Camp Hammock Village 
YMCA Storer Camps - Improving Food Safety Protocols 
Camp Olson YMCA - Interactive Maps 
YMCA Camp Wapsie - Operation Down Under Renovation 
YMCA Camp Kern - Sensory Destination Stations 

2022 Awardees: 
YMCA Camp Timbers - We've Got a Nature Center with No Lights 
Rite Hite Family YMCA - Urban Day Camp Canoe/Kayak Linkage Trips 
YMCA of Greater Waukesha County - Archery Equipment 
YMCA Camp Kitaki - Lake AED 
Fry YMCA - Mindfulness Matters: Managing the Melee of Day Camp