Timber Bay

What Timber Bay does

Timber Bay is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Christ-centered youth ministry operating as a ministry of Youth Investment Foundation (Tax ID 23-7058853). Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Medina, Minnesota, the organization delivers long-term mentoring relationships to middle school and high school students in the upper Midwest through a network of 12+ weekly community groups across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Programs are provided at no cost to participants and emphasize sustained, multi-year adult mentorship combined with outdoor adventure and residential camp experiences at the Timber Bay Camp & Retreat Center in Onamia, Minnesota (capacity up to 100 guests, also available for external retreat rentals).

The organization's service portfolio includes four interconnected lines: (1) Community Groups — weekly youth gatherings at 12+ locations such as Brainerd, Buffalo, Brooklyn Center, Elk River, Hayward WI, Monticello, North Branch, Pequot Lakes/Pine River, Spirit Lake/Okoboji IA, Waconia, Birchwood WI, and Minnetonka; (2) Timber Bay Camp & Retreat Center — a year-round residential facility serving both internal youth programs and external group bookings; (3) Timber Bay Emerge — a sub-brand offering weekly gatherings, mentoring, fitness, and life-skills programming for post-high-school young adults in Wright and Sherburn counties; and (4) WorkCrew and Internships — vocational pipelines for teens and aspiring youth workers. The Growing Forward Campaign, launched in 2023, is a $1.6 million capital initiative to expand staff capacity, central services, and camp facilities.

Timber Bay's business model is donation-funded: the organization does not charge participants for youth programs and derives no subscription or fee revenue from its core mission. Each staff member personally raises their own financial support from individual donors and ministry partners, enabling full-time commitment to mentoring. Supplemental revenue comes from camp facility rentals to outside church and youth groups, and from fundraising events such as the annual Buffalo Trap Shooting Tournament. Technology infrastructure is limited to standard web properties (timberbay.org, camp.timberbay.org, emerge.timberbay.org) and a third-party donation processing portal; no proprietary software, AI/ML capabilities, or digital product surface exists. The organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors (Chairman Neal Gaalswyk) with Jon Ring serving as President and Mark Ritchie as VP Operations, both long-tenured insiders with 35+ years of service at Timber Bay.

Name

Timber Bay

Legal name

Timber Bay Ministries

Website

https://timberbay.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Timber Bay is a Minnesota-based 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1970 that delivers Christ-centered long-term mentoring to middle and high school students through 12+ community groups and a residential camp across the upper Midwest, funded entirely by individual donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Plymouth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Timber Bay is a faith-based youth ministry that provides long-term mentoring relationships to middle school, high school, and young adult participants through weekly community group gatherings across 12+ upper Midwest locations. It pairs these community programs with a residential Timber Bay Camp & Retreat Center in Onamia, MN used for youth retreats and rentable to outside groups, supported by internship, alumni (Emerge), and WorkCrew programs. The offering is delivered at no cost to youth and is funded by individual donations and ministry partner support.

Product overview

Timber Bay is a Christ-centered youth ministry organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs centered on long-term mentoring relationships with teens. The core offerings include Community Groups (weekly youth gatherings at 12+ locations across the upper Midwest), the Camp & Retreat Center (a residential facility in Onamia, MN serving both internal youth programs and external group rentals), Internships (seasonal, gap year, and education tracks), and Emerge (young adult alumni ministry). The WorkCrew Program enables teens to develop job skills while maintaining camp facilities. The Growing Forward Campaign represents a current capital initiative to expand staff, infrastructure, and camp facilities. Timber Bay is a ministry of Youth Investment Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 1970.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Timber Bay Community Groups Weekly youth mentoring and fellowship groups serving middle school and high school students across 12+ locations in the upper Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa). Each group provides stable, long-term mentoring relationships, spiritual guidance, and community connections through regular gatherings and outdoor activities. Free to participants.
• Timber Bay Camp & Retreat Center A residential camp and retreat facility located in Onamia, MN, serving as the primary venue for Timber Bay youth camps, community group retreats, and rentable to outside groups (youth groups, churches, Christian ministries). Accommodates up to 100 guests with lodging, meeting space, dining, and year-round recreational activities. Available for rental by outside groups.
• Timber Bay Emerge A young adult alumni ministry providing weekly Wednesday evening gatherings (meals, fellowship, teaching), one-on-one mentoring, fitness programs, life skills development, and spiritual growth opportunities for post-high-school young adults in Wright and Sherburn counties, MN.
• Timber Bay Internships Flexible internship programs including Seasonal (120 days), Gap Year, and Education internship tracks, providing hands-on youth ministry experience for individuals pursuing careers in youth work or ministry.
• WorkCrew Program A camp maintenance and youth development program where Timber Bay students and alumni contribute to camp operations through building, restoration, landscaping, and essential projects while developing work skills and responsibility.
• Growing Forward Campaign A multi-year capital fundraising campaign with a $1,600,000 goal focused on expanding organizational capacity through three areas: Growing Staff ($835,000), Thriving Foundation / central support infrastructure ($490,000), and Cultivating Camp / camp facilities improvements ($275,000).

Quantifiable outcome

• Reaches approximately 1,200 youth per year across the upper Midwest through community groups and camp programs

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Young Life: Large Christ-centered youth ministry operating community clubs and summer camps for adolescents. Direct peer in mission, model (long-term mentors + camp experiences), and target demographic of middle and high school students.
• Youth for Christ USA: Faith-based youth organization with community-based ministry, mentoring, and camp programming serving adolescents. Closely comparable mission and field-based delivery model across the upper Midwest and nationally.
• Kanakuk Kamps: Christian summer camp network serving youth with overnight camp experiences. Comparable in operating a camp & retreat center with faith-based programming aimed at teen spiritual and character development.
• Pine Cove Camps: Christian camp organization running multiple residential camp properties serving youth and families. Direct peer in operating a faith-based camp/retreat facility with similar youth-development mission.
• WinShape Foundation: Faith-based organization running summer camp programs (WinShape Camps) and mentoring for youth. Comparable in combining Christ-centered residential camp experiences with year-round community programs for youth.

Emerging players

• CAMPUS CRUSADE for Christ (Cru): Interfaith/Christian organization with youth and student ministry programs including mentoring and retreat-style experiences. Comparable in mission orientation and in pairing year-round mentoring with periodic immersive events.
• Royal Family Kids: Faith-based organization operating camps and mentoring programs for vulnerable youth. Compares in combining Christ-centered mentoring with residential camp experiences, though focused on a different youth segment (foster children).
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA): Faith-based organization focused on mentoring youth and coaches through community groups and camps. Overlaps with Timber Bay's Christ-centered mentoring model, particularly with student-athletes.

Broad incumbents

• 4-H (National 4-H Council): Large national youth development organization with community clubs serving adolescents through mentorship and outdoor experiences. Comparable in the community-club-plus-camp delivery model, though secular and far broader in scale.

Regional players

• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities: Non-faith-based youth development organization serving the same upper Midwest geography with community club programming. Competes for the same teen after-school hours and donor dollars, but with a secular, outcomes-focused model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/timberbayhome
• Facebookfacebook.com/Timber-BayYouth-Investment-Foundation-100066569825089
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youth-investment-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Timber Bay