What Kamp Love does

Kamp Love is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating as a national college camping ministry. Founded in Phoenix, Arizona in 2020-2021, the organization runs weekend camping retreats (24-hour fall trips and full-weekend spring retreats) at more than 21 university campuses across at least 10 states, combining outdoor recreation with Christian spiritual formation, community building, and discipleship. The ministry model is intentionally student-led: student directors at each partnered university organize and facilitate Kamp retreats, supported by a small central staff of 23 and partnered local churches that continue post-retreat discipleship. Revenue is generated entirely through charitable donations processed via DonorBox, with no fees charged to student participants.

The organization's technology stack is minimal and operationally focused. The primary digital asset is Spark, a proprietary web-based registration and administration platform (spark.kamplove.org) used for Kamp sign-ups and participant management across all campus chapters. The public website (built on Webflow) serves as the information and donation hub, and each campus chapter maintains its own Instagram account for organic social outreach. No AI/ML capabilities, mobile applications, APIs, or third-party SaaS integrations beyond DonorBox and Cognito Forms are documented.

Kamp Love's go-to-market is community-led: students apply to "plant" a Kamp at their university through a website inquiry form, the organization recruits local church partners for each new campus, and chapters grow via word-of-mouth and peer referrals. The brand carries a distinctive origin story — renamed from "Camp Lope" in October 2020 after student Jarod Lovekamp's passing — and the organization holds GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency and Excellence in Giving certifications, which support donor credibility. The organization has publicly committed to a "100 in 5" initiative targeting 100 Kamp Loves, 100 universities, 100 church partners, and 5 countries within five years.

Name

Kamp Love

Legal name

Kamp Love

Website

https://kamplove.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kamp Love is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit running a national student-led college camping ministry that hosts weekend retreats at 21+ universities, partnering with local churches for ongoing discipleship. The Phoenix-based organization is funded by charitable donations and uses its Spark platform for registration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Campus Ministry & Religious Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Campus Spiritual & Religious Life (EDALAHAI), Group Camping & Scout Camps (THAGAOAI)

Keywords

• College campus ministry
• Camping retreats
• Christian discipleship
• Student leadership development
• Spiritual formation

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Kamp Love generates revenue through donations from individuals, supporters, and potentially grants. The organization directs supporters to donorbox.org/kamp-love-2024 for giving. No program fees are explicitly mentioned for students attending Kamp retreats.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Kamp Love is a national nonprofit college camping ministry that runs student-led weekend retreats (24-hour fall trips and full-weekend spring retreats) at partner universities, combining outdoor camping with Christian spiritual formation, community-building, and year-round leadership development. Students register for retreats free of charge through the Spark platform, and each campus chapter is paired with a local church to sustain discipleship after the retreat.

Product overview

Kamp Love operates as a unified nonprofit ministry offering college students weekend camping retreats and year-round spiritual development programs. The organization consists of the Kamp Love core ministry (providing camping-based retreats and student leader development) and the Spark platform (a proprietary registration and admin system). The ministry model includes Fall semester 24-hour camping trips and Spring semester full weekend retreats, with student-led campus organizations at partnered universities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kamp Love Weekend Retreats A national college camping ministry offering free weekend retreats (24-hour fall trips and full-weekend spring retreats) at partner universities, combining outdoor camping with Christ-centered community, spiritual formation, and leadership development for college students.
• Spark A web-based registration and administration platform used for Kamp registration, participant management, and internal operations. Students use Spark to sign up for Kamp and manage their registration information through a multi-step form.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Local ChurchescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKamp Love intentionally partners with local church leaders for each campus chapter, having them serve alongside the organization in discipling students post-Kamp. The 100 in 5 vision specifically aims to partner with 100 local churches to serve 100 universities.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: Long-established evangelical campus ministry with chapters on 1,000+ US universities. Compares to Kamp Love as another Christ-centered college student organization investing in leadership development, though it has a broader programmatic scope and a national paid-staff structure rather than a camping-retreat core.
• Young Life: Pioneer of faith-based camping-retreat ministry with deep club-and-camp model for adolescents. Highly comparable to Kamp Love for the camping-as-discipleship concept and trained-volunteer model, but serves middle and high schoolers rather than college students and is much larger and older.
• The Navigators: Established faith-based organization running collegiate discipleship programs and small-group ministries on hundreds of campuses. Comparable to Kamp Love on evangelism/discipleship mission and leader-development pipeline, though its operational footprint and staff model are much larger.
• Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ): The largest and best-resourced US college ministry, with a presence on 2,000+ campuses and global reach. Direct comparable to Kamp Love on mission (evangelism and discipleship among college students), but operates at vastly larger scale and with a paid-staff heavy model instead of student-led chapters.

Emerging players

• Salt Network: Modern faith-based outdoor ministry using adventure retreats to reach college students. Closely comparable to Kamp Love on the combination of outdoor adventure, college-student audience, and evangelical mission, though with a different geographic footprint and slightly older student-program legacy.

Direct peers

• Young Life College: College-aged extension of Young Life explicitly designed to bridge the gap from high school to college ministry via retreats and small groups. Most direct overlap with Kamp Love on demographic (college students), format (retreats), and faith-based community model.
• FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students): Catholic peer to Kamp Love: discipleship-focused campus ministry present on 200+ universities serving a similar college-student demographic with peer-led small groups and retreats. Differentiated by denomination but directly comparable on mission, audience, and chapter-based student leadership model.
• Chi Alpha Ministries (Assemblies of God): Denominational campus ministry with chapters at hundreds of US universities, focused on spiritual formation, mission trips, and leadership development among college students. Directly comparable to Kamp Love on audience and on the model of building Christ-centered community through campus chapters and retreats.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kamplove

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Kamp Love