Facility Management Services for Camp & Retreat Centers
/United Camps, Conferences & Retreats (UCCR) offers expertise in facility management services for camp, conference, and retreat centers owned by nonprofits.
What does that mean?
It means that property owners of camp, conference. and retreat centers hire us to run their facility. We not only run the day-to-day operations of the facility, we handle all the reservations, marketing, budgeting, finance/accounting and hiring.
Who are our clients?
Our clients are often churches that own camps, though we work with anyone who has a camp, conference, or retreat center that is looking for a one stop shop to come in and make their facility run smoothly and effectively. Many of our customers are nonprofits who are mission based.
We make sure to help our customers fulfill their mission.
What exactly does UCCR do?
UCCR’s management service provides an onsite professional to manage staff, food service, property maintenance, and provide oversight of regulations and compliance.
The marketing and reservations department advertise and book the facility while still allowing the property owner use of the facility for their own programming.
UCCR also provides oversight in human resource, finance/accounting, project management, and are experienced in all phases of facility construction and natural resource management for those facilities that require a bit more planning before opening the property for outside groups to rent and utilize.
UCCR values having a well-trained, kind and courteous staff which allows guests to relax and enjoy our dependable service, while they focus on enjoying their program.
What is UCCR’s background?
UCCR was officially formed and registered as a nonprofit cooperative organization in 1970 by a group of Northern California nonprofit organizational leaders.
Many of the nonprofit organization leaders were clergy, no surprise since a large portion of the camps in the United States at that time were owned by religious affiliated organizations. For most, if not all of these nonprofit organizations allowing a third party nonprofit organization to manage and operate the largest asset they owned was a leap of faith.
UCCR sought to unite efforts to manage multiple camp, conference, or retreat properties.
UCCR established a central office that could handle accounting, reservations, staffing, and property oversight for seven camps and retreat centers throughout Northern California.
This model continued today, over 50 years later and with over 50 years more experience.
Having the majority of the administrative work done by a central administrative office would allow the staff on-site to focus on stewarding the property and providing excellent customer service. This proved to be a successful model and continues to be the operational model with which we continue our work.
Back in 1970 – UCCR President Flew to Camps
The first President/CEO of UCCR Charles Wallace, was a private pilot. Since most of the sites were on hundreds of acres, Charles would always find a place to land and take off in his small single prop plane. From stories told by those who either flew with Charles or greeted his flights, the “landing strips” were anywhere that looked like “maybe” it could work. One of the more exciting “landing strips” was in the Sierra Foothills perched over 1,000 feet above the confluence of two forks of the American River. The landing was the easy part. Taking off was daredevil. This part of the property was a 500 foot uphill bluff that terminated at the drop off into the canyon. His take off strategy was to get as much speed as possible up the bluff then drop off and hope he had enough speed to continue somewhat horizontally and not all vertically!
Along Camp Environmental Education Programming
During this first phase, UCCR's environmental education (EE) program arrived at our door step. Randy Widera was independently providing environmental education programs around the Santa Cruz Bay Area out of his Volkswagon van. He was looking for a permanent location for his program and Monte Toyon Camp and Conference Center, a UCCR managed facility, had all the right elements for an excellent outdoor classroom in the redwoods.
Randy approached Charles with the proposal that having environmental education at Monte Toyon would provide revenue that did not exist during mid-week off season at Monte Toyon and that EE is more consistent and requires less site staff than a typical rental group. Charles saw the value in this model and Web of Life Field School (WOLF School) joined UCCR and began operating at Monte Toyon Camp. WOLF School has become a highly respected EE program attended by over 5,000 participants a year with programs at several UCCR managed sites. Currently WOLF provides engaging hands-on environmental education programming to close to 10,000 students annually teaching students about their role within the web of life.
Holland Brings Business Expertise
The next President / CEO, Tim Holland, the son of one of the founders of UCCR, grew up at another facility managed by UCCR. Putting to work his practical experience and knowledge, with a good sense of business he developed a staff to focus on improving the solid foundational practices and core competency by creating business plans for each site and the basis for all administrative work such as risk management, human resource policies, operations manuals, improving customer service skills, and developing deeper relationships with property owners. Several additional sites were added to UCCR’s responsibility during these years.
Tim Holland retired in the early 2000’s and Mike Carr was asked to provide the next phase of leadership. Mike Carr initially came to UCCR as a Program Director in 1998. His experience in outdoor education and finances contribute greatly to his role as current President and CEO of UCCR.
A Smattering of Events During Our Over 50 Years of Operation
Anyone who has worked at a camp, conference, or retreat center understands that each day is filled with variety. Here are a few of the highlighted examples in the first 50 years of UCCR:
In 1989 the epicenter of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which destroyed much of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, was centered 7 miles from Monte Toyon Camp. The founders of Monte Toyon Camp recognized durable buildable land when they purchased it! While there was damage 120 miles away, miraculously much of the camp was left standing while the neighboring properties were ruined.
Every few years at least one site is threatened by forest fire with evacuations. Only one site, Community of the Great Commission camp in Foresthill, burned but rose from the ashes with heroic volunteer effort over several years.
Sometimes staff can cause problems for the neighbors like the time staff dropped a hazard tree which fell the wrong way and took out the only power line for an area of about 40 very remote square miles.
Some facilities receive an average of 20 feet of snow and some years that snow accumulation can reach 50 feet.
And the time the river flooded and staff were cut off for almost 2 weeks having to climb to the top of a steep peak to make contact with the main office by cell (just after cell phones came out thankfully!) and received supplies by helicopter until the water receded.
Most recently, UCCR survived a global pandemic.
Natural Resource Management
Managing thousands of acres in remote areas, UCCR initiates and at other times are approached by natural resource agencies, to participate in natural resource projects. These projects include:
timber harvests to eradicate non-native species and the diseases and bugs that inhabit them
stream restoration to help restore fisheries
removal of old roads and the debris such as culverts that is harmful to the local environment
participating in energy saving programs
adapting site operations to become green certified
participating with neighbors in fire prevention programs; allowing fish and wildlife agencies access to properties for research purposes and in most instances for rare and endangered species studies
WOLF school participates in national surveys collecting, measuring, and submitting the height of trees (mainly Redwood trees), stream turbidity studies, amphibian and reptile counts.
Providing full service to the nonprofits that use these facilities is mission compliant for UCCR. UCCR works with mission driven nonprofit groups that use camps and retreats to further their missions then in turn return to improve their own communities.
Examples of a few of the unique groups we have had the fortune of hosting:
The Taylor Family Foundation provides 100% funding to preserve the wellness and enhance the quality of life for children in Northern California living with life-threatening and chronic illnesses, developmental disabilities and youth at-risk through unique therapeutic experiences and support.
CA Coast Music Camp runs two independent, week-long sessions each July with beginning, intermediate and advanced classes for adult musicians, including singers. Attendees are from all over the country.
The Craigville Theological Colloquy knits together worship and presentations that inspire theological and biblical reflection, deep conversation, ample time to renew friendships and make new friends. The roots of the Colloquy grew from efforts of leaders and thinkers within the United Church of Christ in the early 1980s to gather, engage, reflect and share. In 2019, the topic was “the intersection and interaction between science and faith remain ones that engage, challenge and respond to insightful, respective reflection”.
2008 Growth Spurt
While the first thirty-eight years were spent managing camps and retreats in Northern California, in 2008 UCCR expanded to Southern California. Once it was understood that the UCCR central administrative office, could utilize the same management model at any location, UCCR began to offer facility management services to any camp, conference or retreat center in the United States.
UCCR’s Current Unique Approach – It Works!
UCCR is a unique cooperative model with all the properties owned by nonprofit organizations with a board of directors and a representatives from each of the property owner’s organizations make up The UCCR Owner’s Council. This provides an opportunity for owners to share ideas, and work in close partnership with the board and UCCR.
UCCR’s Mission Statement:
UCCR builds relationships with property owners and guests to deliver exceptional services and business resources that empower camps, conference and retreat centers to flourish.
Our goal is to continue for at least another 50 years!
We hope you found this information fun and useful. To find out more about how UCCR can help with your specific needs please let us know, we are here to help.
