Camp costs include quality planning, staffing, specialized materials and supports, meals, comfortable cabins, and tailored activities. Our base tuition rate is roughly half of the actual cost per camper incurred by Camp Encourage. Through grants and other fundraising efforts, we are able to provide a reduced cost of tuition to all attendees. Below are the subsidized tuition rates across camp session types and attendees — this is the cost before any additional scholarships are applied.
CAMPER (AUTISM SPECTRUM)
Overnights: $625
Summer Sessions: $1,395
PEER MODEL CAMPER
Overnights: $205
Summer Sessions: $450
ALUMNI CAMPER
Overnight Reunion Camp: $595
Sliding Scale Scholarship Support
Sliding Scale Scholarship Support, based on annual household income, is being implemented in 2026. Families that would like to receive a reduced tuition rate through this Sliding Scale will be required to submit proof of income using their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) from the previous year's tax return. We've included some helpful charts below to help you understand what your cost will be for camp before filling out the application and requesting Scholarship Support.
CAMPERS (AUTISM SPECTRUM)
(Ages 10-18)
PEER MODEL CAMPERS
(Ages 10 - 18)
ALUMNI REUNION CAMPERS
(Ages 19+)
Additional Financial Support
Should a family find that the funding awarded through the Sliding Scale Scholarship Support is insufficient, a Hardship Application can be submitted for consideration for additional financial support. It should be noted that this additional funding is not guaranteed and will be limited. The Hardship Application form will be embedded in the Camper Application, as in years past.
Installment Plans
To assist families with camp costs, installment plans are available and may be used to break down total tuition into smaller, manageable payments. Families may select from a three, six, or nine month plan and may select a processing date of the 1st or 15th of each month. All plans must be completed on or prior to December 31, 2026.
Third-party Funding Recommendations
We try our best to keep camp affordable for all families with campers attending Camp Encourage, however there are only so many costs we can subsidize. Families are strongly encouraged to seek funds from outside sources in addition to, or in lieu of, receiving scholarship support from Camp Encourage. To assist families in this endeavor we have listed a few resources below that may help.
- Missouri Autism Project's Family Flexible Assistance Program: If you are a Missouri resident and have applied for, and received funding through, this program, Camp Encourage programming is an eligible expense. The annual grant is $2,000 per family awarded.
- MyGOAL Autism Grant: This is a $1,000 national grant that can be applied to enrichment activities like Camp Encourage (as well as other purposes).
- ArCare Charitable Grant
-
Heartland Special Needs Foundation: to establish a special needs trust or ABLE account (and attending camp can be a covered activity expense to use a Special Needs Trust or ABLE account funding for)
- Varghese Summersett Autism Scholarship: This $500 national scholarship for autistic youth 15 years of age and younger is intended to be used for educational and recreational opportunities.
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation (ASDF): Support provided fpr social skills camps, swimming programs and equine assisted services. These scholarships give children the opportunity to participate in programming that enhances their communication skills and self-confidence.
- Autism Care Today: Quarterly application for up to $5000, does cover special needs summer camps
- Varghese Summersett PLLC Annual Scholarships: This scholarship is intended to assist a deserving autistic child, 15 years old or younger, who is in need of financial aid for educational or recreational opportunities. $500 grants. Apply by April 1.
- Community Fundraising: Reaching out to friends and family for support with additional funding either directly, through social media, or platforms like GoFundMe can be a great way to help raise money for tuition costs for your camper or even a group of campers.
How We Determine Cost
We regularly monitor what other camps with similar programming are charging and evaluating our expenses in order to ensure that the costs that families incur for our camp are comparable, fair, and sustainable. In the 18 years of providing camp, we have only increased tuition on one occasion. In order to make Camp Encourage sustainable for years to come, families will likely see a small increase in tuition for 2026. We understand that increasing costs can be painful, especially at at time when costs are rising across many aspects of our lives, but Camp Encourage continues to endeavor to limit cost increases as much as possible while still allowing us to provide the high quality services our families have come to expect to as many campers as possible.
Camp Applications Open January 2nd
Mark your calendar and come back to our website on that date to start your application.