PLATINUM2023

Stephen J. Wampler Foundation Inc.

​It's about what you CAN do! Adventure. Optimism. Self-reliance. Ambition.

aka Camp WAMP   |   Coronado, CA   |  http://www.stephenjwamplerfoundation.org

Mission

The Wampler Foundation mission is to “To provide life changing experiences to children with physical disabilities."

Notes from the nonprofit

Future Plans and Goals -- The foundation has already begun working on the upgrades and much needed improvements on a unique wilderness facility that the foundation was gifted by an anonymize donor in 2022. This 129 acre property is a very unique facility to this special population of children and it will enable the foundation continue our programs over the next couple of decades. We know it will excite and inspire the kids to learn more about themselves in the great outdoors when the facility upgrades are completed in October of 2025. We are also actively working on our endowment for the future of the good of the foundation with a $25 million goal by 2025. Our endowment was started in 2021 and is managed by the Parasol Foundation in Incline Village, NV. and the fund has just under $2 million as of this writing.

Ruling year info

2010

Founder

Mr. Stephen J. Wampler

Co- Founder

Mrs Elizabeth D Wampler

Main address

941 Orange Avenue Ste. 440

Coronado, CA 92118 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

Wheelchair Adventure Mountain Programs

EIN

80-0470847

NTEE code info

Youth Development Programs (O50)

Youth Development Programs (O50)

Human Services - Multipurpose and Other N.E.C. (P99)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2022, 2021 and 2019.
Register now

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The foundation is working to address the overwhelming number of physical disabled children left behind in their education and upbringing among their peers. The kids are eager to learn and would love the opportunity to further their education. The foundation is also working on an endowment for the operational expenses.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Camp WAMP

The Camp WAMP program is a number of magical places where kids with physical disabilities can explore a whole new world in a safe nurturing environment. The High Sierras of California is an area usually inaccessible to many people that are disabled. They kids are able to camp under the stars, fish, learn about nature and learn they can do anything.

Population(s) Served
People with disabilities
Children and youth

Camp WAMP provides outdoor education programs to physically disabled youth in the high Sierras.

Population(s) Served
People with disabilities
Adolescents

Where we work

Accreditations

American Camping Association (ACA) - Accreditation 2022

Awards

Local Hero 2013

American Red Cross

50 People to Watch 2008

San Diego Magazine

Robert Watson Humanitarian Award 2009

Rotary Club

Affiliations & memberships

American Camping Association 2018

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of free participants on field trips

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adolescents, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people

Related Program

Camp WAMP

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

The foundation sponsors 150 disabled children for a week of outdoor adventures. We operate 6 weeks over the summer only. The camp has been shut down for the past 2 years because of COVID19.

Number of children who have an innate motivation to master and control their environment

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adolescents

Related Program

Camp WAMP

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

The foundation has grown over the past several years and just purchased a new facility in the high Sierras of California this past year.

Number of children able to exercise appropriate control in independent and group activities

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adolescents, Economically disadvantaged people, People with disabilities

Related Program

Camp WAMP

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

All 60 participants were able to show appropriate control through the week in group activities.

Number of students showing interest in topics related to STEM

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

People with disabilities

Related Program

Camp WAMP

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

The programs are based on STEM and al 60 kids show different levels in the program.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

The foundation has already begun working on the next phase of our environmental education plans from its original programs started at Hawley Lake in 2004 and other programs throughout the western US. We will be building a unique wilderness facility and experiences to this special population of children over the next 48 months. We know it will excite and inspire the kids to learn more about themselves in the great outdoors.

Now that we have our own property, we are able to serve a larger amount of kids every year. The property is 129 acre high Sierra wilderness camp near Lake Tahoe with a private 9 acre lake. The property consists of 18 buildings with over 17,000 Sqf. of indoor living space.

The foundation has been in the news world wide in the past couple of years because of the founders epic climb up the face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The foundation has premiered it's documentary film in the spring of 2013 that has already won 38 awards. The film "Wampler's Ascent" will be the fund raising tool for the foundation for the foreseeable future. The foundation has a number of large sponsors that have partnered to sponsor the foundation for years to come.

A majority of our capital comes from corporate and private foundation grants. Also the foundation has two fundraising events a year. This year we are attempting to raise over $1.2 million in addition to the very generous donation to purchase the property from an anonymous donor. (In the past several years the foundation has raised between $200k and 350k. So far to date we have raised $800,000 toward the project with commitments from two smaller foundations. By continuing to foster our current relationships and build on new ones we will be able to achieve out goals....

The foundation was gifted a new property to conduct our programs and we are currently making improvements to the property and making a world class facility foe the largest under severed population in the world.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

Stephen J. Wampler Foundation Inc.
lock

Unlock financial insights by subscribing to our monthly plan.

Subscribe

Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more about GuideStar Pro.

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Stephen J. Wampler Foundation Inc.

Board of directors
as of 05/01/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Mr. Stephen Wampler

CEO

Term: 2002 - 2040


Board co-chair

6196068188 Elizabeth Wampler

Stephen J. Wampler Foundation

Term: 2002 -

Stephen Wampler

Stephen J. Wampler Foundation

Elizabeth Wampler

Stephen J. Wampler Foundation

Alan Kinzel

Marilyn Rees

Jason Anderson

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 1/20/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person with a disability

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.

Equity strategies

Last updated: 01/18/2022

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.