PLATINUM2023

Camp Laurel Foundation

Empowering At-Risk Children, Youth and Families

aka The Laurel Foundation   |   Pasadeana, CA   |  www.Laurel-Foundation.org

Mission

The Laurel Foundation\'s mission is to empower children, youth and families living with HIV/AIDS and trans/gender diverse youth by providing educational and support programs in a safe and trusting environment.

Ruling year info

1993

CEO

Ms. Margot Anderson

Main address

75 S. Grand Ave

Pasadeana, CA 91105 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

95-4429260

NTEE code info

Youth Development Programs (O50)

Recreational and Sporting Camps (Day, Overnight, etc.) (N20)

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 2020.
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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

While improved medical treatments now allow HIV+ individuals to live a normal life expectancy, children and youth affected by HIV/AIDS still experience significant detriments to their mental health and well-being, as do transgender / gender-diverse youth. The social stigma associated with both populations is significant and can have a long-term, negative impact on the mental health, self-esteem, and sense\\nof self-worth of these children and youth. As a result, many children are living under immense stress,\\ suffer from extreme anxiety and depression, and are less likely to seek social support from friends and family for fear of rejection and isolation. This can lead to mental illness, risky behavior, and self-harm. Among transgender youth, there is a 41% self-harm rate and it rises to 57% if the parent is not accepting of the youth\’s gender identity.

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 Laurel

Camp Laurel strives to develop in each child and youth, increased self-esteem, leadership skills and the ability to work as a team. Programs are designed to be medically and physically safe, challenging and lots of fun. Programs include Family Winter Camp, Summer Camp, Teen Adventure Camp, Leadership Challenge Camp and year round mentorship programs.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
LGBTQ people

Winter Family Camp is unique because it is the one opportunity that parents/guardians of our campers get to experience what Camp Laurel is all about. Winter Family Camp is held over a long four day weekend in February. Campers are separated into cabins by age and gender, with cabin groups for moms and cabin groups for dads. Each cabin group attends a number of their activity periods together as a cabin in the morning. In the afternoon, each family travels to activities together. While we encourage parents/guardians to attend it is not mandatory. For campers who do not have their parents/guardians in attendance we make “family” groups that include campers and two counselors so they do not feel left out during these periods. 

This program focuses on building a strong family unit and creating support groups with peers.

Population(s) Served
Families
Adults

p { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }Summer Camp is a session designed to meet the needs of younger campers, ages 6-1.  Campers participate in traditional Summer Camp activities, including arts and crafts, swimming, archery, high and low ropes, nature studies, mountain biking, and canoeing. While these activities are fun, participants are also challenged to develop life skills, such as teamwork, communication, independence and perseverance, needed to become leaders through special challenges.  Campers set personal goals throughout the week while being supported by counselors and peers in achieving them.  An important component is the Counselor-in-Training (CIT) program for teens ages 15-17.  The CIT program was developed for older teens to learn and develop the skills needed to become volunteer counselors.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Non-adult children

In an effort to develop new leadership potential in all of our teens, this seven day program focuses on programs that challenge campers to become self-motivated leaders with their peers. The design of the program helps quieter, less self-assured teens to step outside of their comfort zone to share new ideas and thoughts.  Program activities strive to teach youth the importance of medication adherence, HIV/AIDS basics, safer sex, and healthy life style practices.Since the need for guidance and support in dealing with HIV/AIDS is considerable, Teen Adventure Camp offers ongoing support groups every evening of the program.  Led by our on-site licensed social workers, campers can delve into issues of importance in their lives, including the struggle living with HIV/AIDS and the loss of a parent or other loved one. For many, this is the first time they have felt comfortable discussing these issues with anyone.  Crucial lifelong peer support groups are formed through participation in these groups and are an important source of assistance for campers.

Population(s) Served
Adolescents

Where we work

Affiliations & memberships

ACA Accredited 2022

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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

Total number of fields trips

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

LGBTQ people, Children and youth, Ethnic and racial groups

Related Program

Camp Laurel

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Field Trips are classified as Day and Resident camp programs.

Number of free participants in conferences

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

LGBTQ people, Children and youth, Ethnic and racial groups

Related Program

Camp Laurel

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Maximum number of participants allowed to attend conferences

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

LGBTQ people, Children and youth, Ethnic and racial groups

Related Program

Camp Laurel

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of children who have knowledge of quantitative concepts, spatial relationships, and sequencing. Children show interest and the ability to apply measuring, categorizing, and sequencing in real-life situations.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of students per teacher during the reporting period

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of program participants who receive a secondary school diploma or GED

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Estimate

Number of new grants received

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Estimate

Number of health outcomes improved

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Estimate

Median grant amount

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of students demonstrating responsible behaviors and work habits

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Estimate

Number of participants who would recommend program to others

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of participants changing undesirable behavior, as reported by experts

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Estimate

Number of students who demonstrate the desire to succeed in the academic setting

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Estimate

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

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.

Our programs meet the community need for mental health care and education while helping tackle\\nthe social challenges of HIV/AIDS and gender identity, ultimately enhancing positive youth\\ndevelopment. This then leads to empowered youth who prevent new HIV infections by educating\\npeers and practicing health behaviors. Youth have increased self-worth and non-longer want to\\nparticipate in at-risk behaviors.\\nOur unique program removes the youth from their daily routine and creates a safe space with peers,\\nsupported by mental health volunteers to just be themselves. Surrounded by nature, they are taught\\nimportant life skills, challenged to push perceived limitations, and ultimately growing in ways they\\nnever would have otherwise. The program helps to empower the youth to make positive life choices,\\neducate them on HIV and trans rights, empowering them to teach their peers and community about\\nHIV/AIDS and gender identity.

The Laurel Foundation programs are tailored to the unique social, emotional and physical needs of\\nchildren and youth affected by HIV/AIDS and transgender youth, meshing a strong support system\\nwith the development of concrete skill building that puts them on the path to becoming independent,\\nself-sufficient, productive citizens of society. We create educational and emotionally safe\\nenvironments that support the mental and physical welfare of participants helping them to cultivate\\nstrong peer support networks while building the key life-skills they need to succeed. Our funding\\nrequest is for the implementation of our year-round resident and day camp programs for 500 youth\\nliving with HIV (3-17) and transgender youth (10-17).

The Laurel Foundation has over 45 years of combined resident camp experience working with youth with special needs. With over 250 volunteers annually, our strength is listening to the changing needs of our population served and supporting them through impactful, intentional programming.

Founded in 1993, The Laurel Foundation has grown from a small summer camp program for 14 HIV/AIDS children to a year-round camp program serving over 736 children, youth, and families affected by HIV/AIDS\\nand transgender/gender diverse youth. \\n\\nOur goals are to continue serving youth affected by HIV/AIDS and transgender/gender diverse youth, expanding our programs and partnerships with community leaders.

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 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 share the feedback we received with the people we serve, 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?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time

Financials

Camp Laurel Foundation
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Operations

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

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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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.

Camp Laurel Foundation

Board of directors
as of 05/04/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Sam Leslie

LEA Accountancy

Term: 2014 - 2025

Sam Leslie

LEA Accountancy

Margot Anderson

Founder/CEO - The Laurel Foundation

Lisa Stangl

UCSD Treatment Center, HIV Specialist

Luis Gonzalez

DirectedLink

Natalie Sofer

Natalie Sofer Events

Jordan Held

LCSW

Mark Moralez

Printing Palace

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 5/4/2023
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
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

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

Equity strategies

Last updated: 08/27/2020

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.