We honor and appreciate your participation at Chinese Family Camp – just having you with us was a gift!

And, if you feel moved to make a financial contribution, we are grateful for your support!

Chinese Family Camp, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and public charity incorporated in the state of Illinois. Contributions are tax deductible. Consult with your tax person on this.

Ways to Donate:

Online/Mobile using Zelle

If you already have Zelle set up with your bank account, you can donate to Chinese Family Camp at donations@chinesefamilycamp.org.

If you are unfamiliar with Zelle, Zelle is an application offered by most major banks and credit unions to directly and securely transfer funds between bank accounts without charge to you or us. You should be able to quickly set up Zelle through your bank or credit union’s website or mobile app. Zelle is usually found under a section labeled Payments or Pay & Transfer or something similar.

Once you’ve created an account, you can donate to Chinese Family Camp through Zelle at donations@chinesefamilycamp.org.

Please note that by default the only information we receive when you donate with Zelle is the amount you sent and your Zelle contact name. Please send a note to treasurer@chinesefamilycamp.org to make sure we know it was YOU who made the donation.

E-check though UltraCamp

If you already have an account set up with UltraCamp (i.e., you’ve registered for CFC online), you can log into UltraCamp and send an e-check through their system under the Donations tab.

Donor Advised Funds/Stock Transfers

We recommend your fund/brokerage administrator contact treasurer@chinesefamilycamp.org to ensure correct transfer of your assets.

For all of us financial nerds, we were re-characterized by the IRS as of 1/1/2022 as a public charity (previously we were a private foundation for some obscure reason). We have a letter from the IRS that attests to this change in status that you (or your donor advised fund administrator) might need to enable these kinds of donations. Happy to send it to you. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the thrilling world of US not-for-profit organization 501(c)(3) tax law. I get all shivery just thinking about it.

Check by Mail

We still take old-fashioned checks too! Please make your check out to Chinese Family Camp and mail it to

Chinese Family Camp
PO Box 59893
Chicago, IL 60659-0893

NOTE: We prefer donations that are unrestricted, with no targeted purpose. Why is this? As a counter-example, say you wanted to donate funds specifically restricted to the purchase of Pot Sticker Wrappers or for the Sui Dynasty Pinata Relief Fund. We can’t handle the extra accounting and you’d probably be disappointed that we didn’t fulfill your wishes with your financial support. People get weird about this kind of thing. Money and expectations. I mean, how are we supposed to identify which pot sticker wrappers were purchased with donated funds versus general CFC funds? Do you want us to set aside those pot stickers and take a picture?  What? You wanted them in a different color? Ai Yah! We used to have a CFC Green/Carbon Offset fund, but I don’t think we ever did anything with the tens of dollars that were designated. See what I mean? The accounting and extra work is way beyond what a small band of volunteers is capable of, even though we have gone to lengths at times to accommodate Camper desires, and even though we have a few Camper alumni who are math/accounting/tax law whizzes, it’s tricky, both in managing the accounting and expectations. Even reading this paragraph has potential to create thwarted expectations or upset.

That said, we might contact you when we have a cool idea and ask if you want some of your UNrestricted donation to be used for that purpose and you could opt in to use some of your donation to support the cool idea. That, I think, is fair. We could announce your name as a sponsor of the thing if you’d like. That would work. Just don’t expect a big banner or anything. More likely we’d just yell “Hey, Uncle and Auntie XX paid for this!”  during the thing and, if you were there, you’d wave and get a lot of happy campers thanking you. How cool is that?

BUT, if you do have a specific purpose in mind for a donation, who are we to say “No”?  Camp has always been a “YES!” to everything (attendees, venues, food (as long as it’s Chinese)), and we strive to be inclusive.  So, we should have a conversation with you and a few board members and figure something out. We are grateful for your contribution and will work to make your donation an expression of what CFC is for you and what it will enable for others.

If you have any questions about giving, you can contact the CFC Treasurer at treasurer@chinesefamilycamp.org.