{"podcast":{"title":"Grow Your Camp","slug":"grow-your-camp-7692382","podcast_index_feed_id":7692382,"rss_url":"https://api.riverside.fm/hosting/idzX3ZjO.rss","website_url":"https://growyourcamppodcast.com/","image_url":"https://hosting-media.riverside.com/media/podcasts/a20bc04e-40b5-4e64-a5f2-67eda6997509/logos/77d4b576-d2d3-4be8-9782-7613ef8ab5a1.jpeg","author":"Mark P. Fisher & Carl Lefever","episode_count":17,"summary":"Welcome to the Grow Your Camp Podcast: 'Cause You Can't Minister to Empty Beds Where we share stories and systems to help camps grow. Hosts: Mark P. Fisher , of Inspiring Growth Carl Lefever , of Improve & Grow Overview: Most camp directors didn't sign up to be marketers. They signed up because they know what happens to a kid who spends a week away from everything — and they wanted to be part of it. But empty beds are a real problem, and figuring out how to fill them, fund the mission, and still lead well is work nobody really prepared you for. The Grow Your Camp Podcast exists for that director . Every episode opens with one tactic you can use this week — then goes deeper with a real camp leader who's already solved the problem you're sitting with. Real numbers. Real stories. The systems behind the growth. This is what it sounds like when the mission gets to grow. Key Themes: Filling the Calendar: Strategies and real-world examples of how retreat and camp leaders increase bookings and reduce seasonal gaps. Topics might include: lead generation systems, improving inquiry response times, pricing strategy, market positioning, capacity management, and off-season marketing approaches.…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-18T20:20:44.188986+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grow-your-camp-7692382"},"episode":{"title":"EP 14 | How Camps Can Access Free Advertising on Google via the Google Ads Grant","slug":"ep-14-how-camps-can-access-free-advertising-on-google-via-the-google-ads-grant","published_at":"2026-06-26T19:05:37+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grow-your-camp-7692382/ep-14-how-camps-can-access-free-advertising-on-google-via-the-google-ads-grant","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grow-your-camp-7692382","url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/ffe935de4ed2e155e566ec72986d703dfdc15e3b748b071276f3fd5b93d30e5c/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiI0MjYwYWM5NC02OTEwLTQ3NzQtYTZiOS03ZWEwYmY4YjM3NDIiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiJhMjBiYzA0ZS00MGI1LTRlNjQtYTVmMi02N2VkYTY5OTc1MDkiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTI0ZmUzZmQ5YTYwMzc4YTgzYjNmOWMiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNmEzZWFjYWIzZjI1NGQ2ZjEyNTlkYmIyL2dyb3cteW91ci1jYW1wLXBvZGNhc3QtY29tcG9zZXItMjAyNi02LTI2X18xOC00NS0zMS5tcDMifQ==.mp3","audio_url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/ffe935de4ed2e155e566ec72986d703dfdc15e3b748b071276f3fd5b93d30e5c/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiI0MjYwYWM5NC02OTEwLTQ3NzQtYTZiOS03ZWEwYmY4YjM3NDIiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiJhMjBiYzA0ZS00MGI1LTRlNjQtYTVmMi02N2VkYTY5OTc1MDkiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTI0ZmUzZmQ5YTYwMzc4YTgzYjNmOWMiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNmEzZWFjYWIzZjI1NGQ2ZjEyNTlkYmIyL2dyb3cteW91ci1jYW1wLXBvZGNhc3QtY29tcG9zZXItMjAyNi02LTI2X18xOC00NS0zMS5tcDMifQ==.mp3","summary":"Many camps struggle with visibility—not because their programs lack value, but because the right families, churches, and retreat planners never discover them. Mark opens the episode with a practical camp marketing tip on following up with retreat inquiries that have gone silent, sharing a simple email subject line that can restart conversations and recover lost bookings. Then Carl shares how an unexpected project at Refreshing Mountain Camp introduced him to Google Ads and ultimately launched a career helping camps grow through digital marketing. The conversation then turns to one of the biggest opportunities available to nonprofit camps: the Google Ad Grant. Carl explains how eligible 501(c)(3) organizations can receive up to $10,000 per month in free Google advertising, walks through the application process, campaign setup, keyword strategy, and the common mistakes that prevent camps from seeing results. He also shares real examples of camps using the grant to generate more registrations, retreat inquiries, and community engagement, along with his perspective on how AI is changing search and what camp leaders should be doing to stay visible online. Keywords Google Ads Grant, nonprofit marketing, camp marketing, retreat center marketing, Google advertising, camp enrollment, nonprofit advertising, digital marketing, summer camps, retreat bookings Sound Bites \"About fifty percent of the camps I talk to have no idea the grant program exists.\" \"One of the biggest mistakes camps make is they apply for the grant and then they never do anything else with it.\" \"The reality is organic listings just continue to get pushed further and further down.\" \"You could start showing up at the top of Google and not have to pay for the ads.\" Hosts Mark P. Fisher, Inspiring Growth Carl Lefe…","meta_description":"Many camps struggle with visibility—not because their programs lack value, but because the right families, churches, and retreat planners never discover t…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2208,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grow-your-camp-7692382/episodes/ep-14-how-camps-can-access-free-advertising-on-google-via-the-google-ads-grant/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/grow-your-camp-7692382/ep-14-how-camps-can-access-free-advertising-on-google-via-the-google-ads-grant.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}