Hi folks,
We are two days away from opening registration, and we are so excited to count down to Camp Vineyard 2026! We received some news that put a little damper on that excitement, but after talking to a few group leaders and doing some math, we think we have a solution.
Woodland Camp notified us on Tuesday morning that the Georgia Department of Revenue was now going to require them to collect a 4% tax on lodging, meals, activities, and rental equipment/services. Additionally, there would be a hotel/motel tax and a county tax assessed. And though Woodland was going to cover the hotel/motel tax and any county fees, each of our registrations was going to be subject to that 4% tax.
If you don’t feel like doing the math, it works out to an additional $10.79 per person (plus or minus a few cents because of fixed vs variable costs). So, on the low end, we’d be looking at an additional $3,600 added to our bill that we weren’t expecting when we did our budget and announced our pricing for 2026. For reference, that’s more than what we spend on game programming for the week. (We go through a lot of Oreos, but not three grand worth.)
So, what to do? We assessed the budget based on our projected costs and attendance and decided that we couldn’t just absorb the entire cost. At the same time, we didn’t feel right slapping another $10+ onto the registration fee. We have an amazing team of volunteers that do everything we can to put together a fantastic week of Camp at a stupidly affordable price. And we want to keep Camp as accessible as possible for all of the students and leaders.
With that in mind, here’s the adjustment we’re making. Rather than hide this at check-out as a “service fee”, we’re going to be upfront and adjust the pricing for Adults, Early Bird Campers, and Regular Campers by $5. Camp Vineyard will cover the remaining portion of the tax. You’ll see that reflected on the pricing on the homepage and the registration page.
Why is a non-profit subject to sales tax?
In Georgia, there are very limited classes of non-profits that are exempt from sales tax, and churches are not one of them. And though we love hosting your kids for a week, we don’t think that classifies us as an orphanage.
Why are you just now telling us?
We just found out Tuesday, and we’ve spent the last two days talking to a selection of group leaders and putting together a plan. This wasn’t something we were aware of at all as we were preparing our budget and pricing.
Can I donate to help offset the cost?
Absolutely! Email us at info@campvineyard.com and we’ll discuss it with you. We’re always happy to have sponsors for our event. Time is obviously of the essence, but if you read this and said “I want to help,” then let’s chat!
Thank you all for your support. Yeah, this post is a downer. But we won’t be down for long. We can’t wait to start sharing the exciting stuff coming for Camp Vineyard 2026!