John Austin Cheley Foundation (doing business as A Thousand Summers)
A Thousand Summers changes kids' lives through transformative summer camp experiences by funding multi-week, multi-year residential camp opportunities for motivated young people who otherwise could not afford them.
About John Austin Cheley Foundation (doing business as A Thousand Summers)
Founded in 1989 to honor John Austin (Jack) Cheley, the foundation (now operating as A Thousand Summers) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides full- and partial camperships and supports a nationwide network of partner camps and community organizations.
The organization pursues a multi-year, residential camp model—funding a camper for the full span of their camp experience—combined with mentoring and extension activities to maximize social-emotional growth, leadership development, and connection to nature.
In recent years A Thousand Summers has continued to expand program offerings (including an Outdoor Leadership Program launched in 2024), run annual fundraising campaigns and matching drives, and publish impact reporting and participant stories documenting outcomes for campers.
Notable achievements
Long-term campership impact
Since its founding the foundation has awarded more than 1,600 camperships and has distributed millions of dollars in campership value, supporting sustained multi-year participation for beneficiaries.
Program expansion and leadership training
In 2024 A Thousand Summers launched an Outdoor Leadership Program that provided an intensive backcountry leadership experience for a first cohort of former campership recipients, demonstrating programmatic expansion beyond traditional camperships.
Documented youth outcomes
The organization collects and reports outcomes data showing measurable social-emotional and leadership growth for campers—especially for those with repeated (multi-year) camp exposure—supporting the foundation’s multi-year funding model.
At a glance
- Total assets
- $5.4M
- Annual revenue
- $1.0M
- Tax status
- 501(c)(3)Public charity
- EIN
- 48-1077337
- Location
- Denver, CO
- Website
- athousandsummers.org
- On Mahalo since
- November 2025
Financial figures from the IRS Business Master File, the IRS’s registry of tax-exempt organizations.
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