New Staff Cottages Construction Project
As our ministry at Echo Ranch has grown over the past decade, so has our staff and the number of volunteers who visit each summer. Consequently, each summer, finding housing at camp for everyone who wants to come serve with us is a challenge. To help meet this current need and in anticipation of God continuing to grow our ministry in the future, we are planning to build three new staff cottages as residences for some of our full-time staff.
This page exists to give you more information on this project so you can prayerfully consider how you can partner with us to bring this project to reality.
The Need
Two of ERBC’s core values are People Matter and Team Matters. These principles guide us in making all kinds of decisions, including how to house our staff and guests.
As the ministry of Echo Ranch grows, both more full-time staff and more short-term volunteers are needed to adequately invest in the evangelism, discipleship, and safety of each camper and counselor we bring in. As our number of people onsite grows, more on-campus housing is necessary to accommodate everyone serving within the ministry.
Our goal with this project is to live up to these values by building three new cottages that meet these needs:
Living quarters for staff couples and families that are more private than our larger camp buildings, giving staff a better space to get needed rest and spend time as a family.
Facilities that allow for healthier life at camp than apartments in our larger camp buildings; for example, many of our current staff apartments don’t have any kind of kitchen or their own laundry facilities.
Freeing up living spaces in our larger camp buildings that can be used for short-term volunteers and guests, enabling us to welcome more of each throughout the camp season.
Facilities that are well-built and comfortable to show our staff and guests that we care and that their health and comfort matters, while avoiding excessive or overly self-serving building.
(Click any image to see it bigger)
The Plans
Each cottage will be a single-story, two-bedroom one-bathroom house with a utility room, kitchenette, and a living/dining room space with a wood-burning stove.
We’ll connect the three new cottages to our current water and electrical systems, but a new septic system will be installed to accommodate all three.
The lumber for the houses will primarily come from trees cut on our property, processed and planed on one of our two onsite sawmills. All the labor will be done by our staff and work team volunteers.
This aerial photo of Echo Ranch shows the planned location of the three new staff cottages (the yellow squares): along the road on the “staff side” of camp, between the Garden, the Green House, and the Hay Barn. (click to zoom in)
May 2024: Install piers and foundations for all three cottages.
June 2024: Begin construction on the first two cottages simultaneously. Continue building through the end of the onsite camp season in the fall.
July 2025: Complete the first two cottages. Begin construction on the third cottage.
Summer 2026: Complete the third cottage.
The Timeframe and the Cost
Projected Schedule
Cost Breakdown (per Cottage)
Permit
Foundation
Framing
Plumbing
Electrical/ HVAC
Insulation
Roofing
Siding
Fireplace
Windows
Drywall / Paint
Doors / Hardware
Kitchen Finishes
Flooring
Miscellaneous Finishes
Avant Designation (11.5%)
Grand Total:
$2,000.00
$14,304.08
$19,047.18
$15,795.20
$14,801.33
$4,609.28
$4,491.58
$3,950.02
$1,500.00
$3,030.00
$6,454.01
$4,384.92
$5,898.00
$5,360.00
$10,000.00
$13,296.94
$128,922.54
How can you partner with us?
Our ministry is entirely non-profit, and projects like this are entirely funded by donations and worked on by volunteers. In order to bring the vision for these new cottages to life, we are seeking to build a team of financial donors who believe in our ministry and in this goal.
Is the Lord prompting you to partner with us?
Echo Ranch is a part of Avant Ministries, a interdenominational missions organization founded in 1892 that has sent out more than 500 missionaries to dozens of countries around the world - including all of Echo Ranch Bible Camp’s full-time staff. All our funding for large projects like this are managed by Avant.
As Avant is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, your donation through them is tax-deductible.
You can visit Avant’s page for this project by clicking here and donate directly there.
(You can also go to their “Give” page and use the “Give to a Project” form. The project number for the Staff Cottages is 72016.)
You can also contact Avant’s Director of Development, Shannon Bradley, at shannon.bradley@avmi.org or 816-479-7376 for more information about this project or Avant.
Ways You Can Give
Donate Through Avant
Giving directly to Echo Ranch does not affect the amount of your donation we receive (Avant still receives a portion of the donation), but some donors prefer to give this way.
There are two ways you can give directly to Echo Ranch:
Visit our online donation center on Square and make your donation on the New Staff Cottages section.
Mail us a check at:
Echo Ranch Bible Camp
(c/o Finances)
P.O. Box 210608
Auke Bay, AK 99821Please make checks out to “Echo Ranch Bible Camp” and indicate “Staff Cottages Project” in the Memo line.
Donate Directly to ERBC
