Minnesota Farmers Union Foundation

The Challenge We Must Overcome: Making Leadership Accessible

Each summer, more young people across Minnesota are eager to take part in MFU Youth Leadership Camps. They are ready to explore, learn, and lead. But for many rural and low-income families, simply getting to camp is the biggest challenge of all.

Transportation is the number one barrier keeping deserving kids from this one-of-a-kind leadership experience. Many families live hours away from camp, with limited access to affordable or reliable transportation options. Without help, some of the youth who would benefit most from camp, those in the most rural areas, are the ones who can’t get there.

That’s where you come in.

Your support, through the Minnesota Farmers Union Foundation, helps remove the obstacles that stand between kids and life-changing leadership opportunities. By giving on Give to the Max Day, you’re helping us bridge the distance, literally.

Your gift helps:

• Get kids to camp by funding transportation. Your donation helps cover buses, vans, and travel costs so every camper can safely arrive, no matter where they live.

• Give kids access to camp through scholarships. Your generosity ensures financial need never limits a child’s chance to attend.

• Grow local foods and maintain our camp property. From nourishing meals to safe, inspiring spaces, your support sustains the environment where leadership takes root.

When you give, you’re not just funding a trip — you’re opening the door to confidence, connection, and community for Minnesota’s next generation of rural leaders.

Our Mission in Action: Cultivating Confidence and Community

MFU Youth Leadership Camps are all about helping young people become good citizens by planting the seeds of responsibility, leadership, and cooperation in an environment where those qualities can grow and flourish.

Camp remains a classic rite of passage, an essential escape where kids (from wide-eyed 5-year-olds to nearing-adulthood 18-year-olds) can ditch the screens, get dirt under their nails, and have a truly transformative adventure they'll talk about for the next fifty years.

Camp attendees will:

Explore: At camp, exploration means stepping beyond comfort zones to try new things in a supportive environment. With every hands-on activity and shared adventure, campers spark curiosity and build the confidence to grow.

Unplug: Camp is a tech-free space where kids trade screens for fresh air, laughter, and real connections. With fewer distractions, every game, lesson, and conversation is more collaborative.

Cooperate: Leadership begins with learning how to cooperate. By practicing the cooperative model and working together in real-world ways, campers gain the skills to strengthen their communities and shape a future built on collaboration.

There are both Day Camps and Overnight Camps.

Our Day Camps offer a taste of camp life in a supportive, fun-filled setting. Through engaging activities and time with peers (ages 5–12), kids build confidence, curiosity, and a sense of belonging. Day Camps offer all the benefits of camp without the overnight commitment, easing kids into this experience and building confidence for future overnight adventures.

Our Overnight Camps take that experience to the next level. Open to youth ages 8–18, these weeklong sessions immerse campers in a cooperative community where leadership lessons come to life. Through team challenges, creative workshops, campfire reflections, and plenty of outdoor fun, campers strengthen friendships, discover their own leadership style, and build a sense of independence and belonging that lasts long after camp ends. Many of our campers return year after year, and some come back as counselors, continuing the cycle of mentorship and growth that makes MFU Youth Leadership Camps so special.

When you give to MFU Youth Leadership Camps, you’re investing in the next generation of rural leaders, confident, community-minded young people who will carry forward the cooperative spirit of Minnesota Farmers Union for years to come.

Give Today

Help get kids to camp. Leadership starts with the journey.

Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) exists to advance the interests of its family farmer members through the principles of legislation, education and cooperation. The Farmers Union Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, was established in 1958 to advance the educational mission of Minnesota Farmers Union. Since then, the Foundation has helped members and the general public learn about farming and farm cooperatives, their history and present challenges and opportunities. 

The Foundation provides summer camps for youth designed to introduce them to agriculture and cooperatives, advances the Minnesota Cooks program to educate consumers about farming and to create new market opportunities, supports 4-H and FFA programs and provides scholarships to members and members’ children who are pursuing educational opportunities.