Neils Cotter Helps Guide Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times Expansion

Since 1982, Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times has enabled children with cancer and their families to create joyful memories at its campsite in California. The initiative provides fun-filled, medically supervised, cost-free programs all year round.

Neils Cotter, co-founder of Basecamp Hotels, is a former member of the Board of Trustees of Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times and continues to help guide the expansion of the largest camp in the U.S. for children who have or have had cancer.

About Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times

Over more than 40 years, Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times has served over 45,000 campers, with volunteers donating more than 45,000 hours to the program. Located in the San Jacinto Mountains of Riverside County, the camp offers a range of recreational facilities, meeting spaces, and overnight accommodation for up to 200 people.

Each year, the campsite welcomes around 1,500 campers. Children fighting cancer and their families enjoy opportunities to relax, play, and learn new skills in natural surroundings. The initiative also helps young people develop courage and independence within a supportive, medically safe environment.

Sponsors of Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times include McDonald’s, Union Bank, Northwestern Mutual, and Care Camps. The initiative is part of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California.

Neils Cotter on Expanding the Campsite

Cotter became a trustee of Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times in 2017. He continues to support the nonprofit with his real estate development expertise.

“Right now they’re at max capacity to accommodate campers,” Cotter explains. As a result, he’s helping the initiative with an expansion project for the campsite. The end goal is to “create more capacity through a new cabin village for these kids so that they can spend the summer there. We are also working on updating the outdoor amphitheatre”

The camp relies on the talents and generosity of nearly 300 volunteer counselors each year to deliver programs to children. People aged 19 to 70 come from all over the world to volunteer at the camp and facilitate Family Camp and Summer Sleep-Away Camp programs.

Neils Cotter: Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times Is “Amazing”

Beth MacAller is the executive director of Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times. Other dedicated team members supporting her include Facilities Operation Manager Nate Baldwin and Camp Director Chad Edwards.

Many of the Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times team members have personal connections with the camp. Baldwin joined the team in 2023 after marrying his wife at the camp in 2018. Edwards started volunteering for the camp in 2002 and accepted a full-time job with the initiative in 2005. He and his wife met while both volunteering at the camp.

Cotter describes Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times as a “very fun, amazing project” to work with and praises the “amazing people” who manage the initiative.

About Neils Cotter

Neils Cotter is a real estate development and investment expert. He’s currently a partner at Carmel Partners, one of the leading specialists in real estate investment management in the U.S. In his role at Carmel Partners, Cotter oversees all development in Southern California, which includes over 4,000 units.

Cotter co-founded Basecamp Hotels, a chain of boutique hotels that brings the spirit of exploration to luxury accommodation. There are two Basecamp Hotels in California and one in Colorado.

Aside from his professional accomplishments in real estate and hospitality, Cotter is a committed philanthropist. His voluntary entrepreneurship classes at Dorsey High School, Los Angeles, give students the skills and outlook to pursue business careers.

In partnership with Deutsch LA, Zazzle, and Dorsey High School students and teachers, Cotter launched Dorsey Green Sauce in 2021. The nonprofit venture creates and sells sauce bottles, with all proceeds going to students and their school.

Learn more about Neils Cotter.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.