Begin praying for your church’s Avalanche Ranch. Ask God to prepare the hearts of church members, workers, and children who will attend.

Choose a format for your Avalanche Ranch.
✔ Will you meet in the morning, afternoon, or evening?
✔ Will you meet every day for a week or once a week for several weeks?
✔ Will your program be for children only, or will entire families be invited to attend?
✔ Will you meet at your church or another location?

Set Avalanche Ranch dates. As you’re considering dates, you may want to find out about other summer programs offered by your church or your community so you can avoid conflicts.

Choose a director. If you’re reading this manual, that’s you! The director is responsible for planning, recruiting staff, and overseeing all details to ensure that Avalanche Ranch flows smoothly. For an even easier adventure, consider recruiting a Crew Leader Director who will train, encourage, and check in on crew leaders throughout Avalanche Ranch. (Remember, your new favorite word is delegate!)

Set a budget. Look through the entire Avalanche Ranch catalog to get an idea of what you’ll need for your program. Write down the cost of each item you’ll need, and then tally the total cost to set your budget. Your church may already include VBS in its budget. If so, find out what funds are available. If your church doesn’t have a VBS budget in place, don’t worry! Money for a quality VBS program needn’t be a stumbling block. There are countless ways that you can easily (and painlessly) raise the funds you need. Consider the following ideas:
✔ Collect an offering to cover expenses.
✔ Charge a per-child registration fee for Avalanche Ranch. Give discounts to families that register more than one child.
✔ Invite congregation members to “sponsor” children by contributing a per-child amount. (See the "Registration" section on page 153 of your Director's Manual for more specifics on this idea.)
✔ Hold a creative fundraiser! Have a few staff members try their hand at making a batch of cowboy chili. Set out bowls and ask for small donations for those who would like to judge the chili contest. You might find a fantastic chef in addition to raising extra money for VBS!
✔ Use the easy Fund-Your-VBS Kit (found in your Avalanche Ranch Starter Kit). With this simple kit, it’s a snap to raise money, excitement, and awareness for your Avalanche Ranch. Simply slip the paper cows into church bulletins. Indicate how much each cow is worth—you set the price. When people turn in their cows and donations, tape the paper cows into a paper corral you’ve set up on a bulletin board or across a wall of your children’s ministry area. Then watch your Avalanche Ranch herd grow…while you collect additional funds for your VBS!

Start collecting decorations. Look for old cowboy boots, hats, ropes, bandannas, wheelbarrows, and buckets. You might even let members of your congregation know what you’re looking for so they can keep their eyes and ears open for potential decorations. At our field test, we were able to borrow saddles and other real horse tack, a roping steer, and even a decorative wagon!