Pick Your Own Price for Summer Camp

“Our philosophy is we fundamentally trust people,” he said. “We’d rather treat 99 percent of our camp families with respect and get beat by 1 percent than treat them all like we don’t trust them.”

Victoria Bruce, 40, a social worker and a single mother, said she chose to pay the middle price — or $2,356 for four weeks — for her son Jabari, 12, even though she could have paid $400 less. Though she was tempted, Ms. Bruce said, she felt that “it was the right thing to do.”

“I’m sure they have overhead, counselors and food they have to supply,” she said. “I don’t want to short the camp of the programs they have to offer.”