Here’s a prompt: “Nonprofit ski area.” What do you envision? 

Chances are, you think small, old-school, and quaint. You imagine a rope tow, perhaps—or at least two repurposed doubles and a T-bar. The executive director flips burgers in the kitchen, and snowmaking is but a dream.

In some cases, you’re right, and those spots are lovely and special. But here’s a twist: Some nonprofit ski areas are as big as—or bigger than—most for-profits, queued up with most if not all of the latest equipment, and attract crowds of visitors.

How? And what can for-profit areas learn from them?

Take Bogus Basin, an Idaho ski resort—make that “mountain recreation area,” as it formally known—that boasts 2,600 acres of skiable terrain, a worthy snowmaking system, a busy learn-to program, robust summer activities, and an average annual visitor rate of a half-million folks.

Founded more than 80 years ago by outdoor lovers in the greater Boise area, Bogus may look for-profity, but it has the true soul—as well as ticket prices—of a life-long nonprofit.

Its team doesn’t take that success for granted.

“We realize, and continue to ease into our true appreciation of, how blessed we are to be a profitable nonprofit,” says Bogus Basin community relations director Susan Saad. “That’s how we have the trust [of the community]. We don’t ever, ever take this for granted.”

Saad brings up what seems to be key number one to success in a larger mountain nonprofit system: Winning the trust of the community. 

LISTENING: AN ART FORM AND BUSINESS MODEL

While for-profit resorts do—for the most part—try to embrace their local community’s voice, they can carry on with operations and plans, community outcry or not, says Saad. With a nonprofit, it’s not just about hearing those voices, but soaking in what they say they need and finding a way to do it, or getting them to accept and understand why you cannot.

Bogus has a 13-member board of directors, which the operations team answers directly to, that keeps a steady open ear for the concerns of those in the Boise region.

At a crossroads. While the ski area’s goal since its inception in 1942 has been to truly listen, it was circa 2015 that its ability to do so truly got put to a test.

“We were really at a crossroads at that point,” Saad says. With multiple low-snow years, no master plan in place, and a long-time general manager who had stepped down, she says, Bogus realized it was “time to take pause to think things through.”

Before that juncture, Bogus had moved forward slowly. While the area opened for operation in 1942, its first chairlift was installed in 1961. The subsequent biggest additions to the area had been two more chairs, one in 1995 and one in 1999.

Around 2015, the board hired a consulting company to guide the master planning process, but one thing Bogus did not need guidance on was inviting public input at every level.

“We needed to understand what the community envisions and why,” she says. “We really did invite all input. We wanted them to know that we are here to look out for what they want and need.”

The mountain biking community, growing exponentially, spoke up about the need for trails on the mountain, and were heard. The local winter sports lovers spoke of needing more confidence in getting snow on trails sooner, and also were heard. The result was a new master plan—supported by the community at large—adopted in 2017, just in time for the area’s 75th anniversary. 

Community input and support is also a key driver to nonprofit success at 2,000-acre Bridger Bowl, outside of Bozeman, Mont. Says general manager Hiram Towle, “The nonprofit model tends to foster a real sense of ownership in the community and with the staff.”

Bridger Bowl came to be when the state of Montana purchased the land in 1954, and it was a true local effort from the start, with about 60 volunteers stepping up to install the area’s first platter lift in 1955. It has steadily grown since then. The first chairs were installed in the ’60s, and lift access to the South Bowl increased skier visits in the ’70s. In the early 1990s, the area’s simple chalet was replaced by a more modern base lodge, and the Sunnyside quad, which increased lift capacity by 40 percent, was added shortly after.                     » continued

Today, Bridger Bowl is overseen by a full volunteer board, something Towle says the resort respects. “These people have chosen to make a lot of effort to keep us running well,” he says.

Which brings this to something both resorts think for-profits could learn from them: “The more community buy-in you have, the better,” Towle says. “I think all resorts could use this.”

Of course, seeking community input can mean disagreements, complaints, and yes, sometimes—given the passion that surrounds mountain sports and life—anger. But it’s well worth it, Towle says. “Sometimes feelings get hurt, and you have to be really careful to take time to listen,” he says. “But it always is a benefit.” 

Bridger Bowl’s impressive ridgeline.

Steeped in history. Left: The original Bogus Basin Project promoted in town. Right: Bridger Bowl’s Sunnyside quad was a modern update in the ’90s.

It’s all about the people. Left to right: Bridger Bowl sustainability manager Bonnie Hickey, and general manager Hiram Towle; Bogus Basin community relations director Susan Saad, and general manager Brad Wilson

Moving forward. Left: Bogus Basin celebrates the new high-speed Morning Express quad, part of a big capital investment approved in 2017. Right: Bridger Bowl’s 50 kW solar project was funded partially by a grant from the local energy provider.

THE MONEY END

Bogus and Bridger are the same and yet different when it comes to nonprofit status. Both escape taxes (a huge savings, both said, while not sharing exact numbers) and neither are ever beholden to profit margins sought by shareholders or private owners. But how they can operate and bring in money differs.

 Donations. Bogus Basin is a 501(c)(3), which means it can directly accept donations and fundraise for capital projects, which it did once that 2017 master plan was adopted. With the support and understanding of its community, Bogus blew past its goal of $6 million and instead brought in $7 million in just nine months, enough to get better snowmaking, those summer bike trails, and more.

In the last six years, general manager Brad Wilson says, Bogus has invested more than $40 million in capital improvements, including the new high speed Morning Star Express quad, RFID technology, new snowcats, a mountain coaster, and ropes course, among others.

Bogus was able to do it all and still keep lift ticket prices low, says Saad, very much thanks to that community input and support. “I think because of all this openness,” Saad says, “the community knows we are in this for them.”

No direct fundraising. Bridger Bowl is a 501(c)(4), which means it gets nonprofit breaks and must run its business in certain ways. For example, as a 501(c)(4), Bridger cannot directly fundraise. But when locals created the 501(c)(3) Bridger Bowl Foundation in 2005 to help support ski area programs, that added a way to fund projects.

“You can fundraise around projects that can put a small ski area out of business,” Towle says. “It’s amazing.” So, say Bridger needed a base area rebuild. Rather than draw from revenue to do that—or take out a loan that draws from revenue for years (and likely drives up ticket prices)—the Bridger Bowl Foundation can fundraise for the project while Bridger uses its season profits to both hold down ticket prices and increase staff salaries.

Bridger also utilizes partners and grants for applicable capital improvement projects. A 50 kW solar project that produces power equivalent to approximately 3 percent of Bridger’s annual electric use was partly funded through a grant from the Northwestern Energy renewable energy program, which is supported through funds collected from Northwestern Energy customers in Montana.

When it comes to capital spending, Towle says the team always looks to keep the resort running in a smooth and modern way while also keeping ticket prices way down. Sometimes, he says, that means being extra cautious about what the resort actually needs to be great and stay reasonably priced.

“We don’t ever overleverage,” he says. Bridger never, ever pays for improvements with a loan; a savings Towle says makes a huge difference to the bottom line. “We have a ski area, and we depend on it, and we have to be very careful so we can get through a bad season or two. We have no desire to have a ski-through latte shop. We keep it simple.” 

DEFINING “NONPROFIT”

At Bogus, another thing leadership did while working toward that master plan acceptance—something Saad believes was kindling for that barnburner of a fundraiser—is work at helping the community, and society at large, understand what it means to be a nonprofit recreation area. Despite the multiple decades, generations really, of being a nonprofit, Bogus leaders realized that many people didn’t even know the ski area was one.

“We realized we had to do work on presenting ourselves as a nonprofit and exactly what that is and what it means,” she says. “Up until then, we didn’t see the power in being a nonprofit. We just saw it as an accounting line.”

Bogus started using language around that topic—like its newer “Non-Profit. All Good.” tagline—and sharing the story of what it means “because it’s incredibly unique,” says Saad. “As a nonprofit, all earnings are invested back into the organization—decisions are not driven by outside investors or interests. ‘Non-Profit. All Good.’ encapsulates this.”

“It resonated strongly,” says Saad of the nonprofit story and message. Those funds came in, skier visits continue to go up—the ski area saw a 38 percent increase in skier visits last winter—and more and more people speak of Bogus as part of their own community now. 

DOING, AND BEING, FOR ALL 

Both resorts partner with the community to make skiing and riding (and taking part in all their other seasonal activities) attainable for all. Bogus, for example, offers season passes starting at $99 (night pass) and lift tickets starting at $19 (night lift ticket), plus other affordable options like its $79 all-day lift ticket and $349 anytime season pass.

For the kids. “We have deeply subsidized programs to get kids up to the area,” says Saad. “We are surrounded by many Title 1 schools. Getting everyone up here to be a part of it is important to what we do.”

Bogus also teamed up with the educational program Winter Wildlands as a pilot to bring kids up to the mountain to learn about the environment, from flora and fauna to snow science and more. The program is national, bringing more than 35,000 kids to 90 sites. Bogus now sees more than 3,000 kids come through on snowshoes for Winter Wildlands each season. It’s a good feeling—and look—for the ski area, says Saad.

Bridger Bowl’s foundation funds new skier visits for those who may not be able to take part otherwise.

“The Bridger Bowl Foundation supports us with scholarships [for skiing and riding],” says Bridger Bowl sustainability manager Bonnie Hickey. “This is great. In the short term, every kid we see learns to ski. In the long term, this place is the heir to future generations. We’re proud to provide equitable access to that.”

“It helps us reach a portion of the population that doesn’t have the means to get into the sport even with our low costs,” Towle says. Full-day tickets start at $77 for adults, while full season passes start at $875 for adults and $475 for juniors and seniors.

Bridger Bowl also has adopted a voice when it comes to the environment. And while nonprofits cannot get directly involved in political campaigns, Hickey says they can join in on the work around sustainability, energy procurement, and other relevant legislation. “I try to keep advocacy near the top [of our sustainability priorities] because without sound legislation we can be really challenged to help our operation be at its best,” says Hickey.

Bridger’s sustainability statement and a sustainability ethos permeate the work of the area’s leadership. “That ethos is rooted in what we feel is the right thing to do for the health and wellness of our business, our environment, and our people, and is reflective of the community as well,” says Hickey. “We definitely feel the support from our community and try to be open in communication of what we are trying to achieve, and our various initiatives, successes, and failures.”

Freedom in “nonprofitdom.” Both Bogus and Bridger consider themselves not handcuffed but freed by their nonprofit status.

Says Towle, “It sounds altruistic, but we are blessed to have to work this way. And the fact that we can keep skiing affordable even for those who don’t own a mansion? It’s incredible.”

And the way they work is paying off—Bogus Basin and Bridger Bowl had record seasons this past winter.