Little Ski Hill needs a snowcat

**chucknuggin** · 06-10-2010, 03:41 PM

I'm coming here to ask this here crew of people about ideas for raising some cash money to buy a snowcat for our ski hill. We have summer sports events like fun runs and a triathlon. We have nickel and dime campaigns going on around here with stickers and selling stuff at events. But we need to come up with at least $30k to get a new groomer. Any ideas on fundraisers that might bring in a little more cash than $1-2k?

A little background on The Little Ski Hill (littleskihill.org) It is located in McCall, Idaho and is operated by Payette Lakes Ski Club. The hill was originally opened in 1937 the the local saw mill to give the community a place to ski. It's still running and we have over 90 kids involved in our after school ski/snowboard programs. There have been 6 winter olympians from this little hill. We run ski busses from all the area schools, they are free to ride for all elementary and middle school students. The priority is making this an affordable sport for all area youth. Over 20% of participants were on a scholarship and we provided several pairs of boots and skis to participants and people of the community. We are a non-profit operation. It is, just as every where else, increasingly difficult to round up money locally to purchase a snow cat.

The reason we are looking for a new cat is to have one snow cat maintain our nordic trails located 1/2 mile from the ski hill. We would use the other cat as a dedicated hill snow cat. We have been improving our terrain park to give area kids the opportunity to learn these skills as well as racing and free skiing.

I can't tell you how cool this place is. You can get a family pass for up to 6 people for under $200, a kids pass is $35 for the season. An 8 week after school program is $275. We don't want to raise these prices, because the goal is to keep it affordable for everyone to enjoy. We do supplement our income with grants, fundraisers, donations etc. and we are working on improvements on the hill and our operations to help bring in year-round income.

I'm just throwing it out there because I'm at a bit of a loss of where to go next to raise this money and generate some stoke on the place. There are a lot of people here who use the hill, but many people don't even know it exists, much less know how bad ass it is.

any ideas would be appreciated, probably have to rule out stippers and the like. Preferably no pyramid schemes. If you are feeling generous, you can donate online at our website littleskihill.org or on our facebook page: Payette Lakes Ski Club.

Sorry for the spam, but this is a worthy cause. We are producing powder whores, park rats, cliff huckers, ski racers and general bad asses here at the little hill.

**Johnny Deep** · 06-10-2010, 03:46 PM

I've been there. What a quaint little place. Walking distance from town. Gotta luv it.

Good luck with your campaign!

A new snow cat will give Bogus a fright!

**jonesy** · 06-10-2010, 04:12 PM

Wicked tube run. BBQ party?

**Art Shirk** · 06-10-2010, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by jonesy

Wicked tube run. BBQ party?

That is wicked. Looker's left and onto what appears to be a cat-track would be a spine-buster.

In a place like McCall, you could set up a skijoring event/fundraiser in the town. Get local vendors involved and have a blast.

**Gunder** · 06-10-2010, 04:20 PM

This is FUCKING RAD! Affordable skiing for the average family....now if the rest of the ski industry would clue in.

Wish I had some money to help these guys out.

**Verde** · 06-10-2010, 04:32 PM

What about sponsoring a ski swap? The patrols use them to raise funds around here.

You can get local shops that want to dump excess inventory as well as individuals to consign items for a fee. It's a good way to get inexpensive gear into the hands of folks, as well.

**Mofro261** · 06-10-2010, 04:47 PM

Your Little ski hill was the site of my first "out of state" ski race when I was ~9-10. I remember being scared shitless trying to ride the T-bar by myself and falling off a few times. I was determined though, and on the third try a man and his wife fell off in front of me and the guy didn't move out of the track. Instead of letting go or being able to get around him, I skied over his face but I held on to the top! Next time through there was a blood stain in the tbar track.

Also remember there being a jumping hill there as well that was open to the public.

Good luck with any fundraisers.

**shaft** · 06-10-2010, 04:49 PM

Concert on the hill? If I were in a band, I'd play for that cause.

**chucknuggin** · 06-10-2010, 04:59 PM

We have a pretty good spring party with a pond. Tried shovel races, but didn't get much of a turn out. Our ski swap is a big fundraiser every year, I've been combining it with a ski movie to make a big weekend out of it. Haunted house this year too! It's an old lodge, good place to scare kids. Mofro, you'll be glad to know that the T-Bar is still there and still causing carnage. I'd like to get some Gelande going on our big jump (50+ meter). Thanks for the ideas so far.

**Captain Awesome** · 06-10-2010, 11:00 PM

I'm willing to throw a few dollars your way... Do you have a paypal account set up, or anything like that? I'm literally talking about a FEW dollars, but I live in Virginia, so it's not like I'm going to drive up and take advantage of your good pricing. I'm willing to pay around the price of a kid's pass for the season, if it helps...

**garyfromterrace** · 06-10-2010, 11:53 PM

I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to raising money for ski hills (but am getting better all the time). We raised about $6K by renting a hall, getting a local rock band to donate their time and equip, charging about $10/head, running a cash bar (selling booze is like printing money), and getting a bunch of local merchants to donate items for a silent auction. Takes lots of volunteers who can help pull it off and also will help spread the word to all their buddies. I know it's not $30K but it's a start.

Great concept for a hill, I wish you all the best (and will chuck a few bucks your way)!

**DoWork** · 06-11-2010, 06:13 AM

$30k for a snowcat??? If you have a little ski hill, a new cat would be like wasting money. Look into used ones, I have a friend that works for a hill and was talking about 5-10k for used ones. Maybe this will ease your burden a bit? There's plenty of hills out there that use old equipment, and there's nothig wrong with that.

**Percy Rideout** · 06-11-2010, 08:57 AM

Michelle obama has been all over her "preventing child obesity program". I think you are doing a great job of helping those little fuckers stay fit. FEDERAL GRANTS. I have seen the silliest shit get 100k+

**enlosandes** · 06-11-2010, 09:06 AM

Great work on keeping the hill real, and not selling out!

Some ideas would be to

-start a facebook page with a click to donate button

-concert

-auction or raffle

-asking some rich ski area to give you their scraps

Suerte!

**chucknuggin** · 06-11-2010, 11:43 AM

Thanks for the ideas. We do have donate buttons on our website littleskihill.org and our facebook page Payette Lakes Ski Club. I'll keep everyone posted if we can line up a big concert/party/auction this summer or fall.
As for the cost of the cat, we've been looking around a lot and that seems to be the going price for what we are looking for. The issue is, we need something that can push snow to build terrain features. This is kind of hard on cats. If we find something that is similar to our current cat ('96ish bombardier MP) then we can have parts usable for both cats and have a back up if/when one goes down. Shit just ain't cheap man.
So, anyway, if you know people coming to Idaho or in Idaho, you should tell them to check us out.

**Game Over** · 06-12-2010, 10:28 AM

are you guys a non-profit? like enlosandes said, maybe a big resort would give you a old cat and write of the cost as charity?

**enlosandes** · 06-12-2010, 10:47 AM

Originally Posted by steepconcrete

are you guys a non-profit? like enlosandes said, maybe a big resort would give you a old cat and write of the cost as charity?

"Hey, are you done with your fat?" Spaulding

**montanaskier** · 06-12-2010, 11:30 AM

http://www.tamarackidaho.com

offer these guys like 10 bucks...don't they need money in a bad way?

**chucknuggin** · 06-12-2010, 01:02 PM

We are a non-profit and have been working the write-off angle, but still requires cash. Most places don't seem to want to part w/ equipment without some monetary compensation... Damn the man. If anyone knows any resorts that may be getting new cats let me know, and I'll get on hounding them about being good samaritans.

I think all the Tamarack equipment is owned by the bank at the moment, we've been asking for stuff since they closed, and they have helped us out some...

Thanks to those who have floated some cash our way, every little bit helps!

**chucknuggin** · 06-12-2010, 01:36 PM

We also got these stickers in this week too. So, if you want to represent a sweet hill no one has heard of https://www.justgive.org/nonprofits/...ein=82-0153504

make sure you enter your mailing address and put "sticker" in the designate my donation field and I'll send you a few stickers. If you hooked us up with some money already, PM me w/ your address and I'll send you some stickers.

**MMP** · 06-12-2010, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by enlosandes

"Hey, are you done with your fat?" Spaulding

**samthaman** · 06-12-2010, 10:01 PM

you sound like the Cochrans of the west. You might want to get in touch with them and see if they have any strategies for you. They're also a non-profit (first in the country I believe) and are constantly struggling with fund raising.

here is a link:

http://www.cochranskiarea.com/

I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help you out, but if you want a formal introduction, PM aataylor, he worked for them a lot more than I did.

**nsk040** · 06-14-2010, 02:59 PM

In addition to reaching out to resorts, I'd also reach out to some equipment manufucutures/distributors to try and get old inventory. Maybe best to put together a nice 1 pager to send out to resorts to solicit donations, support, etc - this would likely give you more credibility than just leaving a voicemail or whatever.

**INDY GS** · 06-15-2010, 06:27 AM

Good luck raising the money, looks like a fun place. I love checking out and supporting small ski hills when ever possible.

Used cats are available through www.resortboneyard.com and the Knapp Classifieds (You can link to Knapp via www.saminfo.com and their classified section.

**Johnny Deep** · 06-15-2010, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by DoWork

$30k for a snowcat??? If you have a little ski hill, a new cat would be like wasting money. Look into used ones, I have a friend that works for a hill and was talking about 5-10k for used ones. Maybe this will ease your burden a bit? There's plenty of hills out there that use old equipment, and there's nothig wrong with that.

Wow, sign me up if you can buy a new cat for 30K....