Vail Resorts Launches EpicPromise Foundation
- An estimated $750,000 in annual grants will be provided to employees
- Grants will support employees with emergency assistance in times of need and help fund their educational dreams
- Foundation to be funded with $500,000 annual contribution by the Company and a one-time $1.5 million contribution by CEO Rob Katz
- All Vail Resorts employees and guests can contribute to the Foundation
- Foundation will be overseen by non-executive employees from across the Company’s mountain resorts.
Vail Resorts’ contribution to the Foundation will be in addition to the Company’s existing charitable giving efforts through its EpicPromise program, which encompasses the Company’s year-round commitment to community support, environmental stewardship and employee engagement. Through EpicPromise, Vail Resorts already contributes $7.4 million per year in charitable donations to 250 local nonprofit partners, organizes 20,000 hours of company-sponsored employee volunteer time, and executes on a variety of environmental initiatives each year.
“The mission of Vail Resorts is to create an experience of a lifetime for our guests and we do that by creating an experience of a lifetime for our employees,” said Katz. “The EpicPromise Foundation is another way for us to create that experience of a lifetime by supporting our employees in times of need and to ensure that they and their families can pursue their educational dreams. I feel very fortunate to be able to personally support this effort.”
The EpicPromise Foundation grant application process will open in January 2016, with the first round of grants awarded in February 2016. It is anticipated that an estimated $750,000 in grants will be awarded each fiscal year. Grants will be available for employees in times of need, when they are facing medical or family emergencies. Grants will also be able to help employees and their families achieve their educational dreams, through scholarships for GED, vocational and undergraduate educational institutions, as well as pre-collegiate development programs. In addition to the one-time contribution by Katz and the annual funding provided by Vail Resorts, the Foundation will also be able to receive charitable gifts from other employees and guests of Vail Resorts, which will begin after the Foundation receives its regulatory approval in 2016. The Foundation will be overseen by a board of directors, which will be made up entirely of non-executive employees from across the Company’s mountain resorts and other business locations.
“The EpicPromise Foundation will be managed by our employees, for our employees,” said Katz. “It’s said that charity should begin at home and in this holiday season, we are creating a way for everyone at Vail Resorts to both give back and be supported. There is always more for us to do to create the experience of a lifetime for our employees, but this is a great addition to what it means to be a part of Vail Resorts.”
For more information about Vail Resorts’ EpicPromise Foundation, and all efforts associated with the EpicPromise program, visit www.EpicPromise.com.
Video Statement on the EpicPromise Employee Foundation: https://vimeo.com/147533924
About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN)
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading global mountain resort operator. The Company’s subsidiaries operate nine world-class mountain resorts and two urban ski areas, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Perisher in Australia; Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan. The Company owns and/or manages a collection of casually elegant hotels under the RockResorts brand, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning and development subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.
Contact(s)
Media Contact: Nicky DeFord, (720) 524-5020, ndeford@vailresorts.com