The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Montgomery impressed with how entire community steps up
By Mark Reaman
The head of one of the biggest companies in the valley has made a major contribution to one of the valley’s biggest non-profit agencies that helps other non-profits throughout the region.
Vail Resorts’ CEO Rob Katz and his wife, Elana Amsterdam, founder of Elana’s Pantry, this week announced a donation of more than $2.5 million to provide immediate support for both Vail Resorts employees and the mountain towns where the company operates. Included in the donations was a $50,000 donation to the Community Foundation of Gunnison Valley and its COVID-19 Response and Recovery Efforts that supports non-profits that provide critical services to those impacted.
“We are thrilled to be the recipient of the generous grant from Rob Katz and Elana Amsterdam,” commented CFGV executive director Pam Montgomery. “The local non-profits all need a lot of operational help right now and this will help.”
Montgomery said while the Katz donation is the largest grant received recently, she has been impressed with how people are stepping up to help fund the Community Foundation. She said the organization has received approximately $120,000 in donations over the last couple of weeks.
“We are doing a rolling cycle for applications and continuously reviewing the applications,” she explained. “Our first effort will be focused on those on the front lines and we expect the first checks to go out by Monday.
“We then need to focus on the agencies dealing with the most vulnerable population,” Montgomery continued. “We hope the donations keep coming in when people see what we are doing. The local nonprofits have a lot of dedicated people helping them but usually not a lot of reserves so we hope to help with that.”
An additional $1 million is being donated by Katz to create a new fund within Vail Resorts’ EpicPromise Employee Foundation, which helps the company’s employees respond to unpredictable setbacks, including medical events. This fund will help meet the increased need for assistance due to the impacts of COVID-19, ensuring that the foundation has the resources to address this challenge.
