2024 Sustainable Slopes Grant Applications are Closed. 

Applications for the 2024 Grant Cycle have closed. Applicants will be notified of decisions by May 2024. Winners will be recognized at NSAA’s National Convention in May.

Launched in 2009 and now in its 15th year, NSAA’s Sustainable Slopes Grant Program offers valuable grants to NSAA member ski areas that are endorsers of Sustainable Slopes. These grants can help you earn Sustainability Badges and help you meet your targets in the Climate Challenge if you participate in that program. Past grant recipients completed projects with many positive benefits, including more efficient snowmaking, increased protection of habitats and watersheds, reductions in waste and resource usage, on-site renewable energy generation, partnerships with sustainability consultants, and receiving significant ROI as a direct result of their work. To date, $820,535 in cash and in-kind funding has been awarded to ski areas seeking to reduce their footprint and increase their environmental stewardship. There are two types of grants ski areas can apply for: Cash Grants, which provide cash to fund your next sustainability project and the newly renamed Herman K. Dupré Sustainable Snowmaking Grant, which provides energy efficient snowmaking equipment. Find more details about the Sustainable Slopes Grant Program here.  

Thank you to HKD Snowmakers for providing equipment to ski areas to make their snowmaking programs more efficient.

Herman K. Dupré

HKD Snowmakers and NSAA are proud to honor the life and environmental stewardship of HKD Co-Founder Herman K. Dupré through the Sustainable Slopes snowmaking grant. This grant, officially renamed as the Herman K. Dupré Sustainable Snowmaking Grant, annually provides energy efficient snowmaking equipment to NSAA member resorts around the country helping them reduce their snowmaking carbon footprint. "My father-in-law, Herman K. Dupré, always sought to leave the earth better than he found it, and this snowmaking grant, now in his name, will inspire and support others to do the same," said Charles Santry, President and Co-founder of HKD Snowmakers. Learn more about Herman K. Dupré here.

Past Sustainable Slopes Grant Winners

2023 Recipients

• Bogus Basin (ID) - Carbon sequestration via re-vegetation & erosion control
• Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe (NV) - Industrial compost machine
• Pleasant Mountain (ME) -Heat pump system
• Soldier Hollow (UT) - HKD Impulse air/water snowguns
• Swain Resort (NY) - HKD Impulse air/water snowguns

HKD Snowmakers is excited to announce Swain Resort, NY and Soldier Hollow, UT as the two winners of the 2023 NSAA Sustainable Slopes Grant. We recognize these ski areas for leading by example and incorporating sustainable practices and environmental stewardship into all aspects of their resorts, including snowmaking. Swain Resort and Soldier Hollow will each be awarded with over $30,000 of energy efficient HKD snowguns. HKD Snowmakers is proud to support the NSAA Sustainable Slopes Grant and further the ski industry’s commitment to a sustainable future.

-Charles Santry, HKD President

Soldier Hollow is thrilled to receive a 2023 NSAA Sustainable Slopes grant.  This grant is a special one and is particularly impactful because of its tie to the NSAA Sustainable Slopes pledge.  We’re proud to endorse the commitments outlined in the pledge, motivated to put those commitments into practice, and thrilled to expand our relationship with HKD as a partner in modernizing our snowmaking operation and improve the efficiency and sustainability of our snow management.

-Luke Bodensteiner, General Manager of Soldier Hollow

Swain Resort is committed to reducing our impact on the environment and combating climate change. We are very grateful for the support of the Sustainable Slopes program and are excited to work with NSAA to further our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint. We would also like to thank HKD for their support and donation to this grant program.

-Shawn Schoonover, Owner of Swain Resort

* In 2023, HKD Snowmakers offered grants to two ski areas with a combined value over $60,000.