BY ISABELLA VENDRAMIN, SUMMER INTERN
Big Sky Shuttle (BSS) owner Tracie Pabst donated $4,000 to the Gallatin River Task Force through the “Save the Canyon…Ride the Coach” campaign. The umbrella campaign, “Buck a Sale” for Big Sky, encourages businesses in Big Sky to support their favorite local non-profits. BSS collected money for the Task Force by donating one dollar for every luxury airport shuttle seat booked during the 2019 winter season.
“BSS has had a long-standing mission to save lives in the Gallatin Canyon by reducing traffic,” said Pabst. “Our ‘Save the Canyon’ campaign germinated as a motivator to encourage our guests to use our scheduled shuttle service, instead of taking a private ride, thus reducing the traffic in the canyon. We added some teeth to the idea by donating a buck per ride to a natural partner, the Gallatin River Task Force. The feedback has been incredible and the idea is working while growing BSS at the same time.”
All non-profits need cash, and “Buck a Sale” for Big Sky is a unique and easy way for Big Sky businesses to make a tremendous difference for the community. “This is a local idea, but we could see this expanding to other ski resort towns,” encouraged Pabst. “A ‘Buck a Sale’ could be a great way to fund a variety of much-needed infrastructure in Big Sky. The campaign is exciting!”
The effort will greatly strengthen the relationships between businesses and non-profit organizations. Big Sky Shuttle will continue the campaign and has already committed to donating a “Buck a Sale” to the Task Force for the 2020 winter season. Pabst hopes other Big Sky businesses will create their own “Buck a Sale” for Big Sky campaign to support their favorite charity, while also helping Big Sky to grow.
“With the boom in Big Sky, imagine the money that could be raised for a business’ favorite nonprofit by simply donating one dollar per sale,” Pabst concluded. “We hope more businesses in Big Sky see this as painless way to raise cash for vital non-profits in Big Sky.”
The community and Big Sky Shuttle customers are encouraged to match Big Sky Shuttles’ donations by giving at gallatinrivertaskforce.org/donate.