The group that wants to make a bid to buy Mt. Bachelor ski area is looking at other crowdfunded ownership models such as the Willamette Valley Vineyards, where enthusiasts were given a chance to become vineyard owners.

Chris Porter, a La Pine High School teacher, and Dan Cochrane, a Bend real estate appraiser, are also lining up lawyers and accountants to create the foundation of a community-funded ski area. They are the duo behind a group of potential owners, which now number in the thousands, who are interested in investing in the ski area. They’re lining up key players to organize committees and help with the process of public filing. They also incorporated as Mount Bachelor Community Inc.

An official launch of the organization is planned for Oct. 12.

“We see this as a legacy opportunity for the community, the state of Oregon and the mountain culture as a whole,” Cochrane said. “Who doesn’t want to own a piece of the mountain of their local ski hill? That’s our idea to have a voice, and we’re trying to avoid private equity. Our goal is (to) create a local community and private ownership with voting rights.”

They’ve already created a corporate structure that will enable it to become a company driven by preservation of the environment and a mission to keep the ski area accessible to everyone, instead of a ski area that’s owned by an entity that is profit driven, Porter said.

Mt. Bachelor has been under the ownership umbrella of Powdr Corp. since 2001. Before that, it was owned by a local group headed by Bill Healy and the Papé Group. Powdr Corp., based in Utah, announced last month that it intends to divest itself of Mt. Bachelor and two other ski resort properties in Colorado and British Columbia. It already sold Killington Resort and Pico Mountain in Vermont, the largest mountain resort in New England, to a group of local passholders, the Associated Press reported.

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Mt. Bachelor ski area up for sale

Powdr Corp. estimated it could take up to six months to sell the property. The price is not available, but Porter and Cochrane estimate it could sell for as much as $200 million. If the crowdfunded effort is successful in raising enough money, a public offering can be made that allows for community ownership.

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“I think many in the community would love nothing more than to see a local ownership group purchase Mt. Bachelor, and there’s a clear groundswell of support to do just that,” said Daniel Elder, Campfire Hotel general manager and member of the Visit Bend board of directors. “But owning and operating a ski resort is a complex, expensive, and unpredictable beast, and there are reasons why most resorts of significant size are owned by entities who specialize in doing just that. That’s not to say it can’t be done successfully under local ownership, but a lot has changed in the industry since the days of ownership by the (Bill) Healy or Papé families.”

There are well-known businesses that are mission-based and crowdfunded. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream got started using the same Securities and Exchange Commission rules that allow companies to sell shares of stock but without all the flurry of stringent paperwork and registration filings. Another example is Willamette Valley Vineyards, located in Turner.

Wine enthusiasts make good wine owners

Willamette Valley Vineyards, which began in 1983 as a sole proprietorship, evolved in 1988, when the owner sought community investors. The first round of that effort brought in $1.5 million within a limited amount of time. Waiting for investors to sign up was at times nerve-wracking, said Jim Bernau, Willamette Valley Vineyard founder and CEO.

The vineyard is held up as the first successful SEC qualified self-underwritten stock offering, Bernau said. Common stock was sold through 1991, raising $8 million in investor funds. Typically common stock offers voting rights, but doesn’t offer dividends. Preferred stock doesn’t give investors voting rights, but does provide dividends.

Today, the company is traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker identification symbol WVVI & WVVIP. The vineyard has grown through several public offerings and now has 10 using the preferred stock method designed for average people, not large funds. The vineyard doesn’t pay dividends on its common stock and has limited the earnings on the preferred stock. It prefers, instead, to use its earnings to expand its vineyards, winemaking and customer service facilities, according to the SEC filings.

“We’ve had so much success we went out in this last round with 100 million shares,” Bernau said. “That means we can raise half a billion dollars.”

Today more than 26,000 wine enthusiasts are now owners, who have become an army of marketers, Bernau said.

Willamette Valley Vineyards has a board of directors that ensures the winery remains focused on keeping to its mission of maintaining integrity in winemaking, supporting small-scale, storied estate vineyards, stewarding the land, developing new wine enthusiasts and supporting the community needs, according to 2021 SEC documents.

The winery has raised more than $42 million in net preferred stock proceeds since beginning this form of capitalization in 2015, Bernau said. The preferred stock pays a dividend many shareholders have converted into a wine credit.

Selling stock is one way to raise capital in a public offering, Bernau said. But he wanted to make the shares were available to everyone, particularly those who enjoyed wine, not just investors with deep pockets.

“I wanted shares for all people, the wine enthusiasts,” Bernau said. “I want to convert wine enthusiasts to equity owners. When you convert enthusiasts to owners, they become advocates. They bring their friends and family. I wanted wine enthusiasts to own the company to help grow the company.”

Ski enthusiasts could be owners, too

To remain independent of corporate ownership was the goal of Willamette Valley Vineyards, and now it is the intent of Central Oregon ski enthusiasts as well.

Using the SEC regulation A rules, the organizers of a stock sale can raise as much as $20 million without having to create and provide financials, according to the SEC website.

“We fully support all options, including a community buyout,” said Jeff Knapp, Visit Bend CEO. “It would be a very Oregon, very Bend thing to consider. That being said, that would be a large lift and take some strong community leadership and capital to make that happen. At the end of the day, Bend needs to have a healthy, operational Mt. Bachelor in order to sustain an important aspect of our community now and in the future.”

Cochrane and Porter have talked to the city and the Bend Park & Recreation District. They hope to garner support from all kinds of interests, Cochrane said.

The corporation filing papers set three main goals for the company:

• Environmental preservation of the natural areas in and around Mt. Bachelor.

• Promotion of eco-friendly and sustainable business practices in all our operations.

• Creating social and economic opportunities for the local community, including job creation and support for local businesses.

Ahead of the launch on Oct. 12, organizers of the ski-area purchase are sending out weekly mass emails, holding meetings and selecting committee leaders, Cochrane said. A website is being built too, he said. To get on the mailing list, send a message to buymtbachelor@gmail.com.

“Our goal is to have everything in place for accredited investors in accordance with SEC guidelines in the next two weeks,” he said.