Stifel Fundraiser Raises $1.35 million for U.S. Ski & Snowboard

The annual fund raiser at Ron Kruszewski‘s St. Louis home raised $1.35 million. | Image: U.S. Ski & Snowboard

The Stifel U.S. Ski Team’s annual St. Louis, Missouri, fundraiser returned on Friday, September 12. Each year, the fundraiser has a fun theme and this year’s edition was themed “Snow Chella” — a wintry take on Coachella, the famed California music festival. This year’s event raised $1.35 million for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes, just shy of last year’s record of $1.375 million.

The event is hosted annually by Ron Kruszewski, Chairman and CEO of Stifel Financial Corporation and a longtime U.S. Ski & Snowboard trustee, alongside his partner Amanda Perkins. Stifel is a financial services company in St. Louis specializing in investment banking and wealth management activities, which has been a long-standing supporter of the U.S. Alpine Team as well as U.S. snowsports overall. CEO Ron Kruszewski hosts the annual fundraiser at his home. What began years ago as a modest gathering has grown into one of the organization’s largest single fundraising nights, with proceeds now benefiting every discipline under the U.S. Ski & Snowboard umbrella — alpine, cross country, freestyle, freeski, ski jumping, nordic combined, and Para alpine.

The annual festival at Ron Kruszewski and Amanda Perkins’ home in St. Louis, MO. | Image: U.S. Ski & Snowboard

Related: [PHOTOS] U.S. Ski & Snowboard Fundraiser in St. Louis, MO, Raises Record $1.375 Million

As has become tradition, the night drew a strong turnout of U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes. In attendance this year were, amongst others, Mikaela Shiffrin, halfpipe Olympic medalist Alex Ferreira, two-time Paralympic champion snowboarder Noah Elliott, and sisters Lauren Macuga, Alli, and Sam Macuga. The event has built a reputation for bringing together elite athletes with the St. Louis donor community that helps fund them.

Stifel Fundraiser 2026 — Mikaela Shiffrin and the Macuga sisters (left to right: Lauren, Sam, Alli), and Alex Ferreira. | Image: Mikaela Shiffrin

The fundraiser has long leaned on Shiffrin in particular as a central figure and outspoken advocate for the event’s importance. In past years, she’s used the moment to remind supporters that, unlike many of the national teams the U.S. competes against, the American ski and snowboard program receives no government funding and relies entirely on private donations to operate.

“Snow Chella” continues a long tradition of playful, creative themes for the St. Louis event, each one giving the evening its own distinct identity. Recent editions have included “Una Notte Bianca a Cortina” in 2025 (raising a then-record $1.375 million ahead of the Milano-Cortina Olympics), an “80s Après Ski” theme in 2024, and “Mikaela’s Roadhouse” in 2023, which celebrated Shiffrin’s then-record-setting 88th World Cup win with Route 88-themed decor throughout the venue.

This year’s festival-inspired theme fits the same mold: a lighthearted, high-energy concept built around live music, food, drinks, and dancing, all in service of the night’s real purpose — a silent and live auction that forms the financial backbone of the evening.

Every dollar raised goes directly toward supporting U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s athletes as they prepare for the competitive season ahead, from World Cup circuits to the sport’s biggest global stages. With the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics having taken place earlier this year and a new competitive cycle already underway, fundraisers like this remain a critical part of how Team USA’s skiers and snowboarders stay funded, supported, and competitive on the world stage.