Everyone’s read about how celebrities raise money for their favorite charity through media intensive golf tournaments. Fortunately, you don’t need Tiger Woods to show up in order to launch a successful Let’s Play Golf Fundraiser for your school or organization.
Careful planning is a key for any type of sporting event, and having a sufficient number of volunteers to keep the action moving is particularly important. Ask a couple of experienced golfers to serve on this committee. Find some parents with expertise in golf, are knowledgeable about the rules, and who have already experienced other golf fundraiser events.
Next, check with your local Chamber of Commerce to see if there are any other golf tournaments scheduled around the same time as your preferred date. You don’t want to compete with any other tournaments.
Select a golf course that will appeal to the most players. Negotiate with the management for an all-day price, and then find a big sponsor to underwrite the cost of the golf course. Naturally, the sponsor will be headlined on all advertising. You may even want to name the event after them to attract a deep-pockets sponsor.
If the golf course already has a food bar, discuss a split on those sales, or ask if you can set up your own food stands for added revenue. There are a couple of ways you can structure your fund raising for the players:
Either players pay a flat, above average fee to enter, or players seek individual sponsors who pay $1, $3, $5, (or, whatever amount is promised for sponsorship) for them to play each hole. This method will involve some paperwork and after event follow-up to be sure that all the donations are collected.
Either way, you can also secure other business ‘hole sponsors’ who will pay to advertise their company on a specific hole. They might even put up a little prize money or gift certificate for anyone who gets a hole-in-one.
Other sponsors can put up prize money or gift certificates for the players with the top three lowest scores, and another who will pay for tee-shirts to be given away to all the golfers and volunteers. Giving away prizes is a sure way to encourage golfers to participate.
While kids can’t play in the golf event, they can be volunteers. They can solicit players, help in the placement of advertising, help at the registration desk, stand at each hole and remove the flag prior to putting, help with any food sales, and hand out free water bottles and tee-shirts.
A Let’s Play Golf Fundraiser can become a much anticipated event for families and has the potential to generously replenish your organization’s bank account.
