Creative Fundraising: The Golf Tournament
United Charitable is honored to support hundreds of Fiscally Sponsored Programs taking action in their communities.
“This was Teenok’s first golf outing and it was a smashing success. We really didn’t know what to expect but the generosity and outpouring of love from the community was overwhelming. We had a perfect day for golf filled with laughs and fun capped by a great concert on the patio. We will certainly be running back this event next year and hope to double our impact to raise critical life saving funds for children with heart disease.”
Golf tournaments are a perennial fundraising favorite, so lets do it right!
As the weather warms each spring, golf season begins. However, by the time your donors begin pulling their clubs out of storage, it will be too late to plan an event. So, it’s time to start planning for next year now!
Teenok Heart Foundation, a fiscally sponsored program of United Charitable, recently held a wonderful golf tournament at Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, New York. TNH ensured that the check in process went smoothly, that each participant had a personalized and friendly experience, and that there were events and entertainment outside of the gameplay to keep donors engaged throughout the entire weekend.
Read below as Issac Leeth, our Fiscal Sponsor Program Manager, gives his top 5 tips for facilitating a successful Golf Tournamet!
Issac Leeth (United Charitable Fiscal Program Manager), Mark Lessner (Teenok Heart Foundation Program Manager), and Julia Healey (United Charitable CEO) at Teenok Heart Foundation’s Golf Tournament in Purchase, New York
Julia Healey (United Charitable CEO) and Issac Leeth (United Charitable Fiscal Sponsor Program Manager)
Helpful Tips for Facilitating an Amazing Event for your Donors
- Create an event page with registration capabilities well before the event, allowing payments to be made via multiple ways, such as credit card, ACH, Wire, Check, etc. Event platforms such as BirdEase and GiveSignUp are both great to use for this purpose. This will allow the time needed to market the event and reach the audience that may want to support the event, either by attending or donating.
- Budget accordingly. Before planning the event, I would suggest deciding if you would like to base your budget around the event, and then the cause would get all remaining proceeds or decide on a set amount that needs to go towards the cause and to budget the event around that.
- Get the community involved. Wherever the event is being held, reach out to surrounding press outlets such as newspapers, television, and radio stations. They could find interest in promoting the event and the cause, which could lead to additional exposure and support.
- Hire internal media coverage. If within the budget, hiring someone to document the either via videography or photography will not only capture the event and the reaction of the participants but provide marketing material to promote future events to support the cause for years to come.
- Cater to and interact with the attendees. THF’s Golf Tournament provided customized program SWAG, brunch and dinner, cocktails, golf gear, caddies, live music, and other accommodations. They also had mini-events that really kept the players involved, such as longest ball, “beat the pro,” closest to hole, and hole in one challenge. These were great for engaging not only the players but also opportunities for additional funds to be raised for the cause. It is important to keep your budget in mind, but whatever clever ways to entertain the attendees will inspire them to participate in the next event and support the program and cause even more.