LINCOLN, Neb., March 28, 2022 /The Chronicle of Philanthropy/ -- Fundraising for nonprofits boils down to two simple things: finding new donors and keeping existing ones. Both are critical to a nonprofit’s fundraising success—and to the overall success of the organization. Golf tournament fundraisers, when planned and executed properly, are avenues to successfully do both. Here’s what you need to know about using your golf fundraiser to attract new donors and make sure they (and your other longtime supporters) keep coming back to support your mission.

Why Are New Donors Important?

New donors are crucial to moving your organization’s cause forward. Just as a for-profit business must attract new customers or clients to grow market share, a nonprofit must raise awareness about the organization, the cause, and its work to grow its donor base. While some level of donor attrition is natural, without onboarding new donors to replace those that have lapsed, your network begins to stagnate and your organization ends up with an increasingly narrow donor pool. Indeed, the golf fundraiser presents an opportunity to raise awareness and bring in dollars while simultaneously attracting new donors.

Why Is It Important to Retain Donors?

While new donors are certainly important and more than worthwhile to pursue, retaining donors is equally, if not more, important. Returning donors already care about your cause and believe in how your organization is addressing the issue. They’re more likely to make larger gifts, and are already on the road to being long term donors. What’s more, the costs associated with onboarding new donors—both in terms of dollars and staff time—are significantly higher than with simply retaining existing supporters. You’ve likely invested time and effort in stewarding donors, which means attrition essentially undoes all the good that new donors bring to your organization.

How Does the Golf Event Do Both?

Golf fundraisers present tremendous opportunities for nonprofits—not only to raise funds to fulfill your mission, but to attract new and steward existing donors.

People Want to Golf

The golf industry saw unprecedented growth during 2020 and 2021, and while the National Golf Foundation reports that the sport’s growth has cooled slightly, golf is still more popular now than it was pre-pandemic. Many golfers actively look for golf tournaments to play in because they enjoy the game. And it’s not just the die-hard golfers—more casual players than ever are getting involved in the game and are eager to play in tournaments, which opens the door for even more donors to steward. The best part about a golf fundraiser is that when your event is focused on something people really want to do and enjoy—like golf—they’re bound to come back year after year.

Players Tap Their Network to Field a Team

Golf may be an individual sport, but charity golf tournaments tend to be scrambles, which means that folks must field a team to participate and tap into their personal and professional networks to do so. One of your supporters registers for the fundraiser, then brings three others who aren’t necessarily familiar with your cause, but will be once they play in the tournament. This instantly multiplies your donor outreach. And when you retain these new donors, your network snowballs. What’s more, these new donors are likely to return in future years and even bring others.

Golf Attracts a Particular Demographic

Golfers typically represent an affluent and influential demographic, with an average net worth of nearly $740,000 and an average household income double the national average. Over half of golfers are between the ages of 25 and 55 (the age group with the most spending power), and one in three are top-level managers. In short, these are folks you want in your organization’s donor database.

It’s an Important Networking Opportunity

Many golfers use charity golf tournaments—especially higher-grossing events held at prestigious golf courses—to network and do business. With four focused hours on the course, golfers can entertain clients, connect with prospects, build professional relationships, and network. This makes golf tournaments uniquely positioned to attract new high-capacity and connected donors that are often invited to fill a team.

You Can Reconnect With Lapsed Donors

Golf events let you reconnect with supporters who have contributed in the past but may have missed a year or more. Perhaps they played in a golf tournament years ago but haven’t returned, joined as a member but didn’t renew, made a year-end gift but didn’t respond to additional asks, or participated in a program and subsequently fell dormant. No matter what the cause, an invitation to a golf tournament is a low-pressure opportunity for lapsed donors to reconnect with your organization through an activity they enjoy—and for you to steward these relationships.

Capture Donor Data & Take the Next Step

In order to truly maximize your golf fundraiser as an outreach opportunity, you need to know who is playing in the event. This is an exercise in capturing donor data, getting it into your donor database, and effectively using it to attract folks to future events (like your golf tournament) and get them engaged in your mission.

Technology can help. Upgrading to online registration has a number of time-saving advantages and allows for thorough, real-time collection of donor data. Using a professional event website with online registration geared specifically toward the golf tournament allows you to capture each player and sponsor’s information. You’ll want to couple online registration with a platform that makes it easy for one player to purchase a team without necessarily knowing who they’ll tap to play with, and the ability to add that information later.

If you’re a nonprofit or planning an event that benefits one, you likely qualify for a free event website and no-cost access to GolfStatus, a golf event management platform that allows event organizers to effortlessly collect valuable donor data while streamlining the planning process. The result is an easier way to plan a golf outing that attracts new and stewards existing donors through an all-around great experience.

Ready to hit the easy button on a first-year golf event or streamline an existing tournament? Click here to get qualified or email us directly at [email protected].

Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy