Foundation Leverages Golf to Raise $90,000 to Support Local Public Schools
Partner Snapshot
Every one of the 35 schools in the Millard Public School (MPS) District has benefited in one way or another from the Millard Public Schools Foundation (MPSF). MPS is located in Omaha, Nebraska and serves 23,000 students with 3,000 staff in kindergarten through high school. The Foundation gives roughly $1,000,000 back to the schools on an annual basis to allow Millard’s schools to work beyond their regular operating budget.
MPSF has funded programs like after school childcare, advanced placement scholarships, food pantries at district high schools, support for Millard families in need, educator awards, and much more for over 40 years, helping students and educators thrive and the district become a district of choice for area families. “Ultimately our main mission is to support the district and make a difference in the community,” says Marilyn Chollett, Director of Development and Communications for MPSF.
One way the Foundation drives revenue is through an annual golf fundraiser. Marilyn has been part of the golf tournament for 15 of the event’s 30+ year existence and serves as the MPSF liaison to the event’s planning committee. “We want the tournament to be something where people can come and have a lot of fun and support our mission,” she says.
“Golf is a great way to have fun and raise money for our work.”
The Challenge
The golf tournament has helped raise dollars for MPSF to fill in gaps for schools, students, and staff throughout the district. The tournament has grown steadily over the years, regularly grossing between $90,000 and $100,000.
The tournament’s planning team changes every year, with Marilyn remaining a steady presence to keep the committee on task and on track. It’s a significant investment of everyone’s time, so Marilyn kept her eyes open for ways to streamline the tournament from start to finish.
The Solution
When Marilyn came across GolfStatus’ booth at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) conference in New Orleans in April of 2023, she was intrigued by the user-friendliness of the platform, and the promise to save organizers time and help raise more money from golf events. They were too close to the early June date of that year’s tournament to jump to a new event management platform, but circled back to GolfStatus as they began planning for 2024. “Something new was scary, especially when you’ve done it one way for 15 years, but we decided to go for it,” she says, and they came onboard with GolfStatus.
The Results
Carts ready for golfers are lined up at the event’s host golf facility, Tiburon Golf Club, in Omaha, Nebraska.
The established tournament sells out on a regular basis, and 2024 was no different. The host golf facility, Tiburon Golf Club, is unique in that it is a 27-hole facility and can accommodate a field of 216 golfers. “Those extra nine holes help us raise additional money” from golfers and sponsors, Marilyn says, and the tournament raised over $90,000.
Securing Sponsors
She worked closely with the planning team of about 10 members, which is comprised of vendors, board or community members, and district teachers, administrators, or staff. The committee works to secure sponsors, who primarily represent district vendors. It’s been a win-win for vendors, who use it as a marketing piece to not only support the Foundation but also get time with school administrators to do business.
“The tournament has built a good reputation over the years, so we’re fortunate that sponsors keep coming back,” Marilyn says. The planning team members tap into their own relationships and networks to sell the remaining sponsorships not sold to vendors.
The digital exposure provided by GolfStatus’ platform provides additional ROI for sponsors.
Sponsoring businesses get digital exposure on the tournament’s website as soon as they sign on. Marilyn says they are conscious about offering a wide range of sponsorship opportunities, from the presenting sponsor selling for $8,000 to $600 hole sponsorships. She points out that GolfStatus opened doors to additional sponsorships, including its exclusive Technology Sponsorship and high-visibility Pin Flag Sponsorship. “The flags looked great and the sponsor was really happy with how they turned out,” Marilyn says.
The planning team opted to purchase GolfStatus’ Bundled Hole-In-One contest package, which in combination with the sale of the Technology Sponsorship and Pin Flag Sponsorship, unlocked the donation of a Stay and Play package from GolfStatus’ sister company, Dormie Network. “We were able to leverage the Stay and Play donation as an auction item, which brought in an extra $3,000,” she says.
User-Friendliness & Support
GolfStatus’ user-friendliness, both from the front and back end perspectives, is what pushed the MPSF to make the switch to manage the golf event. Each GolfStatus client has a dedicated client support representative who walks them through the software’s back end to ensure they’re comfortable using it, and is available to answer questions, provide coaching, and help make the tournament a success. What’s more, clients and site users can access the support team seven days a week if they run into any snags or have questions about registration, purchasing a sponsorship, or making a donation.
“The customer service has been great. The team is so responsive and knowledgeable.”
Sponsors helped underwrite the cost of the tournament’s player gifts.
As a nonprofit, MPSF qualified for GolfStatus’ Golf for Good program, which gave them access to GolfStatus’ platform at no upfront cost. Marilyn worked with her GolfStatus rep to build a free event website and learn the platform. “It’s very user-friendly,” she says. “They walked me through the back end, but it wasn’t hard to learn as someone who’s not the most tech savvy!”
Streamlining & Simplifying
Golfers and sponsors could purchase teams and packages right through the event website, and all registration and payment information drops into the software’s backend for easy management. The team unlocked the software’s invoicing feature to cater to sponsors who need an invoice for their accounting processes. “We have lots of sponsors that request invoices, and being able to offer that within the software has been helpful,” Marilyn says. “It takes the burden off of me to have to keep up with those requests and keep it all within the platform.”
As they begin to think about the next iteration of the golf tournament, Marilyn says they’ll look at the current committee structure to ensure it’s beneficial to both the volunteers and the Foundation. She says they’ll likely keep a lot the same, since it’s been so successful, but continue to look for unique experiences to make the tournament more memorable for golfers and keep them coming back to support MPSF’s work to enrich local schools.
“We don’t ever want it to be exactly the same, but want people to have fun. It’s a great chance for people to support the district and Foundation’s mission.”
Golf for Good
GolfStatus is the leading event management platform for charity golf tournaments and fundraisers. It streamlines and simplifies golf events to save organizers a ton of time and has built in tools to raise even money for your cause. Through GolfStatus’ Golf for Good program, nonprofit organizations (and those planning golf events to benefit one) can qualify to use GolfStatus at no cost. Get an event website, online registration and secure payment processing, the ability to collect donations, exclusive sponsorships and exposure, live support seven days a week, and golf-specific tools to make your tournament the best one yet. Click below to book a meeting to find out more and get qualified.