Maximizing Your Charity Golf Event's Impact: A Strategic Guide to Fundraising Excellence
by Andrew Herbert, VP of Charity Golf International
Since 2019, Andrew Herbert of Charity Golf International has helped raise over $3.5 million for charities through golf events.
When it comes to hosting a successful charity golf event, the difference between a good outing and a truly impactful one lies in the strategic approach to fundraising. After supporting thousands of charity golf events and helping organizations raise well over $125 million since 2012, Charity Golf International has learned that the most successful events share three key characteristics:
Educating golfers about the mission
Celebrate the act of giving
Employing a "less is more" approach to fundraising
This guide will explore these characteristics and show you how to effectively apply them to your next charity golf tournament.
1. Educating golfers on the mission of giving
The foundation of any successful charity golf event starts with emotionally connecting your guests to your cause. This goes far beyond simply stating what your organization does—it's about creating genuine connections that inspire action.
Make the Mission Personal and Tangible
Start with storytelling. Share real beneficiary stories that resonate on a human level. If possible, bring beneficiaries of your work to the event so they can mingle with guests and sponsors, putting a face to the cause they're supporting.
Use specific dollar amounts to demonstrate impact: "$25 provides a meal for a family of four." This specificity helps donors understand exactly how their contribution will make a difference.
Create displays that showcase your work in action. Display your fundraising goals prominently and show guests how close you are to achieving them throughout the day.
Transform hole sponsor signs into mission-focused messaging. Display the sponsor's logo prominently, and add compelling facts about your cause underneath.
Communicate Throughout the Event
Mission education shouldn't be a one-time announcement. Weave your message throughout the entire event experience.
Dedicate a few minutes of your welcome speech to mission education.
Include mission messaging in cart signage and swag items.
Have staff and beneficiaries available to chat with guests about mission experiences throughout the day.
Use the awards ceremony to reinforce the day's impact and celebrate both your efforts and the generosity of everyone involved.
Create Relevance to Golfers and Guests
Connect your charity's work to the local community where your golfers live and work, helping them understand how the community and beneficiaries will recognize their contributions and the lasting impact they'll have.
Share specifically how funds raised at this event will be used. Donors want to see a direct connection between their money and what it will accomplish.
Provide impact reports from previous years' events or organizational milestones.
Create urgency by highlighting current needs, new initiatives, and opportunities to support or match previous successes.
Charity Golf International has experience working with charities and golf events of all types and sizes, helping elevate financial results while delivering an engaging and unforgettable on-course experience for golfers.
Pro tip: less pressure, more invitation
Frame donations as "opportunities to make a difference" rather than obligations. Use inclusive language, such as "We have an opportunity today to achieve X together" and "With your help, we have no doubt we’ll reach our goal today," that invite people to give, rather than pressure-filled phrases like "We need you to do this" or "We can't do X unless you do Y.”
Remember that a great experience leads to future support and referrals. The goal here is to make your event the best one on your guests' calendars. Simply put: trust that educated, engaged golfers will give when they understand the impact. Create memories and experiences alongside the act of giving, and the funds will follow.
See How Much Charity Golf International Can Help You Raise
2. Emphasizing and celebrating the act of donating
Establish Positive Donation Experiences
The way your organization handles donations can transform the entire giving experience, taking it from a transaction to a celebration.
Thank donors immediately and publicly when appropriate. Help create proud moments for them!
Use celebration language like "What an amazing contribution!", "With this donation, we’re now at $X overall today!”, or “This means so much to our team and mission!” Make every donation a celebration of generosity.
Provide instant gratification by showing running totals, a progress bar, or thermometer displays. This helps make donating feel like winning, rather than giving away money.
Use Recognition Strategies
It’s crucial to express your appreciation to donors for their support of your cause. At your golf event:
Announce major donations during dinner or after golf. Let guests know there are heroes among them, which may inspire others to step up and contribute more.
Provide donor recognition with small tokens of appreciation (ball markers, pins, stickers, etc.) that serve as proud reminders of their contribution.
Take photos of donors making their contributions and share on social media (with permission) so they can see your gratitude and proudly share their generosity with their networks.
Leverage Social Proof to Gain Momentum
Social proof is how people look to the actions and behaviors of others to determine how they should act. This can be especially useful in fundraising—when people see their peers donating, it often prompts them to do the same.
Share when others have donated: "Team 8 with Company X just donated $500!" This creates social proof and can spark friendly competition between foursomes or companies.
Use motivating phrases like "We're well on our way to our goal today, help us keep the momentum going!" or "We're close to a new record in fundraising—let’s break that record together!"
Display real-time fundraising totals to build excitement and provide tangible donation goals throughout event day.
Charity Golf International suggests offering two to three giving activations during the round.
3. The “less is more” approach
Quality Over Quantity Principle
The most successful charity golf events that Charity Golf International supports understand that fewer, higher-impact fundraising moments are far more effective than constant asks.
Focus on two to three strategic points during the event for major fundraising pushes. Most successful events we support have one or two professional fundraising activations on the course (like Charity Golf International’s Par 5 and Par 3 Pros), along with a small internally run game. You can certainly include additional activities, but we recommend including them in registration fees.
Make each ask meaningful and well-timed.
Pre-round: A light introduction to giving opportunities, such as mulligans, 50/50 raffle tickets, or auctions.
Mid-round: One to two well-placed, high-energy fundraising moments, like professional fundraisers or on-course games.
Post-round: Major fundraising push when golfers are relaxed and social to help meet or exceed goals.
Avoid stacking activations. Try to space them out to prevent fundraising fatigue and maintain positive energy for your guests.
Simplify the Giving Process
Remove as many barriers to giving as possible. Offer a simple, hassle-free process and make your asks specific and tangible.
Offer clear donation levels rather than a generic and vague ask.
Use round numbers that make sense to you and your guests.
Spend 80% of your time explaining what donations accomplish and only 20% on logistics, letting the mission sell itself rather than over-explaining the need for donations.
pro tip: partner with experts
As you may very well know, GolfStatus handles all registration, payment processing, sponsor management, and real-time tracking of your outing. Charity Golf International provides the on-course entertainment and fundraising expertise that creates memorable experiences, allowing you to focus on what matters most: connecting with your guests and advancing your mission during the outing.
Charity Golf International brings premium prizes to golf events, plus fundraising experience.
Charity Golf International’s partnership with GolfStatus eliminates common pain points of charity golf event management while maximizing both the guest experience and fundraising potential.
When GolfStatus and Charity Golf International work together on your event, the result is simple and clear—your guests will eagerly anticipate the outing year after year, sponsors will see real value in their investment while appreciating your efforts, and organizations like yours consistently exceed their fundraising goals.
Ready to take your charity golf event to the next level? The tools, strategies, and partnerships are all here—now it's time to create something truly impactful together.
Work With GolfStatus & Charity Golf International for Your Next Golf Fundraiser
Charity Golf International is the leader in on-course fundraising and entertainment, providing proven methods to charities and organizations. Its pros are well-versed in nonprofit fundraising and bring high-energy, high-impact to golf tournaments.
Combining Charity Golf International’s on-course fundraising expertise with GolfStatus’ tech, revenue enhancers, and support maximizes your tournament’s impact to raise mission-critical funds, connect with donors, and share information about your work. Get started with GolfStatus at no upfront cost by booking a meeting with a golf fundraising expert.