by Jen Wemhoff, Communications Manager at GolfStatus

At its core, nonprofit fundraising boils down to two essential goals: attracting new donors and retaining existing ones. Both are critical to a nonprofit’s long-term success, and both require thoughtful strategy, consistent stewardship, and meaningful engagement.

Charity golf tournaments are uniquely positioned to support both of these goals. When executed well, a golf fundraiser does more than raise money for a single day. It also:

• Introduces your mission to new audiences

• Deepens relationships with current supporters

• Creates an experience that donors want to return to year after year

Here’s how nonprofits can use golf fundraisers to grow their donor base and build lasting loyalty.

Why New Donors Matter for Nonprofits

New donors are the fuel that keeps your mission moving forward. Just as for-profit businesses must attract new customers or clients to grow, nonprofits must consistently introduce new supporters to their cause, programs, and impact.

Some level of donor attrition is inevitable, but without a steady stream of new donors to replace those who lapse, your support base shrinks, fundraising becomes more challenging, and growth stalls. Charity golf tournaments help solve this challenge by combining fundraising with raising awareness and building relationships into one highly social event.

Why Donor Retention Is Just as Important

Yes, acquiring new donors is essential. But retaining them is often even more impactful. Returning donors already believe in your mission and understand your work. They’re more likely to give again, give generously over time, and become long-term advocates for your organization. 

Retention is also far more cost-effective than finding new donors. The time, energy, and resources to acquire a new donor typically far exceed what it takes to steward an existing one. In fact, high donor attrition can undo months or years of relationship-building, making retention strategies critical to sustained growth and success.

How Golf Tournaments Attract & Retain Donors

Golf fundraisers meet supporters where they already are—on the course. Unlike many traditional nonprofit fundraising events, golf tournaments center on an activity that past and prospective donors genuinely enjoy, creating natural opportunities for conversation and connection.

---

Start Planning a Golf Tournament With GolfStatus!

---

Here’s why charity golf tournaments are so effective at helping nonprofits onboard and retain donors of all levels:

1. People Want to Play Golf

Golf has seen a sustained surge in popularity, with more than 500 million rounds played in each of the last six years (which is up 21% than the previous five-year average). That continued interest means a large and engaged pool of potential tournament participants—and potential donors.

Many golfers actively seek out tournaments to play in simply because they love the game. And it’s not just the die-hard golfers; more new and casual players than ever are getting involved in the game and are eager to play in tournaments. When your fundraiser is built around an activity people are excited to do, participation feels less like an obligation and more like a reward—making supporters more likely to return year after year.

Golf tournaments engage current and new donors through an activity they enjoy.

2. Players Expand Your Reach by Building Teams

While golf is an individual sport, charity tournaments are typically played as scrambles. That means participants must form teams, often by tapping into their personal and professional networks.

Here’s how that works to benefit your nonprofit: One supporter registers and brings along three others to field a team who are unfamiliar with your organization. By the end of the tournament, those new players will know about your mission and impact firsthand. This built-in network effect creates a snowball effect to multiply your reach and organically grow your donor community.

3. Golf Attracts a High-Value Demographic

Golfers tend to represent a demographic with a higher-than-average household income and net worth. Many are between the ages of 25 and 55 (an age bracket with strong earning power), and a significant percentage hold leadership or management roles, own their own business, and own real estate.

These characteristics make golf tournaments especially attractive for nonprofits seeking to connect with potential high-capacity donors and corporate sponsors and for businesses looking for exposure to an affluent audience. It’s an audience that aligns well with both fundraising goals and sponsorship opportunities.

Golf tournaments are often an important networking opportunity for your nonprofit, sponsors, and partners.

4. Tournaments Create Meaningful Networking Opportunities

For many participants, charity golf tournaments double as professional networking events. Five+ hours on the course provide uninterrupted time to build relationships, entertain clients, and strengthen business connections.

This dynamic can bring new, well-connected individuals to your event when they’re invited to fill a team. And since it’s centered around golf, people who may not otherwise attend a traditional fundraiser are more eager to participate. When paired with thoughtful stewardship, these relationships have the potential to evolve into long-term donor or sponsor partnerships.

5. You Can Re-engage Lapsed Donors

A golf fundraiser can also serve as a powerful re-engagement tool. Past supporters who haven’t given recently, whether they skipped a year-end appeal or drifted away after a previous event, may be more receptive to an invitation to play golf than to a direct donation ask.

Your golf event offers a low-pressure way to reconnect through a shared experience and activity they enjoy. It opens the door to new conversations, the opportunity to steward the relationship, and provides a natural setting to reintroduce your mission, programs, and impact.

---

Free Guide:

Attracting & Retaining Donors With Your Golf Fundraiser

Looking for more strategies to grow your donor base from your golf event? This free guide discusses the golfer donor and how to convert, activate, and retain them.

Get the Guide

---

Capture Donor Data to Take the Next Step

To fully realize the donor growth potential of your golf fundraiser, you need more than just a great event—you also need accurate, accessible donor data.

Knowing who participated, who sponsored, who donated, and who was introduced to your organization through the golf event allows you to effectively follow up and steward relationships beyond tournament day. How do you start? Simply by capturing participant information at registration and integrating it into your donor database.

Collecting information at registration is an important step in stewarding golfers post-tournament.

Technology plays a key role here. Online registration through a golf-specific event management platform saves staff time, reduces manual work, and ensures real-time data collection. A professional event website with intuitive registration makes it easy to gather complete information for each player and sponsor. The result is less administrative burden on your team and better data to support future fundraising events.

---

GolfStatus: A Smarter Way to Run Your Charity Golf Tournament

Built specifically for golf fundraisers, GolfStatus helps organizers streamline planning, capture valuable donor data, and deliver a seamless, professional experience for players and sponsors alike. Whether you’re launching a first-year tournament or looking to modernize an existing event, the right tools can make it easier to attract new donors, steward existing supporters, and execute a fundraiser that grows every year.

Click below to book a meeting with GolfStatus—get a free event website and access to its golf event management tech at no upfront cost.

Ready to Simplify Your Golf Fundraiser & Maximize Its Impact?

Book a Meeting With GolfStatus!

by Jen Wemhoff, Communications Manager at GolfStatus

On-course contests are where charity golf tournaments can come alive. A simple, engaging, and profitable option is a putting contest. With minimal setup, low overhead, and high participation potential, a well-run putting contest can generate meaningful dollars while giving golfers something extra to look forward to on tournament day.

Whether you’re looking to boost revenue, attract sponsors, or create a memorable moment that brings everyone together, a putting contest checks all the boxes. Let’s break down the most common questions, popular formats, and proven best practices to help you host a putting contest that's easy to manage and hard to forget.

Table of Contents

• Golf Putting Contest FAQs

• How to Host a Golf Putting Contest

Golf Putting Contest FAQs

What is a Golf Putting Contest?

A golf putting contest is a standalone on-course game held during a golf event such as a charity scramble, corporate outing, or club championship. It’s often held on the golf facility’s practice green and takes place before the shotgun start, during the tournament when teams play a hole near the practice green, or post-round as part of the awards ceremony.

Unlike the larger tournament, where total score matters, a putting contest tests golfers' short-game skills. Golfers pay an entry fee to participate in the contest and attempt to make a long-range putt or series of putts. Some tournaments hold contest rounds, with successful putts advancing to the next round to compete for cash or other high-value prizes.

Why Should We Host a Golf Putting Contest?

Putting contests have the potential to drive significant revenue from your charity golf tournament. Why? There are low to no overhead costs (golfers bring their own putters, and the golf facility provides the hole and golf balls, and you can source donated prizes), and entry fees drive fundraising. What’s more, a putting contest is a prime sponsorship opportunity, much like hole-in-one contests. The practice green is a high-traffic, high-value exposure point, boosting the value of a contest sponsorship.

A putting contest can also break up a long day on the course. A high-stakes contest finale held before dinner, awards, or auction draws a crowd, creating an electric atmosphere and a shared highlight that attendees talk about until next year's event.

What are Popular Golf Putting Contest Formats?

Guaranteed Prize

• How it works: All participants line up at a pre-determined distance, perhaps 10 feet. Those who make it move back to another distance, like 20 feet, then 30 feet, etc., continuing until only the winner remains.

• Pros: This format guarantees a winner and a prize awarded right then and there. It also has a very low barrier to entry for golfers and is fairly simple to run.

• Cons: This type of contest can take 15–20 minutes to complete, so it must be scheduled carefully to not interfere with the rest of the tournament.

Cash Prize

• How it works: A qualifying round is held to determine one finalist. That finalist gets one single attempt from 50+ feet (often 60 feet) for a large cash prize.

• Pros: Offering a significant cash prize can draw in large crowds and more participants.

• Cons: Insurance is a must, and it can take a while to process the claim.

Other Variations

• Putt a prize. Various prizes are placed on the practice green, and golfers win the prize if their putt hits it or stops within a certain distance.

• “Pig” or “Golf”. Similar to the basketball game, where one player sets up a putt and makes it, and others must replicate the putt or get a letter.

• Team relay. Team members must sink a putt from certain distances (such as five feet, 10 feet, 20 feet, etc.) in succession. The team with the fastest time wins.
  

What Else Should I Know About Golf Putting Contests?

• If you’re interested in offering cash or non-donated prizes, you might consider putting contest insurance, which comes with a cost. A more cost-effective option is to secure donated prizes from sponsors, local businesses, or partners.

• Use your golf tournament website to sell entry into the putting contest. You can sell entry as a standalone item or bundle it with other tournament add-ons, like raffle tickets or mulligans. Sell entry ahead of the event, as well as at check-in, to maximize participation.

• Publicize the contest on your event website and in promotional campaigns. Highlight prizes, how much it costs to enter, and when the contest will take place. Be sure to give a shoutout to the contest sponsor when applicable.

How to Host a Golf Putting Contest

1. Choose the Right Format

Step one is to decide if the primary goal of a putting contest is high-margin fundraising or high-energy entertainment. If you need to raise money without any overhead, a guaranteed prize is a good option. If you want to make a big splash, an insured $10,000 contest might be the better choice.

2. Secure the Location & Schedule

Putting contests are most commonly held on the practice green before the start of the golf tournament. If there are multiple practice greens, choose the one closest to the clubhouse or outdoor bar. The easier it is for spectators to grab a drink or a bite to eat and watch, the larger your crowd (and the higher the energy) will be.

If you have the contest on the practice green during the round or at the turn, there’s a risk of creating a bottleneck. Choose a rapid-fire format to prevent backing up the entire tournament. You might also consider hosting finals at the end of the day for a climactic finale to the event.

3. Lock Down Logistics

If you’re utilizing putting contest insurance, you’ll likely have to abide by various requirements, which might include:

• Exact putt length. You’ll be required to measure the putt’s distance to the exact inch using a surveyor’s tape.

• Contest witness. You’ll need to train a witness—either a volunteer, staff member, or planning team member—to watch all of the putts to ensure all of the rules were followed. For high-value prizes, you might need to submit video footage of the putts for verification.

• Standardized equipment. You may need to provide the golf balls and even the golf clubs for the contest.

You’ll also need to determine other contest logistics, such as:

• Entry fee

• Prizes

• Format

• Registration forms

• Plan for crowd control and spectators

• Contest emcee
  

4. Price It Right

• Sell contest entries on your tournament website. This keeps all tournament funds in one place to simplify post-event accounting and eliminates the need to pay with cash for day-of entries.

• It’s a good idea to bundle the putting contest with other add-ons to boost revenue. A combined ticket that includes contest entry with add-ons like on-course games, mulligans, or raffle tickets creates a higher perceived value that can drastically increase participation rates. You might also give golfers the opportunity to buy a second or third qualifying attempt for half the price.

• Sell the Putting Contest Sponsorship as an opportunity for the sponsor to set up a tent, have hole signage, hand out swag, and personally interact with every golfer.
  

5. Create a Fun Atmosphere

The right emcee and commentary transform the putting contest into a spectator sport. Enlist a volunteer to serve as the contest emcee. Provide a microphone (check with the golf facility) to announce finalists, crack jokes, and build excitement.

Since making a 50-foot putt is a rarity, it’s a good idea to have a backup activity to keep the mood high. That way, if the finalist misses, you can pivot to a "Closest to the Pin" chip-off or a raffle draw for a smaller prize or gift so the event ends on a high note.

6. Follow Up After the Contest

• While the contest and excitement are still fresh, announce the winner (if applicable) at the awards ceremony or dinner. Play a video of the winning putt on a projector to engage those who may have missed it.

• Ensure the sponsor is front and center for the check presentation or to award the prize. Even if the big cash prize wasn't won, a photo of the finalist and the sponsor shaking hands is valuable content to use to promote next year’s event.

• Send a "thank you" text or email to contest participants or the entire field with a link to next year's early-bird registration, building on the excitement from the contest.

---

Final Thoughts

A golf putting contest is a high-impact add-on for your next golf tournament. It’s flexible, cost-effective, sponsor-friendly, and when done right, creates a buzz that carries through to marketing next year’s tournament. By choosing the right format, handling the necessary logistics, pricing entries strategically, and leaning into the entertainment value, you can turn the contest into a major fundraising and engagement win.

If you’re ready to put these ideas into action, the next step is simplifying how you manage your contest—and your golf tournament as a whole. Using a purpose-built golf tournament management platform like GolfStatus makes it easy to sell entries online, bundle add-ons, track participation, and keep everything organized in one place—so you can focus on creating an exciting experience.

Make Your Next Golf Event a Swinging Success!

Book a Meeting With GolfStatus to Get Started

About the Author

Jen Wemhoff - Communications Manager at GolfStatus

Jen Wemhoff accidentally discovered her passion for nonprofits in college. An internship while earning a degree in Communications from Doane University led to a 20 year career in the nonprofit sector, where she found a strong desire to be part of something bigger than herself. Her vast nonprofit experience includes roles in marketing, fundraising, and direct programming. When Jen came to GolfStatus as Communications Manager in 2020, she was struck by the power of the sport to raise money to power nonprofit missions. She tells GolfStatus’s story across platforms and channels and develops educational tools and resources to help nonprofits tap into golf’s giving power. Jen, her husband, and two daughters call Lincoln, Nebraska home.

Our PGA Q&A blog series leverages the knowledge, experience, and expertise of GolfStatus’ in-house PGA Professionals: Cash Dinkel, PGA and Jason Meininger, PGA. This series installment dives into two topics that play a critical role in a tournament’s success: choosing a date and tournament format.

Cash Dinkel, PGA

Jason Meininger, PGA

Q: What are some things tournament organizers should think about when choosing a time of year for an event?

Cash Dinkel: Big things are weather, daylight, and what else is happening in your community. You want a window where people can actually commit, the course is in good shape, and you’re not fighting holidays, school schedules, or peak vacation weeks. And if you’re trying to maximize sponsorships and attendance, avoid dates where every other nonprofit in town is doing the same thing.

Jason Meininger: I would avoid holidays, like the Fourth of July and Labor Day. I would also probably stay away from the warmest month in your area (July is usually the warmest month where we are in Nebraska) to avoid the heat, unless you play early in the day.

Q: How about choosing a day of the week?

Cash Dinkel: It really comes down to your audience. If it’s corporate-heavy, weekdays are usually easier because people can justify it as a work/networking event. If it’s more community/family-driven, Fridays and weekends can work, but weekends are harder for courses and sometimes harder for golfers who already have plans. Price and course availability are also factors. Weekends are premium times for the courses, which could lead to a higher per-player cost. Private courses may only be available on Mondays, when they are typically closed to their members.

Jason Meininger: In my opinion, it really boils down to cost. It’s more than likely going to be cheaper to have your event on a weekday versus a weekend.

Tournament organizers should consider their audience, price, and course availability when choosing a date for their golf event.

Q: What’s your favorite day of the week to play in a charity golf tournament?

Cash Dinkel: I personally love a Friday or Monday event. It’s an easy excuse to take a long three-day weekend, and then it doesn’t typically interfere with any weekend plans or activities that my family may have.

Jason Meininger: I prefer a Friday afternoon tournament, if the course allows it. That way, golfers can work a half day before leaving to play in the event.

Q: What was your favorite day of the week to hold an outside outing at your golf facility?

Cash Dinkel: My favorite day to hold outside outings at my facility was Monday. Monday was perfect because we were closed for normal play, so the event wasn’t interfering with our day-to-day golfers at all. We also usually saw strong participation on Mondays, which gave the whole day a really high-end vibe. And since everyone has to work the next day, those Monday outings typically start early and wrap up earlier, too. The day moves well, keeps the pace in check, and makes sure the golfers are having fun… but not get out of hand!

Jason Meininger: When I was at golf facilities, I preferred to have them on Mondays. That was usually the slowest day of the week, so it was an opportunity for the course to generate additional revenue.

Q: What are generally some of the busiest times of year at a golf facility?

Jason Meininger: Specifically in northern states, you’ll see things start to pick up in April and go through October to November; it’s similar in Canada. In the southern states, March to June are busy, things taper off in the hot summer months, and peak again in the fall through early to mid-December. Places like Florida, California, and Arizona see golf events year-round due to their warm climates.

Cash Dinkel: In most places, it’s late spring through early fall, basically when the weather is consistent, and the course is in really good shape. For most of the U.S., late May through September is usually the sweet spot, and then you’ll also see random spikes around holiday weekends and peak summer travel windows.

Late May through September are prime times of year for charity golf fundraisers.

Q: In your experience, what is the most popular day of the week for charity golf tournaments?

Cash Dinkel: Friday is usually the busiest for charity outings. A lot of groups like the “play golf and roll into the weekend” vibe, and it’s an easy sell for teams and sponsors.

Jason Meininger: It really varies, but I would say Friday or Saturday are the most popular, then Monday (especially at private facilities).

---

Q: What are the most common tournament formats for golf fundraisers?

Cash Dinkel: The most common ones I see are a four-person scramble, shamble, and best ball/four-ball. Scrambles are the go-to because they keep the pace moving, they’re fun for every skill level, and they help you sell teams and fill a field without scaring off the casual golfers.

Jason Meininger: I would say over 90% of the events we work with at GolfStatus are a four-person scramble format. It really works well to attract casual and avid golfers.

Q: What are some other tournament formats you’ve run into?

Jason Meininger:

• Best ball: Each player on a team plays their own ball throughout the hole. After the hole is completed, the lowest score or scores are recorded for the team total.

• Individual: Each golfer plays their own ball, and each player records a score.

Cash Dinkel:

• Chapman/Pinehurst: Both players hit, swap balls, then alternate shots.

• Alternate shot: Each team has one ball, and golfers take turns taking shots. It’s definitely harder, but fun for competitive groups.

• Stableford: This format has points-based scoring and encourages aggressive play.

• Skins game: Each hole is its own prize, and ties carry over. There’s usually a cash prize for winning each hole.

• Ryder Cup-style: Teams compete across multiple formats like best ball and alternate shot.

Scrambles are a great choice for charity golf events because they appeal to golfers of all skill levels and keep play moving.

Q: What format do you typically recommend for charity golf tournaments, and why?

Jason Meininger: Hands-down, a four-person scramble. A scramble allows people of all skill levels to participate a little or a lot based on their skill level.

Cash Dinkel: By far the best option is a four-person scramble. It’s the easiest format to understand, it keeps golfers in a good mood, it helps pace of play, and it’s the best setup for fundraising add-ons like mulligans, string, throw-a-ball, and all the fun stuff that helps drive more dollars.

Q: Does live scoring work for any tournament format?

Jason Meininger: GolfStatus’ live scoring app works for about 90% of formats, including scrambles. We can create a live leaderboard for almost any format. There are a few more complicated formats that it isn’t able to live score.

Cash Dinkel: Most of the time, yes. Live scoring works great for scrambles, shambles, best ball, and even Stableford if you’ve got it set up correctly. It gets a little trickier with complex formats like Ryder Cups, member-guest, and round robin style formats, but for the typical charity event formats, it works super smoothly.

---

Ask the Pros!

Do you have a question for GolfStatus’ PGA Professionals? Email it to [email protected] with “PGA Pro Question” in the subject line, and it might be featured in a future blog post or an upcoming GolfStatus webinar!

Planning a golf tournament? You can get started with GolfStatus at no upfront cost—get an event website, online registration, communication tools, premium digital sponsor exposure, revenue-boosting add-ons, and more, plus access to GolfStatus’ responsive in-house client success team (including knowledgeable PGA Professionals and Fundraising Specialists). Click the button to book a meeting and learn more.

by Jen Wemhoff, Communications Manager at GolfStatus

In a crowded fundraising calendar, the best events are intentional, unique, and built for revenue. The right charity fundraising event can deepen donor relationships, attract sponsors, and create a repeatable engine for long-term growth.

Below are 60 proven charity fundraising event ideas, ranging from high-impact golf tournaments to low-cost community-based fundraisers, to help you stand out, maximize participation, and fund your mission’s future.

Table of Contents

• Active & Wellness Charity Fundraising Event Ideas

• School Charity Fundraising Event Ideas

• Workplace Charity Fundraising Event Ideas

• Virtual Charity Fundraising Event Ideas

• Food & Drink Charity Fundraising Event Ideas

• Competition Charity Fundraising Event Ideas

• Charity Fundraising Event FAQ

#1 Charity Fundraising Event Idea: Golf Tournament

A golf tournament is the gold standard for charity fundraising events. It remains the most effective format to raise significant funds while also engaging higher-net-worth individuals, sponsors, and corporate partners for five+ hours.

Why It’s the Top Idea

• Feasibility. Unlike complex events like galas, golf tournaments have a more predictable structure and an inherently scalable revenue model.

• High visibility and engagement for sponsors. Sponsors benefit from multiple exposure points, including pin flags, hole signage, golf tournament website, live scoring app, cart signs, and more, plus high engagement with golfers.

• Multiple revenue streams. Golf events offer numerous opportunities for generating revenue beyond registration fees and sponsorships, including raffles, silent auctions, mulligan sales, hole-in-one contests, and on-course games.

• Appeal to all skill levels. The scramble format, common in charity golf events, allows golfers of all skills and abilities to participate and play to support the cause.

• Networking opportunities. Golf naturally encourages relaxed, extended interaction between players and teams, which is highly valuable for sponsors, donors, and your nonprofit.

• Complements other fundraising events. A golf tournament fits well into any nonprofit’s fundraising event calendar, complementing other ideas.

How to Host a Charity Golf Tournament

A successful charity golf tournament is built on intentional planning, the right technology, and a clear revenue strategy.

• Start by using specialized golf tournament software to manage registration, pairings, live scoring, and sponsor exposure. This streamlines operations and delivers a more professional experience for everyone involved.

• Next, secure a host golf facility and tournament date to attract golfers and sponsors, then promote the event consistently through email, social media, and local media outlets.

• Add revenue-driving enhancements like hole-in-one contests and on-course games. These simple add-ons increase engagement while boosting fundraising outcomes.

• Build strong sponsorship packages that offer clear, visible value through on-course signage, digital exposure, and sponsor recognition before, during, and after event day.

• Set a clear fundraising goal and communicate it often. When participants understand the impact of their involvement, they’re more likely to give generously and help your tournament exceed expectations.

---

A great golf tournament starts with the right tech. Get a free event website and much more with GolfStatus—book a meeting to get started.

---

Active & Wellness Charity Fundraising Event Ideas

2. Fun Run or Walk

What It Is: A community event where participants collect pledges or pay an entry fee to walk or run a designated distance.

Pro Tip: Utilize peer-to-peer fundraising tools to turn every runner into a fundraiser who solicits donations/pledges from their own network.

What’s more, with an event site, promotion becomes as easy as sharing a link in email campaigns, social media, your organization’s website, and even on printed pieces with a QR code. This way, folks can commit to your tournament right when they hear about it, instead of filling out a paper registration form and finding a stamp to mail it back.

3. Pickleball Tournament

What It Is: A bracket-style competition utilizing the growing sport of pickleball, known for quick matches and social atmosphere.

Pro Tip: Use timed matches to keep the tournament moving, allowing for more teams and higher registration revenue.

4. Bowl-a-Thon

What It Is: An indoor team event where groups collect pledges for games played or pins knocked down.

Pro Tip: Sell bumper rail privileges as a paid advantage for teams.

5. Yoga in the Park

What It Is: An outdoor wellness session led by an instructor, where attendees pay a donation to participate.

Pro Tip: Partner with a local studio to get the instructor’s time donated in exchange for brand exposure to your attendees.

6. Dance-a-Thon

What It Is: A high-energy event where teams commit to dancing for as long as possible (usually 24 hours).

Pro Tip: Have corporate teams sponsor different activities (like silent discos) or different DJs during the night.

7. Disc Golf Tournament

What It Is: A flying disc sport played on a course with precision targets, utilizing public parks to keep costs low.

Pro Tip: Focus sponsorship asks on branded discs or baskets.

8. Tennis Round Robin

What It Is: A social tournament format where players rotate partners and opponents to maximize networking.

Pro Tip: Add a "Pro-Am" element where participants pay a premium to be paired with a local club professional.

9. Polar Plunge

What It Is: A winter event where participants gather pledges to jump into a cold body of water.

Pro Tip: Bundle registration with a "warm-up kit" (branded towel and hot cocoa) to justify a higher ticket price.

---

School Charity Fundraising Event Ideas

10. Penny Wars

What It Is: A competition between classes where pennies count as positive points and silver coins count as negative points.

Pro Tip: Allowing students to place silver coins in rival classrooms’ jars to subtract points.

11. Dunk Tank

What It Is: Students pay a small fee for the chance to dunk their teacher or principal in a pool of water.

Pro Tip: Sell balls to throw at the target at different tiers, and charge a higher fee to walk up and press the button for a guaranteed dunk.

12. Used Book Sale

What It Is: Ask families to donate books to sell, allowing them to recycle reading material while raising funds.

Pro Tip: Offer a "fill a bag for $10" deal in the final hour to clear out remaining inventory and maximize final sales.

13. Talent Show

What It Is: A performance showcase for students, faculty, and parents to display their unique skills.

Pro Tip: Secure donated concessions to sell, not only to raise more money but to make it feel like a real theater experience.

14. Field Day

What It Is: A day of outdoor games and activities where tickets or wristbands are sold for participation.

Pro Tip: Pre-sell “unlimited participation” wristbands online to secure revenue before the event date.

15. Read-a-Thon

What It Is: A literacy challenge where students gather pledges for every minute or page they read during a specific period.

Pro Tip: Use an online platform to track minutes so friends and family can easily pledge support remotely.

16. Shoe Drive

What It Is: A collection drive for gently used footwear that is sold to recycling organizations.

Pro Tip: Partner with recyclers who pay for shoes by the pound.

17. Car Wash

What It Is: Students wash vehicles in a high-traffic location in exchange for donations.

Pro Tip: Pre-sell tickets to parents and neighbors to guarantee funds are collected even if it rains on the event day.

18. Last Day of School Picnic

What It Is: A social gathering where students and their families attend a picnic/barbecue after school lets out for the summer.

Pro Tip: Charge for food and sell class-specific shirts.

19. Plant Sale

What It Is: A seasonal market selling flowers, vegetables, or potted plants to families.

Pro Tip: Source cuttings or starts from parents' own gardens to keep the cost of goods low.

---

Workplace Charity Fundraising Event Ideas

20. Corporate Steps Challenge

What It Is: A wellness competition where departments or companies compete to log the most steps over a month.

Pro Tip: Charge an entry fee to create an industry-wide challenge with a traveling trophy.

21. "Casual for a Cause" Day

What It Is: Employees donate a set amount for the privilege of wearing jeans or casual attire to the office.

Pro Tip: Allow employees to prepay for a quarter or even a year of casual Fridays at a discount to secure upfront revenue.

22. Office Cook-Off

What It Is: A culinary competition where employees cook dishes and colleagues pay to taste and vote.

Pro Tip: Monetize the lunch hour by charging for tasting spoons and selling extra voting chances.

23. Guest Bartending Happy Hour

What It Is: Senior leadership tends the bar at a local venue, with all tips going to the charity.

Pro Tip: Incentivize a rivalry between different executives with a small prize to see who can earn the most tips during their shift.

24. E-Waste Recycling Drive

What It Is: A collection event for old electronics like laptops and phones, often paid for by recycling partners.

Pro Tip: Pitch this to leadership as a tangible way to meet the company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals.

25. VIP Parking Spot Auction

What It Is: Employees bid to win a prime parking location or the CEO's spot for a month.

Pro Tip: Run this quarterly to keep the revenue stream consistent throughout the year.

26. Matching Gift Drive

What It Is: A dedicated 24-hour period where the company matches employee donations dollar-for-dollar.

Pro Tip: Gamify the day by setting a collective goal that unlocks an office-wide reward, like a half-day off.

27. Office Happy Hour

What It Is: Employees pay a flat fee to go out for dinner or a drink after the workday with their colleagues, with the proceeds going to charity.

Pro Tip: Price tickets so that attending is a good value for employees.

28. Buzzword Jar

What It Is: Employees pay a nominal fee every time they use a banned corporate buzzword in a meeting.

Pro Tip: Choose words that are specific to your industry culture to make it a fun, inside joke.

---

Virtual Charity Fundraising Event Ideas

29. Virtual Fun Run or Walk

What It Is: Participants run or walk a distance on their own time and upload their results online.

Pro Tip: Mail a physical finisher’s medal to participants to give them a tangible connection to the event.

30. Webinar Masterclass

What It Is: An exclusive educational session or series led by an expert, accessible via a ticketed link.

Pro Tip: Ask donors and stakeholders to donate their expertise to minimize costs.

31. Online Cooking Class

What It Is: A live-streamed instructional session where a chef guides viewers through a recipe.

Pro Tip: Send a shopping list one week prior so attendees can buy ingredients and cook along live.

32. Virtual Silent Auction

What It Is: An auction held entirely online using mobile bidding software.

Pro Tip: Use software that notifies users via text when they have been outbid to drive outcomes.

33. Birthday Fundraisers

What It Is: Individuals ask for donations to a cause as birthday gifts.

Pro Tip: Provide pre-written social media templates to make it effortless for supporters to launch their own pages.

34. Social Media Challenge

What It Is: Participants perform a specific action, post it on social, and tag others to donate. The person with the most engagement wins a small prize.

Pro Tip: Create a specific, short, and branded hashtag to track participation across different platforms.

35. Virtual Book Club

What It Is: A monthly online discussion group requiring a subscription or donation to join.

Pro Tip: Select books relevant to your nonprofit's mission to deepen donor education and engagement.

36. Online Merch Campaign

What It Is: Sell branded apparel or merchandise through a dedicated web store.

Pro Tip: Use print-on-demand services to handle fulfillment, avoiding the risk of holding unsold inventory.

37. Giving Tuesday Campaign

What It Is: A global day of online giving held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Pro Tip: Secure a matching grant from a major donor to double the impact of all online donations.

---

Food & Drink Charity Fundraising Event Ideas

38. Craft Brewery Tour

What It Is: A ticketed event offering tastings or tours at a local brewery.

Pro Tip: Secure a sponsor to cover the cost of commemorative glasses so ticket sales remain profitable.

39. Pancake Breakfast

What It Is: A community meal serving pancakes, often held on weekend mornings.

Pro Tip: Use a church or community hall kitchen to avoid expensive catering rentals.

40. Food Truck Festival

What It Is: A gathering of multiple food trucks where the charity receives a portion of sales or an entry fee.

Pro Tip: Charge trucks a parking fee to ensure revenue is generated before attendees even arrive.

41. Wine Pull

What It Is: A raffle where donors pay a flat price to blindly select a wrapped bottle of wine.

Pro Tip: Mix high-end vintage bottles with budget table wines to drive excitement and perceived value.

42. Barbecue Competition

What It Is: A cooking contest focused on smoked meats where attendees sample the results.

Pro Tip: Sell VIP judge passes for exclusive tasting privileges and early access.

43. Farm-to-Table Dinner

What It Is: An upscale outdoor meal featuring locally sourced ingredients.

Pro Tip: Auction off the seat next to the chef or a guest of honor for an additional donation.

44. Pub Crawl

What It Is: A social event where a group moves between several bars, receiving drink specials.

Pro Tip: Use a branded t-shirt as the ticket for discounts, providing lasting marketing value.

45. Ice Cream Social

What It Is: A simple event serving ice cream to community members.

Pro Tip: Use this low-cost event to gather contact information from participants for future stewardship.

46. Murder Mystery Dinner

What It Is: A dinner party where guests work together to solve a fictional crime.

Pro Tip: Sell clues to tables that get stuck to generate extra revenue during the meal.

---

Competition Charity Fundraising Event Ideas

47. Trivia Night

What It Is: A quiz competition played in teams at a bar or hall.

Pro Tip: Make the trivia mission-related to build a connection.

48. Casino Night

What It Is: An event with gambling-style games played for prizes rather than cash.

Pro Tip: Ensure prizes are high-value (trips, electronics) to drive the sale of game chips.

49. Scavenger Hunt

What It Is: Teams solve clues to find locations or items around the city.

Pro Tip: Use a mobile app to automate scoring and direct participants to sponsor locations.

50. Karaoke Battle

What It Is: A singing competition where the audience's votes determine the winner.

Pro Tip: Allow the audience to pay money to choose songs for the singers, adding a humorous element.

51. Battle of the Bands

What It Is: Local bands compete for a title, bringing their fanbases to the event.

Pro Tip: Voting is done via cash donations, and the band that raises the most money wins.

52. 50/50 Raffle

What It Is: A raffle drawing where the winner splits the cash pot evenly with the charity.

Pro Tip: Sell tickets at an accessible price point to increase the average transaction size.

53. Envelope Fundraiser

What It Is: Envelopes numbered 1-100 are placed on a wall. Donors choose and fill an envelope with the corresponding cash amount to yield exactly $5,050 if all envelopes are filled.

Pro Tip: Bundle it with another event to raise more.

54. Pet Wash

What It Is: Volunteers wash pets in exchange for donations.

Pro Tip: Partner with a pet store to use their facilities and water supply.

55. Gift Wrapping Station

What It Is: Volunteers wrap gifts for shoppers at a mall or store around the holidays in exchange for a donation.

Pro Tip: Staff the booth during peak holiday shopping hours to maximize donations per hour.

56. Flamingo Flocking

What It Is: Donors pay to have plastic flamingos placed on a friend's lawn.

Pro Tip: Include a "removal insurance" upsell for neighbors who want to proactively protect their lawns.

57. Fashion Show

What It Is: A runway event showcasing clothing, often from local boutiques.

Pro Tip: Feature stakeholders and beneficiaries as models to increase engagement.

58. Deconstructed Gala

What It Is: A gala format with food stations and standing tables instead of a sit-down dinner.

Pro Tip: This format encourages better networking and flow among major donors.

59. Masquerade Ball

What It Is: A formal dance where guests wear masks.

Pro Tip: Sell masks at the door for guests who want to upgrade their look.

60. Comedy Night

What It Is: A stand-up comedy show benefiting the charity.

Pro Tip: Vet comics carefully to ensure their material aligns with your values.

---

Start planning your golf tournament!

---

Charity Fundraising Event FAQ

What is the most profitable fundraising event?

With the right tools and strategy, charity golf tournaments have the most fundraising potential because they appeal to corporate sponsors, attract high-net-worth individuals, are scalable, and offer high ROI.

What are the best fundraising event ideas for different budgets?

If you have a limited budget, focus on events that don’t require a ton of upfront investment. When done properly, you can hold a successful golf event with no start-up budget. You might also focus on volunteer-powered events, like peer-to-peer campaigns or car washes, because they require almost no upfront cash. Event ideas like trivia nights, bowl-a-thons, or fun runs require modest deposits for venues or permits but offer healthy profit margins through entry fees and sponsorships.

Golf tournaments are a great charity fundraising idea—no matter your budget!

How do we choose a fundraising event idea?

Nonprofit event planners should consider:

• The event’s primary purpose, whether it’s purely fundraising, awareness, volunteer recruitment, or a mix. A clear goal drives the best idea.

• The age, interests, and capacity to give of your typical supporters.

• Your budget, volunteer capacity, staff time, and available venue space. Don't choose an event that will stretch your resources too thin.

• A connection to your nonprofit's cause. A dog shelter, for example, might host a "dog wash" fundraiser, which ties directly to the mission.

• Potential revenue versus the anticipated costs and effort, focusing on ideas with a high potential for net profit.

• The event’s replicability and potential to grow into an annual signature event.

• What other local nonprofits are doing. You want your event to stand out, not compete for the same attendees and sponsors.

• Events that offer a unique, fun, or memorable experience.

Conclusion

Successful fundraising isn’t about hosting more events—it’s about choosing the right ones for your audience, resources, and revenue goals. When your event aligns with donor interests, offers meaningful sponsor value, and scales year over year, it can become a cornerstone of your fundraising strategy.

Whether you’re launching your first event or redefining an existing one, focus on ideas that create memorable experiences, multiple revenue streams, and long-term relationships to maximize impact.

Work with the experts to host the top charity fundraising event

Get started with the golf fundraising pros at GolfStatus

Book a Meeting

About the Author

Jen Wemhoff - Communications Manager at GolfStatus

Jen Wemhoff accidentally discovered her passion for nonprofits in college. An internship while earning a degree in Communications from Doane University led to a 20 year career in the nonprofit sector, where she found a strong desire to be part of something bigger than herself. Her vast nonprofit experience includes roles in marketing, fundraising, and direct programming. When Jen came to GolfStatus as Communications Manager in 2020, she was struck by the power of the sport to raise money to power nonprofit missions. She tells GolfStatus’s story across platforms and channels and develops educational tools and resources to help nonprofits tap into golf’s giving power. Jen, her husband, and two daughters call Lincoln, Nebraska home.

by Jen Wemhoff, Communications Manager at GolfStatus

Registration is the first interaction many golfers and sponsors have with your charity golf tournament, so a cumbersome registration process may turn some people off from participating. An easy way to make a good first impression is to offer an intuitive, streamlined process that uses a robust online registration form.

Registration is the first interaction golfers may have with your golf fundraiser.

This guide answers your FAQs about golf tournament registration forms, including how to leverage a golf tournament management platform for the best possible experience.

table of contents

FAQs About Golf Tournament Registration Forms

Sample Golf Tournament Registration Form

FAQs About Golf Tournament Registration Forms

How do I get our golf tournament registration form out to golfers?

Instead of relying on direct mail to distribute paper registration forms, start by choosing a golf-specific event management software that includes a professional, polished golf tournament website complete with online registration.

The website is the home base of your tournament, where golfers and sponsors can go to learn more about your organization and submit their registration. All of your tournament’s promotion should direct people to your event website, including email campaigns, social media, newsletters, your organization’s website, and printed flyers or invitations (using a QR code).

Much of the information that typically appears on paper registration forms can be added to the event website, such as:

• Event information. The tournament’s date, time, host golf facility name, and facility address should appear prominently on your tournament’s website.

• Tournament and/or organization branding. Include the tournament logo if you have one, as well as your organization’s logo and brand colors when appropriate.

• Format and scoring. Be sure to mention the tournament’s format and how it will be scored, like a four-person 18-hole scramble or best ball round.

• Tournament schedule. Include the event’s schedule, including specific times for registration, meals, shotgun start, and any other special events like a live or silent auction, banquet, or raffle drawing.

• Information about contests or games. Highlight any hole-in-one contests and their corresponding prizes, on-course games or challenges, and add-ons like mulligans.

• Policies. Include information about policies related to inclement weather, refunds, media rights, alcohol use, conduct guidelines, etc.

• Golf facility logo (optional). If your tournament is being held at a high-end, prestigious golf facility, including the logo on the website might help attract golfers.
  

What fields should my golf tournament registration form include?

Golfers are prime candidates for donors, so it’s crucial that you capture complete, accurate contact information for each golfer to include in your donor database. Include the following form fields:

• Name

• Address

• Email address

• Phone number

• Sponsor information

When sponsors register, your golf tournament form should include fields to upload logos and share website links and messaging.

You’ll also want to ask for additional event specifics on your registration form, such as:

• Dietary restrictions or preferences. If you’re providing a meal, you’ll want to accommodate any restrictions or preferences.

• Apparel size. Many tournaments include t-shirts, polos, or other apparel items with registration or as a player gift.

• Payment information. Instead of relying on paper forms that include cash, checks, or handwritten credit card information, an online form should be equipped with secure payment processing. Golfers submit their payment information when they register, automatically receiving a receipt and confirmation, eliminating manual processes and data entry errors.

With online registration forms, golfer and sponsor registration information can be easily accessed and managed in the software’s back end. There’s no need to bounce between paper forms, emails, information from phone calls, or spreadsheets—it’s all in one place.

Using an online registration form as part of a robust golf tournament management platform is a game-changer for tournament organizers, golfers, and sponsors.

What other information should we include on our golf tournament registration form?

Using an event management platform built for golf to power your registration form makes it seamless to collect and manage golf tournament-specific information, like:

• GHIN number. This is a unique ID for golfers in the Golf Handicap Information Network that tracks golf scores to calculate a handicap.

• Handicap. A handicap is a number that reflects how many strokes above par a golfer might play.

• Team pairing preferences. Golfers may want to be paired with friends, family, or colleagues during the tournament.

• Course preferences. Some golf facilities have more than one course, so it’s helpful to ask which course golfers would prefer to play on.

• Tee time preferences. While most charity golf tournaments utilize a shotgun start, tee times are also an option. If yours offers tee times, be sure to collect that information during registration.
  

What are the benefits of using an online golf tournament registration form instead of a paper form?

• You’ll save time and effort. Tournament planning teams can expect to save 30-40+ hours by utilizing online registration, freeing them up to focus on sponsorships, donations, and the overall tournament experience.

• It eliminates manual processes. Instead of manually processing paper forms and payments, plus entering and re-entering data, everything is automated as soon as the golfer hits submit—data collection, payment processing, confirmation emails, and receipts.

• You can better manage cash flow. Payments flow into the platform, where they’re held until you’re ready to request a payout. You can track tournament revenue in real-time and better project profit and loss.

• It’s easier to upsell. Include add-ons like mulligans, on-course game entry, merchandise sales, and raffle tickets in your registration process, so golfers can simply click to add them to their cart instead of hassling with cash on tournament day.

• You can track inventory in real-time. When they visit your event site to register, golfers and sponsors can see exactly how many packages are available. In the back end, organizers can utilize waitlists if necessary.

Explore Strategies That Save Time & Boost Revenue to Transform Your Golf Fundraiser

How do we create our own golf tournament registration form?

It’s easy! Get started with a tournament management software like GolfStatus and build a tournament, event website, and registration form in minutes. Simply plug your tournament information into the software, add logos and graphics, set packages and pricing, and determine form fields. Share the tournament website link with your networks as soon as the site is live, and you can start collecting registrations and selling sponsorships right away.

Best of all, you’re not on your own! GolfStatus’ team of golf fundraising experts is there to help every step of the way, from building your registration form to going live with your website to answering questions.

Sample Golf Tournament Registration Form

Using an online golf tournament registration form and an event website are game-changers for your fundraiser.

Golf Tournament Registration Form

Effortlessly collect golfer and sponsor details, shirt sizes, meal preferences, and more with an online registration form.

Collect Golf-Specific Information

A purpose-built platform makes it easy and seamless to collect golf-specific details, like handicap and GHIN, on your golf tournament registration form.

Golf Tournament Website

Your golf tournament registration form should be part of an attractive, intuitive event website.

Registration Packages

Site visitors can browse packages and register with just a few clicks—instead of filling out a paper form.

Confirmation Receipt

Online registration automates sending confirmation emails and receipts.

---

Sample Websites With Golf Tournament Registration Forms

AG Foundation Annual Golf Classic

Small, First-Year Tournament

17th Annual Chenega Golf Invitational

Established, Mid-Sized Tournament

Desert Financial Golf Tournament

High-End, High-Grossing Tournament

---

Final Thoughts

Your golf tournament registration form does more than just collect names and payments. A clean, intuitive online registration experience signals professionalism, builds trust with golfers and sponsors, and helps your tournament start strong.

By using a golf-specific event management platform to power your golf tournament registration form, you simplify the process, reduce manual work, and gain real-time visibility into registrations and revenue. From capturing donor data and managing sponsorships to selling add-ons and tracking inventory, everything lives in one place—saving your team valuable time and minimizing tournament-day headaches. A well-built golf tournament registration form helps you work smarter and creates a better experience for golfers and sponsors.

Streamline Golf Tournament Registration

Securely collect and manage golfer and sponsor information with GolfStatus!

About the Author

Jen Wemhoff - Communications Manager at GolfStatus

Jen Wemhoff accidentally discovered her passion for nonprofits in college. An internship while earning a degree in Communications from Doane University led to a 20 year career in the nonprofit sector, where she found a strong desire to be part of something bigger than herself. Her vast nonprofit experience includes roles in marketing, fundraising, and direct programming. When Jen came to GolfStatus as Communications Manager in 2020, she was struck by the power of the sport to raise money to power nonprofit missions. She tells GolfStatus’s story across platforms and channels and develops educational tools and resources to help nonprofits tap into golf’s giving power. Jen, her husband, and two daughters call Lincoln, Nebraska home.

partner snapshot

Without officials, high school sports wouldn’t exist. And without the Nebraska High School Officials Association (NHSOA), there wouldn’t be an organization to provide support, training, and advocacy for high school officials across the state.

Through clinics, certification programs, and professional development opportunities, NHSOA helps officials gain the skills and confidence needed to officiate varsity and postseason contests through the Nebraska High School Activities Association (NSAA), the state’s governing body for school activities.

High school football officials attend a clinic organized by the Nebraska High School Officials Association.

Jeff Schwartz, a longtime official and active NHSOA advocate, has been involved with officiating for nearly two decades. While he’s stepped away from on-court and on-field officiating in recent years, he’s still deeply involved, assigning officials, supporting clinics, and helping lead one of the association’s most impactful initiatives: its annual golf fundraiser.

the challenge

The Bill Lewis Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance to dependents of current and past NSAA-registered officials who have been active in NSAA programs, attend or plan to attend accredited post-secondary schools in Nebraska, and demonstrate a commitment to involvement and leadership. The dwindling fund had been offering two modest $500 scholarships each year, but association members knew the need was greater and wanted to make a more meaningful investment in the next generation.

Then came the golf fundraiser.

The idea for a golf event emerged organically. During the early years of the annual NSAA Official Summit, a small group of officials, including Jeff, decided to play a casual round of golf the day before the conference began. As conversations unfolded, so did the realization that golf could be more than a social outing—it could be a powerful way to bring people together to boost the scholarship fund’s impact.

Turning this idea into a sustainable fundraiser came with challenges:

• Volunteer tournament organizers with full-time jobs and limited time to devote to planning.

• No formal background in planning a golf fundraiser.

• The need to grow revenue without increasing complexity.

• A desire to avoid manually collecting and managing funds.

In short, NHSOA needed a solution that made golf fundraising easier, not harder.

An event website, powered by GolfStatus, made collecting golfer and sponsor registrations and payments easy and efficient.

the solution

A dedicated committee of about seven volunteers, including Jeff and some of his officiating buddies, took ownership of the event and committed to making it successful. Weekly Zoom meetings, a strong division of responsibilities, and a shared passion for the cause laid the groundwork for success.

Next came the right tech to plan and manage the tournament’s specifics. Several committee members were familiar with GolfStatus through various professional connections, and the platform provided the infrastructure the group needed. From registrations to sponsorships to auction management, GolfStatus helped NHSOA centralize operations and remove friction for both planners and participants.

---

“Since we all have full-time jobs, we love how simple GolfStatus makes everything.”

— Jeff Schwartz, Nebraska High School Officials Association Tournament Organizer

---

key solutions

• Online registration and payment processing. GolfStatus allowed NHSOA to collect all golfer and sponsor information and payments online, eliminating the need for volunteers or the golf course to handle money. All funds were collected and held by GolfStatus until after the tournament. For a committee with busy schedules, this was a game-changer.

• Sponsor-friendly event website. The GolfStatus event website made it simple to promote sponsorships to businesses and partners, like pin flags, hole-in-one contests, and the Technology Sponsorship. Clear visibility and a streamlined checkout process helped drive sponsor confidence and conversions.

• Strategic sponsorship add-ons. The planning team leaned into the proven revenue drivers offered by GolfStatus, including:

  • Hole-in-one contests, with sponsors covering the cost of the insurance and boosting fundraising.

  • A pin flag sponsorship, which featured quotes from the scholarship fund’s namesake, Bill Lewis, a past NSAA Director of Officials and a school administrator who dedicated his time and talents to improving the quality of and respect for sports officiating throughout Nebraska.

  • Dormie Network Stay and Play Packages led to larger donations and the growth of the tournament’s auction.

• Robust online auction. The auction quickly became a cornerstone of the fundraiser. Hosted online via GolfStatus’ auction platform to draw more bids, it opened in July and closed during the post-golf gathering, creating urgency and excitement.

• Branded printables. The planning team utilized GolfStatus’ preformatted score cards and cart signs, branded with sponsor logos to broaden day-of visibility and exposure.

• Tournament day simplicity. Perhaps most importantly for the team of volunteers, GolfStatus removed stress on event day. With registrations, payments, and the auction already handled, they could focus on engaging with golfers and celebrating the mission and outcomes.

Jeff says running everything through GolfStatus has made everything easier. “I don’t know how else you would do it, especially on the day of the tournament.”

Pin flags bear quotes from the scholarship fund’s namesake, Bill Lewis, past NSAA Director of Officials.

The results

What started as an informal round of golf among friends grew into a high-impact annual fundraiser and a meaningful touchpoint for the NHSOA community. “Golf is how we bring people together,” Jeff says.

scholarship impact

The Bill Lewis Scholarship Fund historically awarded two $500 scholarships, which are certainly helpful, but not transformational. Due to the success of the golf fundraiser and auction, the fund now awards two $5,000 scholarships, chosen from an applicant pool of nearly 300 students. Jeff says the goal is to grow the fund to add a third scholarship or to expand the current scholarship to a two-year award of $5,000 per year.

Hosting scholarship recipients at the post-golf celebration gives golfers and donors a tangible connection to the impact of their support, something Jeff says makes the event especially rewarding.

---

“It’s one thing to ask for donations, it’s another to show people exactly what those dollars are doing.”

— Jeff Schwartz, Nebraska High School Officials Association Tournament Organizer

---

Scholarship recipients received pin flags signed by golf tournament organizers.

Consistent Year-Over-Year Growth

The tournament’s revenue has grown each year, starting at a net of $14,000 in year one, $16,000 in year two, and growing to $18,000 in year three. This consistent growth has been driven by sponsorships and the success of the auction.

The auction drives the bulk of the tournament’s revenue, doubling its profit from $8,000 to $16,000 from years two to three. Donated auction items, including Dormie Network Stay and Plays, outings to Nebraska golf courses, and tickets to Husker and NSAA sporting events, attract bids from beyond their networks.

Improved Efficiency

Processing registrations, sponsorships, and auction payments through GolfStatus saved Jeff and the rest of the planning team hours of manual labor and simplified post-tournament accounting, since all funds were held in one place. “We wanted to stay as far away from the money as we can, so having GolfStatus to collect it has been great,” Jeff says.

The GolfStatus support team was there to help every step of the way, walking Jeff and committee members through the software’s back end, answering questions, and assisting with auction setup. “Brenden has been great,” Jeff says. “He is so responsive and always gets right back to us.”

What started as a casual round of golf has been transformed into an impactful fundraiser for scholarships.

Looking Ahead

NHSOA plans to keep refining, not reinventing, the tournament. Future discussions include adjusting start times, simplifying food options, and continuing to grow the auction by soliciting donations earlier in the year.

Thankfully, they have a solid foundation. For Jeff and the planning team, GolfStatus has become a trusted partner, one that removes logistical headaches and allows them to focus on what matters most.

“I’m not sure how we’d make this happen without GolfStatus,” Jeff says. “We don’t have to worry about the golf or auction side of things; we know it’s all handled through GolfStatus. It just works.”

---

Use GolfStatus at No Upfront Cost

GolfStatus, the industry-leading platform for charity golf tournaments and fundraisers, makes planning, managing, and executing golf events easier than ever. With golf-specific tools, exclusive Fundraising Enhancers, and an A+ support team, GolfStatus saves organizers time and helps raise more money. Get started with GolfStatus at no upfront cost—book a meeting with the team to learn more!

partner snapshot

Mark McMahon has spent his entire career as a golf professional in public golf. After working at municipal facilities in Des Moines, Iowa, he moved to Cedar Rapids in 2013 and serves as the Head Golf Professional at Ellis Golf Course. The City of Cedar Rapids owns and operates three courses: Ellis, Gardner, and Twin Pines. The City’s golf team manages more than 60 outside events each year across the three courses, ranging from charity fundraisers and conference add-ons to high school competitions and community outings.

That scale, combined with the realities of municipal golf, has shaped how Cedar Rapids approaches outside event management—and why efficiency is so important.

Ellis Golf Course is owned and operated by the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

the challenge

Outside outings are a critical part of Cedar Rapids Municipal Golf’s identity, but they do come with unique challenges and circumstances. Unlike private clubs, municipal facilities are deeply connected to their communities. And while revenue is certainly a priority, relationships with local charities, schools, and civic groups are just as important.

“Municipal golf is different because we can’t just look at events strictly from a revenue standpoint,” Mark explains. “We have to think about the bigger picture and what’s good for the community.”

The three city courses’ yearly event calendars are filled with outside outings for charities and nonprofits, plus high school matches in the fall and spring, conference-related outings tied to downtown events, and young professional and community-based events. The City’s peak season runs from June through September, which means staff must carefully balance daily play with league play and outings without overbooking and overburdening operations.

Previously, managing outside outings was time-consuming, fragmented, and filled with opportunities for human error:

• Paper registration forms came from across the city

• Checks were mailed, dropped off at the golf facility, or handed to a staff member

• Event details lived in emails, spreadsheets, and folders

• Staff manually transferred data from paper forms to Excel

• Creating and printing scorecards and cart signs and making hole assignments took hours

“It was a lot of paper and a lot of manual work,” Mark says. “You’re just trying to make sure everything ends up in the right place.”

Even when Cedar Rapids experimented with tournament management tools, complex interfaces and poor user experience made them more hassle than they were worth. “Some programs just aren’t intuitive,” Mark says. “If you can’t easily navigate it, it creates more work instead of less.”

The front nine at Ellis Golf Course features holes with large, elevated greens.

the solution

Mark was initially introduced to GolfStatus through the golf operations management team. They initially started with a partnership for course pin flags, but Mark was hesitant at first to jump into GolfStatus’ tech for outside outings. “Golf pros are creatures of habit,” Mark laughs. “We tend to stick with what we know.”

But once Cedar Rapids piloted GolfStatus for event registration, everything changed.

---

“Switching to GolfStatus for registration was the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Once we tested it and saw how well it worked, we moved everything over to GolfStatus.”

— Mark McMahon, Head Golf Professional at Ellis Golf Course

---

A Simple, Centralized Platform for Outside Events

Today, GolfStatus is the primary platform Cedar Rapids Municipal Golf uses to support outside outings across all three of its golf facilities. GolfStatus simplifies nearly every part of outside event management:

• Online registration. Event organizers collect player information and entry fees in one place, without dealing with paper forms or checks floating around.

• Fast event setup. Golf staff can set up an event in minutes, instead of spending hours creating and printing materials from scratch, entering player information, and making hole assignments. “I can set up an event in 10 minutes,” Mark says. “Assign holes, print materials, and we’re done.”

• Excel imports. When necessary, staff can upload participant lists directly into GolfStatus without manually re-entering data.

• Sponsor visibility. Events can offer sponsors exposure on both signage and the event website and live scoring app, adding additional value for events and sponsoring businesses.

• Easy event close-out. It’s simple for staff—and event organizers—to quickly reconcile registration data, payments, and payouts after the tournament closes.

• Live scoring. Many events take advantage of GolfStatus’ reliable live scoring and digital leaderboards through the free mobile app.

Outside events held at Ellis Golf Course, like the LBA Golf Classic, can utilize an event website from GolfStatus to promote the tournament, collect registrations, and sell sponsorships.

Supporting Event Organizers & Golf Staff

One of the biggest benefits Mark sees is how GolfStatus helps tournament organizers, especially charities and nonprofits that may struggle with managing the logistics of their golf event.

---

“These aren’t event planning professionals, so they need help collecting data, money, and sponsor information in a clean way. They need the one-stop shop that GolfStatus provides.”

— Mark McMahon, Head Golf Professional at Ellis Golf Course

---

Mark says he appreciates how GolfStatus allows tournament organizers to:

• Utilize an event website to promote their event

• Offer digital sponsor exposure, adding value to packages

• Reduce confusion around registration and payments since all information is stored in one centralized platform

• Provide a more professional experience to participants

For the golf staff, Mark says these benefits mean fewer questions to field from organizers and golfers, fewer errors in golfer and payment information, and smoother event days.

The results

Significant Time Savings for Golf Staff

The most immediate impact for Cedar Rapids Golf using GolfStatus has been better efficiency. “What used to take a couple of hours now takes just a few minutes,” Mark says.

By using GolfStatus, the burden isn’t on golf staff to:

• Manually re-enter registration information

• Chase down missing registration forms and payments

• Piece together event details from multiple sources

Instead, everything lives in one user-friendly system, which is accessible by tournament organizers and golf staff to review, manage, or print.

The Ellis Clubhouse and Event Center opened in 2022 and hosts a variety of pre- and post-golf gatherings for its outside events.

Better Experiences for Event Hosts

Mark says the feedback from tournament organizers utilizing GolfStatus has been overwhelmingly positive.

---

“Every event that has jumped on board with GolfStatus has had really good things to say. It’s a clean, easy process.”

— Mark McMahon, Head Golf Professional at Ellis Golf Course

---

Organizers have appreciated having a dedicated contact at GolfStatus, with a client success rep and dedicated support available seven days a week to answer questions, provide suggestions, and help facilitate a successful event. Mark says events powered by GolfStatus tend to run smoothly because there are fewer issues with registration and payments or missing information, and hosts felt supported instead of overwhelmed.

A Partnership Model

Cedar Rapids began using GolfStatus years before a formal referral program for golf facilities existed, when facilities paid an annual fee to utilize the platform. “At the time, it was still worth the cost just for the time savings,” Mark says.

The evolution to a partnership model in which Mark and golf staff refer events to GolfStatus has added even more value. They identify tournaments that need support and infrastructure and refer them to GolfStatus, which works directly with organizers—significantly reducing golf staff workload and providing a financial incentive.

“It’s a mutually beneficial partnership,” Mark says. “GolfStatus makes my life easier, so it benefits everyone to refer events to use it.”

Staff at Ellis and other Cedar Rapids municipal golf courses refer tournaments to GolfStatus, which significantly reduces the workload for golf course staff to pre and plan.

Another reason Cedar Rapids has stayed with GolfStatus is responsiveness. Not just for frontline support for tournament organizers and golfers, but also in taking feedback from partner courses and responding to the needs of golf staff. “Early on, we mentioned the need for a tear-strip scorecard, and the next spring, it was there.”

Having PGA Professionals on the GolfStatus team has made a difference. “You can always get someone on the phone who understands what golf courses need,” he says. “That matters.”

“GolfStatus Just Works”

From Mark’s perspective, the recommendation for other golf facilities to use GolfStatus boils down to simplicity. Facilities looking for a platform that’s intuitive and easy to navigate can leverage GolfStatus to:

• Cut event setup time in half

• Eliminate manual data entry

• Offer better customer service to tournament organizers

“In today’s world, simple is better,” Mark says. “We’re all busy. GolfStatus just works.”

Simplify Outside Outings With GolfStatus

Golf facilities like Mahoney Golf Course benefit as much from GolfStatus’ tournament management tech as event organizers. Facility staff and the planning team can share access in GolfStatus’ backend to manage golfer and sponsor information, finalize team pairings and hole assignments, and save time from start to finish. Want to learn more about how your organization or golf facility can save time and raise more money with GolfStatus? Book a meeting with our team of golf fundraising professionals by clicking below.

When it comes to fundraising events, there are plenty of event management platform options out there: CRMs, event-specific platforms, ticketing platforms, peer-to-peer platforms, and more. But how will these work for your golf fundraiser? Can they handle the specific nuances of a golf tournament? Will they make your life easier—or require workarounds and adaptations to make it function the way you need it to?

A purpose-built solution is a must-have to make the most out of your golf tournament’s fundraising potential.

The last thing you need is costly, complicated software for your golf event that drains your time and resources instead of driving fundraising. As you evaluate software options for your golf event, here are 10 tips for choosing the right platform.

1. Use a Purpose-Built Solution

No other fundraising event comes with the level of specificity required for a golf tournament. Generic event management platforms simply don’t have the capacity to handle the unique components of a golf tournament, like team pairings, event formats, hole assignments, handicaps, live scoring, and flighting. Your chosen solution should be built just for golf, with baked-in features to manage everything from registration and payments to sponsor exposure and live leaderboards.

2. User-Friendliness is Non-Negotiable

When tech isn’t easy to use and learn, your attention shifts from the critical tasks of attracting golfers, connecting with donors, selling sponsorships, and providing a great experience to troubleshooting software issues, finding workarounds, and generally wasting your time. Your tournament management software should be intuitive so anyone on your staff or planning team can create an event or duplicate an existing tournament with a few clicks and make changes, additions, and updates quickly and easily. A web-based platform with shared access lets you, your team, and even golf course staff access up-to-the-minute information.

3. Look for Tools to Boost Revenue

If the goal of your golf tournament is to raise money, you’ll want a platform that comes with baked-in tools that help facilitate fundraising, including the ability to collect donations (plus a way to set a donation goal and track your progress), the option for registrants to cover any fees, and easy ways to receive your funds during planning or after the event. Look for a provider that offers tournament add-on options to drive thousands of dollars in additional revenue, like:

• Hole-in-one contest insurance

• Custom pin flags

• Hole signage

• Exclusive sponsorship opportunities

Look for a provider that offers tournament add-ons that help boost revenue, such as hole sponsor signage.

4. Save Time & Effort at Every Stage of Planning

Technology can certainly automate time-consuming tasks and manual labor, but poorly designed software or tools that aren’t quite what you need can quickly offset the time-saving benefits of technology with additional training, troubleshooting, and complicated workarounds. Choose a solution that’s both powerful enough to meet your needs and simple enough that you won’t spend hours training staff, trying to work out adaptations, and fixing problems. Look for features that ease common tournament planning pain points, like online registration, pre-formatted documents and printouts, hole assignments, live scoring, and sponsor onboarding.

Any software solution should keep you organized by tracking golfer, sponsor, and donor information in the platform’s backend, and you should be able to easily export donor data for seamless inclusion in your nonprofit’s donor database.

5. Expect a Free, Professional Event Website

Experienced tournament organizers and event planners will tell you that every fundraising event you hold should come with an event website. When evaluating event management software, ensure that it can generate a clean, sleek, well-designed event website where golfers and sponsors can find more information, register a team, purchase a sponsorship, and pay securely. The event site serves as the home page for the tournament and presents your organization and sponsoring businesses in a professional light, with user flows that make it easy to complete transactions.

An event website simplifies everything from promotion and marketing to registration and sponsor exposure.

What’s more, with an event site, promotion becomes as easy as sharing a link in email campaigns, social media, your organization’s website, and even on printed pieces with a QR code. This way, folks can commit to your tournament right when they hear about it, instead of filling out a paper registration form and finding a stamp to mail it back.

6. Elevate the Experience for Golfers & Sponsors

The best software lends a professional experience to every aspect of your tournament and gives it instant credibility, which can be especially helpful for first-year events. Processes and materials that look outdated or unsightly can cheapen your event, which can influence the caliber of players and sponsors it attracts. The ultimate goal is to provide a professional experience from the moment someone hears about your tournament and visits your event site to when they submit their team’s score on the live scoring app.

7. You’ll Want Live Scoring (Trust Us)

A golf-specific feature—sometimes underrated and underused by tournament organizers—to look for in your tournament management software is live scoring. Teams input their scores on a mobile app, which syncs in real-time to live leaderboards. Golfers can see hole-by-hole standings, organizers can follow the round’s progress and keep the overall event moving smoothly, and golf staff can quickly finalize the tournament’s results because there’s no need to hunt down paper scorecards. Look for a solution that offers professional, glitch-free live scoring with a leaderboard sponsorship that offers digital exposure that can be sold at a premium.

Live scoring and leaderboards engage golfers throughout the tournament and offer sponsors additional digital exposure.

8. Don’t Break the Bank

With limited budgets, nonprofits need solutions that work well and don’t cost a fortune. Software that’s so expensive that it forces you to limit resources in other areas isn’t actually saving time or money. When choosing a tournament software platform, certainly consider baseline costs, if there’s a cost per user or for support, and look out for hidden fees, any upcharges, and tricky contracts. Many solutions offer extremely limited access at no cost and then charge substantially more for necessary features. Look for straightforward pricing, fees, and payout procedures.

9. The Golf Facility Should Love It, Too

Staff at the host golf facility stand to benefit from tournament management software as much as you and your planning team do. You should be able to share access to the platform with golf staff so they can assist with finalizing hole assignments, flighting, tie-breakers, and other golf-specific tasks.

Look for pre-formatted printouts, like scorecards, cart signs, and alpha lists, so golf staff can literally just hit “print” instead of having to create these pieces from scratch, saving them hours and allowing them to provide better service to you and your tournament’s golfers. Some golf facilities have an internal system in place that they rely on to manage and execute outside events and live scoring, but at your request, they may be willing to accommodate whatever platform you decide to use.

10. Demand Free, Responsive & Knowledgeable Support

Failure to provide adequate support is, unfortunately, common among software providers, so look at the level of support provided when choosing a tournament management tool. Be sure to ask about the support you can expect to receive:

• Are support staff in-house or outsourced?

• As a user, do you have immediate access to the support you need leading up to, during, or after your event?

• Is support available seven days a week?

• What tools are available to assist your team and the golf facility in the evenings and on weekends when events are in full swing?

Bonus points if the support team includes PGA Professionals who know the ins and outs of golf events and fundraising specialists who can provide guidance and coaching on format, pricing, and fundraising enhancers.

Your software solution should come with responsive, expert support with no additional cost.

Get Started With the Industry’s Leading Tournament Management Software—At No Upfront Cost

GolfStatus’ mission is to help nonprofits tap into golf’s giving power by providing tools, resources, and support to plan and execute lucrative golf fundraisers. Get started with a professional event website, online registration and payment processing, live scoring, exclusive sponsorships and add-ons, and live support seven days a week at no upfront cost. Connect with the GolfStatus team to make your next golf event the best one yet!

partner snapshot

The First Responders Foundation’s (FRF) mission is to serve and honor all First Responders, Veterans, and their families while building appreciation and respect for their work and enhancing public safety. Based in Omaha, Nebraska, the Foundation’s programming supports the mental, physical, and emotional wellness of first responders.

The First Responders Foundation provides support and resources for first responders, including police, fire, and veterans.

For Police Captain Max Hubka, who oversees the wellness programs for the Lincoln, Nebraska Police Department, a Lincoln chapter of the FRF was the perfect opportunity to expand the services available to the more than 1,000 first responders in Lincoln and Lancaster County. “First responders face unique trauma, leading to sleep disruption, chronic stress, and other challenges that traditional healthcare providers aren’t always equipped to treat,” Max says.

He spearheaded the creation of the Lincoln Chapter in 2022 to offer access to trained mental health practitioners, peer support programs, chaplaincy services, social outings, and family resources that help first responders stay healthy and connected at home and on the job. But to fund the chapter's ambitious, holistic programming, Max knew he needed to find a sustainable funding option.

the challenge

Years before the Lincoln Chapter of the FRF existed, the Lincoln Police Memorial Foundation held a small but meaningful golf event to raise funds for a memorial honoring fallen police officers and provide a way for the community to gather, remember, and support one another. Max had helped run that event, and when the new FRF chapter was formed, Max saw an opportunity to evolve the Memorial Scramble into a new, expanded annual golf fundraiser dedicated to supporting first responders’ overall wellness and safety.

---

“Golf is a vehicle I can just about guarantee will bring us a significant amount of funding for the Foundation.”

— Captain Max Hubka, Liaison, Lincoln First Responders Foundation

---

The golf tournament offered exactly what the chapter needed: a reason to bring first responders together outside the uniform, a relaxed setting to build community, another opportunity to celebrate Police Week in May, and a high-impact fundraiser that could quickly establish the Foundation’s credibility. “People see that we run this legitimate event, and it helps them recognize the commitment the Foundation has and how their donations are doing something positive,” Max says. But with most of the planning falling to Max, he knew he needed technology that would streamline the work—rather than add to it.

The tournament website added instant credibility and professionalism to the golf fundraiser.

the solution

Max knew he needed a platform that was simple to use, easy to navigate, and didn’t come with a major price tag. Because Max had used GolfStatus in his time organizing the Memorial Scramble, returning to it was an easy decision for the FRF event:

• Online registration was a game-changer. Max remembered how simple it was to set up registration, accept online payments, and manage player information. GolfStatus automated registration, so Max wasn’t drowning in spreadsheets and hundreds of emails and could focus his time on outreach, donations, and player experience.

• An event website provided credibility and professionalism. The tournament’s website was built quickly by the GolfStatus team, with custom content that highlighted the chapter’s mission and goals. It allowed sponsors to browse available packages and golfers to register with a few clicks.

• Custom pin flags impressed participants. Max says the custom pin flags, which had the FRF logo on one side and sponsor branding on the other, elevated the look of the tournament. “People are shocked at how high-end the flags look!” Max says.

• Tech offered a smooth golfer experience. GolfStatus’ tech helped everything run smoothly for golfers and tournament organizers. Max loved that his dad, who he describes as “not computer literate,” could easily register online without help thanks to a frictionless process.

---

“The website and registration process are so great. It’s such a slam dunk and requires so little effort on my end. I send the link out, and people know what to do from there.”

— Captain Max Hubka, Liaison, Lincoln First Responders Foundation

---

The results

With technology handling the logistics, Max and a small team of board members focused on growth—building sponsorships, strengthening relationships, and creating an event that first responders and community members look forward to all year.

Over 80% of the tournament’s golfers are first responders.

By the Numbers

• Fundraising outcomes: $130,000 raised for first responder support since the tournament began in 2023

• Number of teams: On average 36-39

• Demographics: More than 80% of golfers are first responders
  

help, support & fundraising tools

Even with Max out of state for training during the 2025 tournament, everything ran smoothly. The team followed the established playbook, and GolfStatus provided the infrastructure and setup needed to keep everything on track.

Max says the responsiveness from the GolfStatus team is incredible. “If I send them an email with a question, they get back to me right away and make things happen,” he says.

Working with GolfStatus unlocked a series of fundraising enhancers that helped maximize revenue with minimal lift. Plus, Max says the add-ons like the Technology Sponsorship, hole-in-one contests, and pin flags add yet another layer to make the tournament feel like it’s a high-end scramble.

Max also says that GolfStatus didn’t just support planning and managing the tournament, but helped him learn more about fundraising, sponsorships, and branding. “I learned quite a bit about the importance of branding and logo placement,” Max says.

The tournament is more than a fundraiser—it offers an opportunity for connection and community for first responders.

tangible outcomes for first responders

The funds raised from the tournament have been transformational for Lincoln’s FRF chapter. Because the tournament revenue goes towards the general fund, it remains flexible and can be used to respond to emerging needs. In its first three years, the golf event has helped support:

• Access to culturally competent mental health providers who are trained in trauma and first responder care.

• Sleep and stress-management training for overnight-shift officers and their families.

• Spousal and family programs to help loved ones better understand the emotional realities of first responders’ work.

• Updated fitness rooms and equipment at stations across Lincoln, replacing aging equipment with modern gear, which boosts morale and physical and mental health.

• Water rescue equipment to assist with water rescues across the departments.

• A benevolence fund to support first responders and their families during medical crises or significant emergencies.

• A K-9 retirement fund that ensures service dogs receive proper care when they leave duty.
  

advice to other tournament organizers

Max’s advice to his fellow tournament organizers is simple:

---

“Use GolfStatus! For as long as I’m running this tournament, I’m using it.”

— Captain Max Hubka, Liaison, Lincoln First Responders Foundation

---

He says GolfStatus’ platform frees organizers from the more tedious parts of tournament management, allowing them to focus on what truly moves a fundraiser forward: building relationships, securing sponsors and donations, and creating a memorable experience for the organization’s beneficiaries.

golf for good with golfstatus

GolfStatus is purpose-built tech for charity golf tournaments and fundraisers. It saves organizers like Max 40+ hours of administrative time and effort with built-in automations and golf-specific tools. Tournaments can get started with GolfStatus at no upfront cost and get a free event website, coaching from Fundraising Specialists, access to exclusive fundraising enhancers, live support seven days a week, and much more.