Golf may not be the biggest thing in football-focused Klein, Texas, but the boys and girls golf teams are talented, passionate, and growing. “The kids get so much out of being on the golf teams,” says Andrea Vickers, president of the Klein High School Golf Booster Club’s board. Klein High School provides some funding for the teams, but unfortunately, doesn’t have the budget to fully subsidize all the teams’ expenses and needs.

The Klein High School Golf Booster Club helps fill the funding gaps between what the school provides and what the student athletes need to be successful.

That’s where the Golf Booster Club comes in. The club wants to make sure any student that wants to play golf for the BearKats has the opportunity to do so and has the tools and equipment needed to be successful. The combined team of nearly 30 student athletes is becoming more competitive in local and regional tournaments and getting more kids excited about golf.

Filling the funding gap between what the school provides and what the student athletes need requires significant dollars. “Golf teams can’t just go play in the school gym or football field,” Andrea says. “We have to go to area golf courses and that gets expensive.” Other team expenses include entry and travel costs for tournaments, plus greens fees for practice rounds, uniforms, and balls for each golfer.

The Booster Club launched a golf tournament to help raise funds to cover costs like travel fees, tournament entry, and equipment.

Three years ago, the booster club decided to launch a golf tournament as the best option to raise as much money as possible. The first tournament was successful in terms of dollars raised, but the time and administrative burden on Andrea, her husband, and the rest of the planning team was significant. “We’re all busy parents that work full-time and shuttle kids to and from activities, so we really needed to get away from manual, time-consuming processes,” Andrea says. They used an online platform to manage registrations, but one that required much more time and attention than the team had to give. “It was loosely organized chaos!” Andrea says.

Read the [full case study] to find out how GolfStatus’ tournament management tech—which Andrea and her planning team were able to utilize at no cost through the Golf for Good program—streamlined the tournament from start to finish and prevented a whole bunch of stress.

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Planning a Golf Tournament?

Whether you have a tournament on the calendar or are just exploring the possibility of a golf event, GolfStatus can help! With easy-to-use technology, tournament planning resources, and an industry-leading support team, you’ll be set up for success. Click the button below to learn how you can use GolfStatus at no cost through the Golf for Good program and get qualified!

Sales is a big part of a successful charity golf tournament, much to the chagrin of some nonprofit event organizers. The thought of reaching out to businesses to sell them on sponsoring your golf tournament might put you into a cold sweat, but with a solid strategy and the right tools in place, it won’t seem as daunting.

It’s important to start your sponsor outreach as early as possible, for a few reasons. First, you have a longer window to bring in sponsor dollars to help cover tournament expenses. Second, businesses often allot their marketing or charitable dollars early in their fiscal year, so the earlier you can get on their radar and into their budget, the better. Finally, the sooner they come on board as a sponsor, the longer they earn impressions and get exposure for their brand. It’s in the best interest of your tournament and the business to onboard them as early in the planning and marketing process as possible.

Before you outline your sales strategy, be sure to check these to-dos off your list:

• Set a Fundraising Goal. Knowing the revenue you’re aiming for with your golf event will help inform the type of sponsorships you build, the businesses you approach, and even the price of golfer and team registrations. Be realistic, but don’t underestimate the value of your tournament.

• Have an Event Website in Place. A golf tournament website gives you a place to send folks to learn more about your tournament, register a team, or purchase a sponsorship—as soon as they hear about it. An event website is also key to providing digital sponsor exposure, as golfers and prospective sponsors visit the site and see current sponsor logos.

Once you have these in place, you’re ready to dive into your sales strategy.

1. Create a prospect list

A prospect list is simply who you plan to go after for sponsors for your golf tournament. Start by getting your planning team together for a brainstorming session to throw out names of potential sponsors. Nothing should be off the table at this point! Many businesses find golf tournament sponsorships especially appealing, as their audience is made up of their ideal client or customer.

• Local, Regional, and Even National Businesses. Don’t limit yourself to only local businesses, especially if a larger company has an office or headquarters in your area.

• Businesses Where You Have Personal Connections. Who’s your dentist? Or doctor? Where do you take your dog to be groomed? Who sold your house? What printer does your organization use? Who are your nonprofit’s vendors? Use your personal networks to your advantage.

• Businesses That Are Connected to Your Cause. Think about businesses that have some type of connection to your mission. For example, if you’re raising money for a pet rescue, think about groomers, boarders, veterinarians, or pet supply stores. If yours is a memorial tournament, look for those that have a connection to the tournament’s namesake or the cause you’re raising money for.

• New Businesses. These are a great option for golf tournaments, especially for hole sponsorships. New businesses might not have a large budget for advertising, but still need and want the exposure.

Once you have your prospect list established, identify connections with your and your planning team’s personal and professional networks. Having an “in” at a business often leads to a successful sponsorship pitch!

2. build attractive sponsorship packages

Keep this in mind as you build your sponsorship packages: If you can put a logo on it, you can sell a sponsorship! Start by looking at your tournament’s hard costs and building sponsorship packages to cover them, such as food and beverage, player gifts, on-course games, beverage carts, golf carts, or hole-in-one contests.

Consider these best practices for sponsorship packages:

• Provide Value. Every sponsor package should provide enough return on investment (ROI) to justify the business’ support. Whether it’s brand exposure, the opportunity to engage with golfers, the chance to speak at the tournament’s kickoff or banquet, or registrant information, be sure to clearly outline the benefits for each sponsorship so prospective sponsors understand exactly what they’re getting.

• Show Tangible Impact. Help businesses understand what their support of your tournament will do. For example, the Title Sponsor will underwrite 10 dog adoptions. The goal is to help connect sponsors to your cause and compel them to participate.

• Attach Teams to Sponsorships. Not only does this add additional value to each package, but it functions to help fill your tournament’s field. Many of the highest grossing tournaments only have teams attached to sponsorships.

• Be Flexible. Don’t be afraid to create custom sponsorships based on what returns value for the business. It’s likely that your final slate of sponsorships will look different than when you started—and that’s ok!

• Accept In-Kind Support. Businesses are often interested in providing in-kind donations of goods or services instead of monetary support. These can be leveraged as raffle prizes, player gifts, auction items, pin prizes, to just enhance the overall tournament experience, or reduce your operating costs. For example, a local caterer or grocery store might be interested in providing lunch or snacks. Or perhaps a sporting goods store wants to donate a golf bag or gift card. Provide exposure and thanks for these contributions.

Your event management platform should make it simple to create and list sponsor packages on the golf tournament website, plus make additions and updates as necessary.

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Sample golf fundraiser sponsorship packages

This free guide outlines three sets of golf tournament sample sponsorship packages, including pricing, benefits, and golfer registration costs. You’ll find examples for small, mid-sized, and large tournaments that you can adapt based on your tournament’s unique needs.

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3. price packages effectively

As mentioned previously, your fundraising goal will guide your pricing, combined with the caliber of the host golf facility and size of the tournament’s field. Don’t expect to hit your goal with one sponsorship sale! Keep these points in mind as you consider package pricing:

• Cover Costs. As a baseline, you should cover hard costs and build in pure revenue to each package.

• Offer Varying Price Points. Lower price points might be an easier sell for businesses that don’t have a huge budget. That being said, don’t be afraid to go after the bigger fish who have more robust philanthropic or marketing budgets.

• Understand your network and its capabilities. Are there a number of businesses you can approach for lower-cost packages? Or do you have one or two you can target for pricier sponsorships?

• Don’t Underprice Your Sponsorships. Remember that your tournament has a unique value proposition! Sponsors

4. make an effective pitch

Once you’ve identified connections at prospective sponsors on your prospect list, determine who will reach out to each prospect. Lean on your planning team, staff, or board as much as possible in this phase, not only to leverage their connections, but to share the work. It’s a good idea to put the person tasked with reaching out to a business in charge of the relationship with that sponsor.

It’s also a good idea to use a shared template or talking points to ensure consistent messaging and make it easier to make the pitch. Use a combination of approaches, perhaps with an introductory email, followed by a phone call and/or check-in email. For larger sponsorships or when pitching to a known partner, you might want to connect in person. Every pitch should clearly outline the pricing and benefits, as well as an overview of the audience and estimated attendance numbers, if known. Ask them what they hope to get out of the partnership, which helps both parties get the most value out of the sponsorship. Send folks to the event website to view available sponsorships and purchase their package.

If yours is an existing tournament, offer past years’ sponsors the first right of refusal. Give them the option to move up to a different package, or stick with what they’ve done in the past.

Above all, remember the worst they can say is no!

An event website makes it simple for prospective sponsors to view available sponsorships and purchase a package with a few clicks.

5. Lean on technology

Technology is a key part of golfer and sponsor outreach, with an event website as the centerpiece. The website makes marketing and promotion as simple as sharing a link, where folks can learn more about your organization and event and register or become a sponsor as soon as they hear about it. A website makes the tournament shareable, so your supporters can share it with their networks, instantly expanding your potential audience.

The digital exposure afforded by the event website adds even more value to your sponsor packages. Every time someone visits the site, sponsors get eyeballs on their brand. And with the right event management tool, sponsor exposure is automatic—it gets added to the site as soon as a sponsor purchases a package via the website and starts earning impressions right away.

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GolfStatus Makes It Easy

GolfStatus’ golf tournament management platform makes it easier than ever to build custom sponsorships, sell packages, collect assets, and provide digital sponsor exposure. It comes with an attractive, mobile-responsive event website and a user-friendly interface that streamlines tournament planning and execution. Nonprofits and charities (and third parties hosting golf events on their behalf) can qualify to use GolfSatus at no upfront cost through the Golf for Good program. You’ll get access to tech tools, exclusive premium sponsorships, add-ons, and our A+ in-house support team to make your tournament a success. Click below to get qualified!

Partner Snapshot

Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln, Nebraska is part of the city’s robust municipal golf program. Head Golf Pro Jonathan Benson (JB) has been with Mahoney for nearly 20 years, nine of them as Head Pro.

Mahoney was built in 1976, the third of the city’s five courses. The par 70 course boasts some of the most challenging par four holes in the city, and as JB says, “is more difficult than some golfers think!” Its large, fast greens make for great playing conditions and multitude of trees present a challenge for every golfer.

JB loves the city’s approach to running its golf program, allowing pros to work as independent contractors within specific parameters. He also has the freedom to hold course-hosted golf events to engage golfers and the Lincoln community at large, getting them to the course for a day of fun.

The challenge

When JB and his predecessor launched Mahoney’s first event, the Mahoney Masters, they did all the prep work manually, taking registration and credit card information over the phone or in-person when a golfer would stop in the pro shop (and hoping the information was written down correctly) and tracking it all on a big, single access spreadsheet. Leading up to and on event day, they would spend 15 or more hours creating scorecards and cart signs, not to mention the time spent flighting results and breaking ties by hand.

All this manual work came with major challenges that took up valuable staff time. What’s more, it was often difficult to collect payment upfront. “When our staff would expand over the summer to 15 part-timers that worked the pro shop, it was a big problem to make sure they took payments when someone registered,” JB says. “We dealt with a huge number of no-shows without prepayment, sometimes up to 20% of registered golfers,” he says. He needed a tool to scale the course’s events while saving his staff time and effort.

The solution

A part-time staffer at Mahoney, Frank Cuddy, was also interning at GolfStatus and mentioned how its tournament management software would be helpful for managing tournament signups. “My first reaction was, ‘you mean I don’t have to do this over the phone?’” JB laughs. GolfStatus was a perfect fit for JB and his team, with robust enough features to streamline event prep but simple enough any staff can jump in and find the tools and information they needed.

“I haven’t seen any part of GolfStatus that I don’t like,” JB says. “We can spend two hours prepping for an event instead of 15. The support we get from GolfStatus is great.”

— JB, Head Golf Pro at Mahoney Golf Course

the results

No More Manual Signups

The online registration feature is what first drew JB to GolfStatus. “We were spending so much time on the phone, so anything that can cut down on that is huge,” he says. Online registration changed all that. “Everything is online these days so it makes sense to do this online too,” JB explains. Golfers choose their team packages, skins, and mulligans and pay directly through the website, giving them an increased confidence that their information is handled securely, as opposed to having a staff member write down their credit card information. “Even if someone calls, we now send them to the website to register,” JB says.

JB says having their branding on the event website is an added bonus, and if they have any sponsors for the events, they get great exposure.

Mahoney Golf Course’s event website for the Mahoney Masters, held every April.

easy communication

JB uses GolfStatus’ messaging feature to promote each event to past participants and other avid golfers in the area, which has helped Mahoney’s events grow significantly. He’s also able to easily share updates, the day’s itinerary, and other reminders without having to hunt down golfer emails and pulling them into a different platform. “I love being able to communicate with teams leading up to the tournament,” JB says.

More Golfers, More Events

The Mahoney Masters is a two-person scramble held the Saturday of Master’s week. In its first few years, the event attracted 60 to 80 golfers. But once JB started leveraging GolfStatus, the tournament regularly fills with 160 players. “We didn’t fill events until we started partnering with GolfStatus,” JB says. “Being able to promote tournaments online and have golfers register online has been amazing for our golf course.”

“We didn’t fill events until we started partnering with GolfStatus,” JB says. “Being able to promote tournaments online and have golfers register online has been amazing for our golf course.”

— JB, Head Golf Pro at Mahoney Golf Course

The success of the Mahoney Masters led JB to add three additional course-hosted events powered by GolfStatus:

• Mahoney North Side Scramble, a one-day four-person scramble

• Mahoney Open, a two-person scramble the week of the U.S. Open

• Mahoney Fantasy Football Scramble, which plays on fantasy football points

This slate of tournaments is great from a business perspective. It gets golfers to the golf course with guaranteed rounds and cart rentals and boosts sales across the golf course: food and beverage, merchandise, and gift certificates.

Printouts, Flighting & Tiebreakers

Automating the time-consuming aspects of a golf event is a huge advantage of using an online event management platform. Golfer information is easily accessible in the software’s backend, where JB and any of his staff can access it to make team pairings and hole assignments quickly and easily.

Before GolfStatus, custom printouts were a major time suck. “We would have to type everything into Excel and into a template, which took a long time and often had errors because we had to decipher handwritten golfer information,” JB says. Now, “we can do it in minutes!” Professionally formatted cart signs, scorecards, and alpha lists are auto generated—all staff has to do is click print.

Mahoney is starting to lean into live scoring a bit more. Teams record and submit their scores via the GolfStatus mobile app, which syncs to live leaderboards in real time. Not only does live scoring let golfers see current standings, but it’s also a time-saver when it comes to finalizing the tournament results. “I don’t have to type in the scores, they’re all there,” JB says. The software will flight the results and break ties automatically—with the ability to manually change them if necessary—so they don’t have to rifle through paper scorecards. “We’re able to announce results, award prizes, and get people done faster than ever.”

Golfstatus for every golf event

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? Hit the button below to get in touch!

Once you’ve gotten a new golf tournament up and running—which is no easy feat—it can be tempting to simply cruise and maintain the status quo. But in order to grow your event into its second year and beyond, tournament organizers must find ways to keep golfers and sponsors coming back year after year. These 10 strategies can help.

1. Get Online

If you haven’t before, get your tournament online. A web-based golf event management platform saves you a ton of time and gives you tools to plan, manage, and execute a professional, lucrative event. Leverage an event website to easily promote your tournament, collect registration, onboard and recognize sponsors, and more.

Using digital channels for your golf tournament, especially an event website, is a great way to grow the event.

2. Expand the Event

This can be scary, especially if it comes with added expenses, but might be the key to scaling your tournament. Depending on the type of event and the capabilities of your golf facility, you might add an additional course, round, day, or accompanying event (such as a post-golf banquet or auction). This approach works best if you typically have a waitlist for your tournament or most of your teams are committed to sponsors and you’d like to open it up to other supporters. Do a cost-benefit analysis before you take the plunge!

3. Make it Memorable

Look for ways to build even more fun into the event. And lucky for you, many elements that make a tournament memorable also bring additional fundraising opportunities to the tournament. Exciting add-ons like on-course entertainment, golf tournament games, and contests are great ways to have an impact. Charge a nominal fee to participate in these add-ons, but don’t nickel and dime people. Consider selling a super ticket or wristband that provides entry or participation in each event for a flat price. Folks will remember the fun they had and come back in subsequent years.

Adding games to your golf tournament makes it even more fun and memorable for golfers and sponsors.

4. Boost Your Marketing

Definitely start your marketing efforts with past participants, sponsors, and anyone on the previous year’s waitlist, giving them the first shot at registering or purchasing sponsorships. Boost your marketing efforts in order to broaden your audience and spread awareness about your organization and cause. Leverage social media, partner marketing, sponsor promotions, and email campaigns to reach new folks. Consider an early bird registration period to create a sense of urgency and encourage golfers and sponsors to commit to your tournament.

5. Live Score the Tournament

Live scoring gives your tournament another level of engagement with golfers and sponsors. Golfers love to see where teams stand throughout the day on the event’s live leaderboards and you can use it as a call-to-action for folks to donate. Share leaderboards on social media so all your supporters can follow along. You’ll also give sponsors broader exposure with their logo in the live scoring app.

Live scoring via a mobile app keeps golfers engaged throughout the event and lets spectators follow along online.

6. Focus on Sponsorships

Sponsorships are where your tournament will bring in the bulk of its dollars. If your tournament regularly sells out, don’t be afraid to raise prices a bit. Talk directly with prospective sponsors to determine how your tournament can help them meet their goals, whether it’s straight up exposure, engaging with golfers, or something else. Identify new sponsorship opportunities—if you can put a logo on it, you can sell a sponsorship, so don’t be afraid to think outside the box! Including a team in sponsor packages not only adds value, but helps fill your tournament’s field, so price those packages accordingly.

7. Improve Processes

With one or more tournaments under your belt, it’s a good idea to take a look back at what worked, what didn’t, what tasks needed more time and attention, and what things you can omit altogether. Improving your processes lets you be more efficient with planning tasks and better use your time to pitch to sponsors, promote your event, and focus on the overall experience. Fine tune the planning infrastructure you already have in place—event website, graphics, vendors, etc.—to make the next go around less stressful.

8. Streamline & Simplify

Take a critical look at the tech tools you used to plan and execute your event. Did you spend a ton of time managing logins to umpteen platforms? Did you spend too much time bouncing between spreadsheets and tracking checks and receipts? Can all the functions be rolled into an all-in-one golf tournament platform? The lesson here is not to force a square peg into a round hole. Ticketing and event management platforms can’t handle the intricacies of golf tournaments and likely require your team to make time-consuming or complicated workarounds and adaptations. Look for a single software to manage everything from registration, payments, and promotion to hole assignments, sponsor onboarding, and flighting.

Using a golf-specific tournament management platform keeps everything organized in one easily-accessible place.

9. Shake Up Your Planning Team

Don’t force folks off the team if they still want to contribute, but consider bringing in a few new people that can provide a different perspective and connections. Reassign tasks if people are interested in spearheading a different portion of the tournament.

10. Garner Feedback

Make a point to chat with golfers and sponsors to get their immediate impressions of the tournament, then consider sending a quick survey in your post-event communications to ask them for additional feedback on the golf facility, format, add-ons, registration fees, what can be improved, what worked well, etc. Listening to participants gives you concrete ways you can make your tournament even better.

Ask your tournament’s golfers and sponsors directly what feedback they have about the event and implement suggestions that will help you scale.

Final Thoughts

One of the best ways to grow your event is to use a golf-specific tool to plan and manage your tournament. You’ll save a ton of time and get additional ways to raise funds, give golfers the best experience possible, and provide more value to your sponsors. GolfStatus can help with all that, and more. Nonprofits, charities, and those planning golf events to benefit one can use GolfStatus at no cost through the Golf for Good program. Click below to learn more and get qualified!

As summer draws to a close, your nonprofit is likely turning your attention to year-end giving campaigns and begin planning for 2024 fundraising initiatives. If a golf tournament is a regular part of your fundraising event calendar, or you’re looking to add a spring or summer golf event to your fundraising portfolio, now’s the time to get started.

Keep your planning team organized and on track for a successful golf fundraiser by focusing on these six key planning tasks yet this year:

1. Book the Golf Facility

As the height of golf season winds down, facilities are also beginning to plan for next year. It’s a good idea to get a date on their calendar sooner rather than later, especially if you’re eyeing a high-end facility where your organization might be competing for a limited number of open dates for fundraisers and other outside outings.

2. Secure Your Tech Stack

Nonprofits are constantly looking for ways to be more efficient, stay organized, and streamline operations. Planning and executing the annual golf fundraiser are no different. Because golf tournaments come with unique details that must be appropriately handled to ensure a flawless event, finding the right tools and resources and getting them in place as soon as possible is crucial. Look for an event management platform that’s built for golf and can natively manage critical components like handicaps, flighting, hole assignments, and scoring without clunky workarounds.

3. Launch an Event Website

Getting your event website up early makes it easy to begin accepting registrations and donations and selling sponsorships now. Ideally, your website should be up before the first communication about the event goes out, including save-the-dates. In fact, it’s a good idea to open registration for next year’s event on the heels of the current outing if at all possible so folks can commit when the golf event is top of mind. An event website is also a great place to display pertinent information and updates. The sooner your site is live, the sooner you can communicate about the event in a context that makes sense. 

4. Market the Event Early 

Start marketing your event as far as four to six months in advance, especially if the golf tournament is a new fundraiser for your organization. Early communications can be quick and straightforward (such as a simple save the date that links folks to the event website). Start with donors who have supported the golf event in the past, as well as general organization supporters and those who have attended other fundraising events.

Early communications also allow you to get on sponsors’ radars ahead of their annual budget planning. For this reason, it’s a good idea to send save-the-dates for spring and summer fundraisers ahead of year-end. Also be sure to target not only veteran donors and year-over-year event participants, but the new supporters they’ve invited to fill out their teams; these attendees provide an opportunity to target new sponsors and garner additional support. Make an announcement on social media, and if you have some dollars available, consider running paid ads to cast a wider net of potential new golfers and sponsors.

5. Leverage Your networks

Your organization likely has some powerful connections in its collective personal and professional networks. Give yourself plenty of runway and start calling on your planning committee, board of directors, staff, regular donors, and dedicated volunteers and asking them to tap into their networks to:

• Identify contacts at local and national businesses that should be targeted as potential tournament sponsors.

• Invite friends, family, colleagues, and peers who might be interested in playing in the event.

• Solicit in-kind donations for auction items, raffle prizes, pin prizes, other giveaways, event food and beverage, or post-round entertainment.

BackSwing Golf Events is a great option for on-course entertainment and contests, like beat the pro and glass break challenges.

6. think about add-ons & extras 

How are you going to make your tournament stand out? What can you do to make it memorable for golfers and sponsors? Golf tournaments come with a ton of options to boost revenue while elevating the overall experience to keep supporters coming back year after year. Fun add-ons are sure to leave a lasting impression and bring in even more dollars for your cause. Start thinking about ways to connect any on-course games to your cause, get pricing and details for on-course entertainment, and secure hole-in-one contest insurance. Getting these pieces in place early in the planning process gives you more time to secure sponsorships (and cover hard costs) for these add-ons.

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Get Qualified for No Cost Golf Event Tech

GolfStatus’ robust tournament management software streamlines and simplifies golf fundraisers to save busy nonprofit event organizers time and effort. Its built in fundraising tools, exclusive sponsorships, and premium add-ons help raise even more money for your cause. Nonprofits and those planning a golf event to benefit one can qualify to use GolfStatus at no upfront cost—including an event website, online registration, custom sponsor packages, live scoring, and much more—through our Golf for Good program. Click below to learn more and get qualified!

Golf has a ton of giving power. For nonprofits, a golf tournament is the chance to raise mission-critical dollars, engage supporters, build relationships, and ultimately, do more good. And while planning a tournament isn’t a small undertaking, the good news for nonprofit event planners is that the right technology can make it easier, more efficient, and more lucrative to organize a successful golf fundraiser.

So whether you’re planning your first golf tournament or your fiftieth, here are seven ways tournament management tech can upgrade and improve your golf fundraiser.

1. It Makes It Easier on Everybody

Golf tournaments come with a number of moving parts and specifics to handle that are much different than those that come with a gala or auction. Using tech tailored specifically to a golf event makes it simple to handle the golf details, like flighting, handicaps, tie-breakers, and live scoring. You’ll keep everything organized in one easily-accessible place, so you, your planning team, and even the golf facility staff are all on the same page and working with up-to-the-minute information and not bouncing between multiple platforms and spreadsheets.

Golf facilities love tech that makes it easier on them, too—they’ll spend less time in the back office creating cart signs, rules sheets, and alpha lists and more time out front assisting you and your tournament’s golfers.

2. You’ll Save Time, Resources & Effort

It starts with an event registration website with secure payment processing, where golfers, prospective sponsors, and supporters can learn more about your organization and event and commit to participating with just a few clicks. So instead of creating a costly promotional mailer, then asking supporters to fill out the form, track down a stamp, and mail it back, you simply share a link where folks can register online with a few simple, secure clicks.

Online registrations should automatically flow into the software’s backend, where you can instantly find golfer, sponsor, and payment information. That means no processing paper forms, checks, or receipts and no entering and re-entering information in different spreadsheets. What’s more, when it comes time to make team pairings and hole assignments, it can all be done right in the software. Your administrative burden is cut in half

3. Sponsors Get Better ROI

Sponsors get a ton of value out of the digital exposure provided by tournament management tech. Instead of being limited to signage on the golf course the day of the event, it’s amplified with the exposure throughout the platform before, during, and after the event. So every time someone visits your event site to register or just learn more about the tournament, sponsors get eyeballs on their brand.

Combine that with hole-by-hole exposure and push notifications in the live-scoring app, and businesses see even more value and ROI in supporting your tournament. Plus, sponsors can browse available packages, make a purchase, and upload logos and links right through the event website, eliminating time-consuming back and forth to collect assets and providing instant exposure.

4. You’ll Raise More Money

Any tournament management tech should come with tools that boost fundraising. At a minimum, you should be able to collect donations via the event website, but look for additional fundraising features like a donation tracker on the event site, multiple donation calls-to-action throughout the platform, the ability to round up and donate at checkout, exclusive sponsorships that can be sold at a premium, and fun add-ons that drive revenue (and bring fun and excitement to your charity golf tournament).

National Ag Science Center placed banners around the golf course to help golfers better understand their mission.

5. It Engages Golfers, Donors & Sponsors

Engagement—prior to, during the round, and following the tournament—is key to donor onboarding and stewardship. Instead of just sending golfers out on the course and not interacting with them again until after the round, look to technology to engage them in a variety of ways throughout the day. Live scoring is a great way to keep golfers engaged every time they check the current standings on the tournament’s live leaderboards (which also provides additional sponsor exposure and another opportunity for folks to make a donation).

Direct folks to the event website at the end of the tournament and challenge folks to make a donation, perhaps equal to that of the winning team or what their team shot. You can also leverage push notifications and email communications to share information and updates throughout the day. After the event, export your golf tournament donor data for inclusion into your donor CRM for additional follow up and stewardship.

6. You’ll Be Ready for Next Year

Rather than starting from scratch, you can simply copy your event in the golf tournament software platform, update the date and key details, and push it out to your audiences to save the date and keep it on their radar for next year. If you have a date set, include the link to your new event website in any post-tournament thank yous and follow-up communications to get a jump on promotion and sponsor sales.

7. You Don’t Have to Know About Golf

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never picked up a golf club, you hit the links a few times a week, or fall somewhere in between, you can plan a successful, lucrative golf fundraiser with the right tools and resources behind you. Your tech platform should come with a responsive, knowledgeable support team that’s there to coach you, answer questions, and troubleshoot issues for you and your event’s participants.

Golf for Good with GolfStatus

GolfStatus works with nonprofits and charities of all types and sizes to launch or level up their golf fundraisers. The robust platform streamlines the process from start to finish and is backed by an in-house support team available seven days a week.

Through the Golf for Good program, qualifying 501(c) organizations and others planning golf events that benefit a charity can use GolfStatus’ tournament management software at no cost, including an event website, online registration and secure payment processing, digital sponsor exposure, robust reporting, and more. Visit golfstatus.com/demo for more information or to get qualified.

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When golfers decide to play in a charity golf tournament, they often reach out to their friends, family members, neighbors, or colleagues to fill their team. This is good news for your organization—not only does it fill your tournament’s field, but your mission gets exposure to a brand new audience of potential new donors and supporters.

Take full advantage of this opportunity to introduce your organization to a captive audience at your golf event. Create a cause connection by helping golfers understand what your organization does, who it serves, and how their participation is a key part of fulfilling your mission. They may have come to golf, but when they see the tangible impacts of what the tournament is raising money for, it’s easier to convert them into donors.

Here are 10 ideas for your next golf fundraiser to connect golfers to your mission:

1. Add compelling photos and videos to your event website.

A picture is truly worth a thousand words, so take advantage of your event website’s customization features to add photos that illustrate your organization’s work and impact. If possible, add video too—anything from a simple slideshow of photos set to music, an impact story, or a polished marketing video are effective in telling your organization’s story visually.

Help golfers connect to your cause with powerful images and videos on your event website.

2. Invite a guest speaker to share their experience.

Kick off the tournament with a speaker who has benefited from your nonprofit’s services. Or add a presenter to a luncheon, banquet, or awards ceremony. Hearing first-hand from a beneficiary drives home the impact of your work. For example, Riverside Ranch, a therapeutic horse riding program, invited parents of riders to speak at their golf tournament’s luncheon and share what the Ranch meant to their family.

3. Include promo materials in player gift bags and golf carts.

A one-page flier, brochure, annual report, or other collateral can help golfers understand the depth of your mission. Be sure to include QR code on any printed materials with a direct link to the donation page on your event website where folks can donate right from their phones! Drop these in player gift bags or leave them in golf carts for golfers to peruse at their leisure. If your golf facility has carts with video capabilities, inquire about showing a video or photo slideshow on the screens. RiseUp Malawi, which provides educational opportunities in the African country of Malawi, played a video with a welcome message from some of the children the organization serves. They also provided each golfer with a book about Malawi with handwritten notes from the kids and on-site staff.

4. Place signage and banners around the golf course.

These pieces should be placed strategically around the course for maximum visibility. High traffic areas such as registration, driving range, putting green, and inside the clubhouse (near the bar or front door are good choices) are all guaranteed to get golfers looking. You can also place smaller signage unobtrusively on the golf course with information about your organization, facts related to your cause, or ways to take action. QR codes are a great addition to these as well to solicit donations.

National Ag Science Center placed banners around the golf course to help golfers better understand their mission.

5. Highlight your organization’s beneficiaries.

Depending on the work your nonprofit does, you could invite beneficiaries to attend or participate in the event. Personal connections are incredibly powerful, so provide opportunities for them to engage with golfers and sponsors throughout the day. For instance, if your golf tournament benefits a school, teachers or administrators could greet golfers as they arrive or even be added to teams. This isn’t limited to human beneficiaries, either! For example, pet rescue organizations could have adoptable pets at the golf course and an accompanying adoption drive.

6. Take advantage of downtime.

Downtime is a great chance to engage with a captive audience! Whether folks are waiting on the tee box, to check in, for a turn on the driving range, or for final results to be announced, your organization’s staff, board members, beneficiaries, or even volunteers can mingle with golfers to chat and have a conversation about your mission. You could also strategically station these folks on various tee boxes throughout the golf course (perhaps on a par 5 that might take groups longer to play through) to talk with golfers as they play their round or rethink your format to add in more opportunities for face time with participants. For example, Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center, an organization that removes barriers to outdoor experiences for those with special needs, used tee times rather than a traditional shotgun start to give them a few minutes to visit with each group as they waited for their turn to tee off.

7. Hold an accompanying event.

If it makes sense for your organization, hold an event in conjunction with your golf fundraiser that drives home your mission. Outlook Enrichment, a nonprofit that serves the visually-impaired, holds a blind golfers clinic alongside its annual charity golf tournament. The clinic features instructors and volunteers helping visually-impaired golfers putt, chip, and play a few holes. Many organizations also hold events targeting non-golfers, such as golf lessons, a wine tasting, blanket-tying or meal-packing event.

A volunteer coach helps a participant line up their shot during Outlook Enrichment’s blind golfers clinic.

8. Send push notifications.

Your golf event management platform should be able to send push notifications to golfers via a mobile app for easy communication. These notifications can help connect golfers to your mission by including a link to your website, testimonials from beneficiaries or volunteers, or even solicit donations for a specific program or outreach effort. Keep the notifications short, impactful, and time them strategically.

9. Display photos or memorabilia on the course.

Golfers want to know what the tournament is raising money for—what better way than to display photos or related memorabilia on the golf course. For instance, the Pat Neal Memorial Golf Tournament raises money for brain cancer research in honor of the tournament’s namesake, Pat Neal. A photo of Pat was placed on the course and golfers were encouraged to sign the photo as a keepsake for Pat’s family.

Pat Neal’s three children post with his picture on the golf course at his memorial golf tournament fundraiser.

10. Provide opportunities to take action.

The ultimate goal of helping golfers understand your mission is to have them take some sort of action, so give them the opportunity to do so. You could set up a donation station where folks can contribute, solicit volunteer sign ups, have a pop up shop to sell branded merchandise or products, or let folks start the process of adopting a pet.

Wrapping Up

First and foremost, technology is a major asset in creating cause connection. From your event website to push notifications to impact videos, leverage tech tools to be effective (and make it easier). Use tech to tell your organization’s story; engage with golfers before, during, and after the tournament; and ultimately, compel golfers and sponsors to further support it through a donation or future events. In doing so, you can demonstrate the impact your organization has on your community at large.

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Get Qualified for No-Cost Event Technology

GolfStatus’ Golf for Good program gives back to nonprofits by providing access to its full golf event management and fundraising platform at no cost, so event planners can focus on building relationships, stewarding donors, and doing more good. Get qualified by clicking the button below!

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Organization Snapshot

Million Meal Movement (MMM) goes beyond feeding the hungry, extending its impact to teaching the importance of volunteerism. By connecting with businesses, families, and community members in the Indianapolis area, the organization has packed over 32 million meals since its inception in 2007. In Indiana alone, over one million people—and one in five children—are food insecure and don’t know where they’ll get their next meal. Meals packed by MMM’s volunteers and corporate events go directly to local food banks where they’re distributed to families that need them.

For Chris Evans, who moved to Indianapolis in 2014, MMM was a way for his family to give back to the community in a meaningful way. “We wanted to do something more than just donate money, but volunteer to be part of something with a local impact,” Chris says.

The founder of MMM, Dan Hintz, was a client of Chris’s at American Century Investments. Intrigued by the organization’s dual focus, Chris and his family volunteered for a meal packing event on Thanksgiving and he found himself moved by the cause and wanted to get more involved. He’s served as a board member for the organization since 2018.

The Challenge

The Million Meal Marathon has traditionally been held each fall, which is a 24-hour event to pack a million meals and a major fundraiser for the organization. Chris and other board members wanted to bookend the year by adding a fundraising event in the spring. His passion for golf led him to explore a golf tournament fundraiser, though he had never planned such an event before. “I had golfed in a lot of charity tournaments in the past so I had a general sense of what was involved, but there were lots of nuances to figure out along the way,” Chris says.

Million Meal Movement Executive Director Nancy Hintz at the first annual Swing Away Hunger Charity Golf Classic in 2021.

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Tournament at a Glance:

Private Golf Facility

Woodland Country Club

Number of golfers

108

Add-Ons & Extras

Contests, Auctions

Tournament Format

4-person scramble

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The Solution

He teamed up with Chris Cimaglio, another MMM board member, who came across GolfStatus while researching golf tournament resources. The committee dug into it and decided the software was everything they needed. Since the golf event was a brand new endeavor, the committee leaned on GolfStatus to give the event structure, provide experience-based feedback, and above all, provide tools to save time and stay organized.

“Our fear was wasting time with having to use spreadsheets to keep track of everything,” Chris says, so using a golf-specific platform that kept everything—from golfer information to sponsor logos to hole assignments—organized in one place was a huge selling point. Plus, as a nonprofit, MMM qualified for GolfStatus’s Golf for Good program, which gave them full access to the platform at no cost.

The Results

In the fundraiser’s first year, the Swing Away Hunger Charity Golf Classic raised about $12,000. In its second year, the event doubled its fundraising, bringing in over $25,000. Perhaps most importantly, the golf event introduced MMM to new businesses and corporations that set the stage for transformational engagement and partnerships.

Using GolfStatus meant Chris and the rest of the planning committee didn’t have to spend their valuable volunteer time reconciling registrations and payments, processing a ton of checks and receipts, or managing multiple spreadsheets. Instead, they could focus on offering a top-notch event experience and stewarding sponsors. “We sent a lot of emails and letters and made a lot of phone calls!” says Chris.

The Swing Away Hunger Charity Golf Classic is held at the private Woodland Country Club in Carmel, Indiana.

Raising Money, Building Partnerships

As is typical with golf fundraisers, the bulk of the revenue was generated by sponsorships. “We didn’t raise a ton on the actual players, but hole and other sponsorships brought in dollars,” Chris says. The planning committee started by reaching out to companies that have participated in or sponsored meal-packing events in the past, then leveraging board relationships in the community to drive larger sponsorships.

Beyond the fundraising aspect, golf tournaments increase awareness for the benefiting organization and often lay the foundation for strong partnerships and relationships outside of the event. Such was the case for MMM. “The golf tournament has been a great way to introduce Million Meal Movement to people when they play,” Chris says.

MMM’s focus on volunteerism has been a draw for businesses looking to get involved with their community. Following the golf tournament, multiple companies signed on for corporate meal-packing events, further engaging with the organization and broadening the golf fundraiser’s impact.

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“The golf tournament raised a ton of awareness for the organization. It brought companies in to support meal-packing events throughout the year, helping fulfill the mission and get food to the people that need it.”

— Chris Evans, Million Meal Movement Board Member / Vice President of Sales at American Century Investments

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The planning team used social media to recognize event sponsors.

Leveraging Technology to Save Time & Create Processes

The GolfStatus team built an event website for the Swing Away Hunger Charity Golf Classic, working closely with Chris and the planning team. “The website definitely saved us a lot of time,” says Chris. “It made it easy for people to register and sponsors to see available packages, commit, and upload logos. Plus, it made it easy to run the event from an administrative standpoint.”

In the tournament’s first year, Chris notes how they were not only planning the event from scratch, but creating processes at the same time. “GolfStatus helped us create good processes from the get-go,” Chris says. “That made it easier in subsequent years, knowing the framework is in place—sponsorship packages, signage, software, promotion plans, and so on—so we could just execute.”

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“GolfStatus helped us create good processes from the get-go.”

— Chris Evans, Million Meal Movement Board Member / Vice President of Sales at American Century Investments

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GolfStatus worked with Chris and the planning team to build an event website to collect registrations, share information about the organization, and onboard and recognize sponsors.

Learning & Improving

Chris is preparing to step down from the MMM board and prepping another board member to take over as the Golf Event Chair. Having GolfStatus in place ensures a seamless transition for the new contact, who will work closely with the GolfStatus in-house customer success team to simply copy the event each year. “There’s no need to start from scratch, they can just take it and run with it,” Chris says. “The customer success team at GolfStatus is such a great resource. They were always available and got back to me right away, no matter how big or small the issue or question.”

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“The customer success team at GolfStatus is such a great resource. They were always available and got back to me right away, no matter how big or small the issue or question.”

— Chris Evans, Million Meal Movement Board Member / Vice President of Sales at American Century Investments

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With a couple tournaments under the committee’s belt, Chris says they’ve learned something each year and found ways to improve. A small silent and live auction were added for its second year, plus a raffle and more tailored sponsorship packages and better communication with golfers ahead of time about the live-scoring component.

“I think it’s really important to involve people on the planning committee who are well-connected in the community and those who have time to devote to the tournament,” he says. “GolfStatus was fantastic. The website, online registration, and golf-specific features made the details easy to handle.”

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Golf for Good

GolfStatus is committed to helping nonprofits do more good through golf. As part of its Golf for Good program, nonprofits and those holding events that benefit one can qualify for no-cost access to the GolfStatus platform, plus exclusive sponsorships, add-ons, and dedicated support to help you save time and raise more money. Click below to get qualified or email [email protected].

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As nonprofits shift focus to year-end giving campaigns and 2023 planning, there are a few simple—but impactful—steps to take right now to get ahead of the game for your 2023 golf event. If you’re thinking about a golf fundraiser in 2023, whether it’s a brand new event or an established tournament, you can set your golf outing up for success by checking these five to-dos off your list before the end of the year.

1. Get Your Tech In Place

The right technology is key to easy planning and successful execution of a golf fundraiser. Because golf events have distinctive components—like handicaps, flighting, hole assignments, scoring—having a platform that’s specifically designed for golf is crucial. While ticketing software, generic event management platforms, or even your CRM might seem like natural solutions, they simply can’t efficiently handle the unique nuances of a golf tournament, and may very well end up costing organizers valuable time trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Look for a provider with online registration that populates an intuitive backend to manage player and sponsor information in real-time and in one accessible place. Get your tech in place early so you can start promoting the tournament and collecting registrations as soon as possible.

2. Launch an Event Website

The earlier the better! An event website gives supporters a centralized place to find more information about the organization and event, purchase teams and sponsorships, and even make a donation. Direct all your promotion to the website so folks can take action to support your cause and event as soon as they hear about it (when they’re significantly more likely to do so!). You don’t have to have all the details in place to launch an event site—a date and location is enough to start—and simply make updates and add information as those details are firmed up.

Launch an event website as soon as you set a date and location, and simply make information as additional details are determined.

3. Send Save-the-Dates

Get your event on donors’ minds early and in front of sponsors amid annual budget planning. As soon as you have a date set with the golf facility (and your event website launched), send a quick email to your contact database as well as individual emails to major donors and supporters to get it on their calendars and into their budgets. If you send postcards or any printed materials, include a QR code that links directly to your event website. Include information about the golf event in any year-end appeals to get more mileage out of those communications.

4. Plan on Live-Scoring

Live-scoring adds a high-end element to your golf tournament. What’s more, live-scoring has a ton of advantages—you can sell a lucrative leaderboard sponsorship and individual digital hole sponsorships, share leaderboards online to connect with more supporters and collect donations, keep golfers engaged throughout the round, and even finalize results quickly so you can keep the day moving forward. Make sure your live-scoring platform is reliable and simple to use.

Your live-scoring platform should be reliable and simple to use, keeping golfers and sponsors engaged.

5. Look for New Sponsorship Opportunities

Sponsorships are the bread and butter of a golf tournament’s fundraising. Organizers should think outside the box when it comes to sponsor exposure and even types of sponsorships to offer. Digital exposure provides a ton of ROI for sponsors wanting to get their business and brands in front of an audience of affluent members of the community, so look for an event management option that has robust sponsor exposure across multiple touchpoints. Elements that add fun and excitement to your event, like hole-in-one contests, custom swag, or on-course entertainment/fundraising, are also prime sponsorship opportunities (and cover the contest’s fixed costs). Consider selling other high-end sponsorships, like pin flags, technology, or leaderboard sponsorships.

Look for an event management option that offers digital exposure across multiple touchpoints.

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Ready to Start Planning?

GolfStatus’s golf event management and fundraising platform streamlines and simplifies golf fundraisers, offering solutions that save time and raise more money. Nonprofits and those holding events that benefit them can qualify for no-cost access to GolfStatus’s technology—including an event website, online registration, live-scoring, and much more—through the Golf for Good program. Plus, GolfStatus’s in-house customer success team is there to answer questions and help you have your most successful event yet. Ready to get started? Click the button below or email [email protected].

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