Niobrara County High School (NCHS) is located in Lusk, Wyoming, a town of about 1,500 people in the state’s Eastern plains. It’s home to open pastures, rolling hills, and a rich history in mining and cattle ranching. When Jason Wasserburger, an attorney living in Cheyenne, attended his 15-year NCHS reunion six years ago, he was disappointed by the lack of turnout. 

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Dollars raised

$27,000+

Annual tournament

6th year

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Each NCHS class typically holds an individual reunion on Friday night of the alumni weekend each June, with an all-class banquet on Saturday night, Jason says, though he points out that recently, these events have garnered lower participation than in the past. He and a few classmates played a round of golf over the reunion weekend, and it sparked an idea to draw more alumni: provide an economic boost to the community, and raise money for the school—a golf tournament fundraiser.

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Launching & Growing a Fundraiser

Jason tapped three other NCHS alumni to get the ball rolling in the tournament’s first year. While two of the four weren’t golfers, they all had a penchant for organization and getting things done. “The first year was mostly an experiment in figuring out how to make this work and getting folks on board with the idea,” Jason says. In its first year, the tournament raised about $7,500, of which $4,000 was donated the rest used as seed money to run the tournament the following year. But perhaps more importantly, the fundraiser gained momentum and buy-in from alumni.

As the years passed, the tournament steadily grew in both the number of teams and the total dollars raised. The tournament’s second year brought in $10,000 and increased to $12,000, $15,000, and over $18,000 in its third, fourth, and fifth years, respectively.

But as the sixth year of the fundraiser approached, the NCHS Alumni Golf Board wanted to find a way to modernize the tournament and reduce the manual labor required to handle registrations, hole assignments, and scoring. Enter GolfStatus, which provided a free event registration website, and—since the tournament raised money for the nonprofit alumni association—access to its golf event management and fundraising platform at no cost through its Golf for Good program.

“We wanted to automate as much of the process as possible, and GolfStatus did that,” Jason says. The switch to online registration was the biggest time-saver, collecting team information and payments via the event website instead of using multiple spreadsheets to process checks and receipts received via email, mail, and social media. 

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“We wanted to automate as much of the process as possible, and GolfStatus did that.”

— Jason Wasserburger, NCHS Alumni Golf Board

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For the 2021 tournament, the Board set an aggressive fundraising goal of $25,000, increasing the cost of team registration packages and add-ons like mulligans to help the event continue to raise more dollars. “Some of us thought we were a few years away from being able to reach that goal,” Jason says. Not only did the tournament meet the goal, it surpassed it, raising over $27,000!

Making the Experience Great

Jason says the tournament has always focused on the golfer experience. As the event grew, it was split into two rounds, with more competitive folks generally playing in the morning round but all teams handicapped and scored together. Because the tournament is played at a small nine-hole golf course, teams were limited to three people to keep a steady pace of play.

One of the ways the Board has aimed to attract  teams, and keep them coming back each year, is to provide a stellar tournament experience. Working with sponsors to secure high-end hole and contest prizes like TaylorMade golf bags and clubs, putters, cash prizes, and Yeti coolers has proven effective. The addition of contests, including closest to the pin, longest putt, and longest drive competitions, keeps folks lingering at the course beyond playing their round of golf, encouraging alumni to reconnect.

A hallmark of the GolfStatus platform is simple, reliable live scoring. Teams submit their scores on each hole via the free GolfStatus app, which syncs with the event’s live leaderboards. Leaderboards can be viewed by anyone, anywhere on the event website or in the app, keeping golfers and spectators engaged and making finalizing the tournament simpler and more efficient. “It’s way better than handwriting it on a big scoreboard like we used to,” Jason says. He points out that rather than waiting until after the tournament to tabulate scores, GolfStatus provided that information in real-time, saving a tremendous amount of time.

The Board was admittedly concerned ahead of the event that there might be resistance to mobile scoring among golfers, but the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Teams reported how they liked seeing the standings throughout the event. “Everyone was really happy with the live-scoring app,” Jason says, noting that even the older generation enjoyed it. 

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“Everyone was really happy with the live-scoring app.”

— Jason Wasserburger, NCHS Alumni Golf Board

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Doing Good For the Community

As the tournament has grown and gained momentum over its six-year tenure, it’s increasingly viewed as a viable community fundraiser. Jason notes that people seek out ways to make donations because they know the money is going back to the school and benefits the community as a whole. “Most sponsors have a connection to the community and see the golf tournament as a way to give back,” Jason explains.

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“Most sponsors have a connection to the community and see the golf tournament as a way to give back.”

— Jason Wasserburger, NCHS Alumni Golf Board

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The proceeds from the tournament go to the NCHS alumni association, donated in honor of Jerry and Lynnea Fulmer, longtime teacher, coach, school district employee, and all-around huge supporters of NCHS. The association supports scholarships for NCHS graduates and their families, ensuring the stability of the longtime scholarship fund. Additional donations are made to the NCHS Activity Fund, which supports all students and activities, and the Tiger Pride Booster Club. The Board wants current students to have access to the same activities and opportunities older alumni had when they were in school. The golf tournament helps fill the funding gap from declining enrollment, a decrease in state funding, and lower participation in historic fundraisers like the alumni banquet, providing funds for the extras that NCHS or the Booster Club may not otherwise be able to support, like hotel rooms for a state tournament, tires for a bus, new uniforms, pregame meals for sports teams, and post-prom activities. The Board also established and helped fund the Joseph K. Tully Memorial Scholarship, create in honor of a longtime teacher, principal, and coach.

The Board plans to continue to use GolfStatus to delegate some of the prep and planning tasks in the future so they can focus more on the fundraising aspect of the tournament. The web-based platform makes collaborating among teams and committees super simple; since everything is kept in one easily accessible place, everyone is working with the same up-to-the minute information, instead of relying on spreadsheets that quickly become outdated. 

The Board is also training new members on best practices for running the tournament (including getting them looped into the GolfStatus platform) to keep the tournament’s planning team fresh and energized. “Overall, for the size of our event and community, we’re able to raise a ton of money and we continue to need go-getters to make the tournament happen,” Jason says. He’s excited about the future and how GolfStatus will continue to create efficiencies and pave the way to raise more money for the association.

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“Overall, for the size of our event and community, we’re able to raise a ton of money.”

— Jason Wasserburger, NCHS Alumni Golf Board

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Through GolfStatus.org and the Golf for Good program, nonprofits and those holding golf fundraisers that benefit one can qualify for no-cost access to GolfStatus’s event management and fundraising technology. Get started with a free event registration website and a platform that keeps you organized, handles the golf-specific details, and provides time-saving automation. Click the link below to get qualified or email [email protected]. 

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a rare congenital heart issue that affects one out of every 1,000 babies born in the U.S. Cameron Morgan Steinberg, daughter of Sam and Mel Steinberg, was diagnosed with the condition before birth. Knowing the challenges ahead, the first-time parents worked with their team of doctors to put a plan in place for Cami to be treated at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor immediately after birth.

Mel, Cami, and Sam Steinberg

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In babies with HLHS, the left side of the heart doesn’t develop properly in the womb. In a normal heart, red blood returns from the lungs and flows through the heart’s upper chamber (atrium) through the mitral valve to the left ventricle, where it’s pumped through the aortic valve and out to the child’s body. But with HLHS, the left side of the heart isn’t strong enough to pump the required blood for the body’s needs.

Dr. Michael Gaies, a pediatric cardiologist, associate professor, and one of the doctors who treated Cami at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, developed a strong bond with Cami and her parents. “They were remarkable advocates for Cami,” Dr. Gaies says. “They pushed us to turn every stone for Cami, and truly made us better healthcare professionals.” 

In addition to Cami’s heart issues, she also battled a lung disease that was, ultimately, untreatable. On November 23, 2018, Cami passed away in her parents’ arms at just two months old. Though they were shattered by the loss of their daughter, they turned that heartbreak into an effort to honor Cami’s short life, launching the Cameron Steinberg Foundation to raise money to help other families affected by congenital heart disease. 

“This is a special family, to take a tragedy like this and turn it into something good in the world,” says Dr. Gaies. He believes so strongly in what Mel and Sam are doing that he nominated the Cameron Steinberg Foundation’s newly established golf fundraiser to receive a $10,000 donation from the Dormie Network as part of a charitable giving effort with GolfStatus.org, and it was selected as the winner.

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“This is a special family, to take a tragedy like this and turn it into something good in the world.”

— Dr. Michael Gaies, pediatric cardiologist at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital

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“It’s hard to describe the sadness we as Cami’s doctors and nurses experienced when we came to the conclusion that we couldn’t help her,” Dr. Gaies says. “The work this family is doing to honor her short life and help other kids and families have a better outcome is nothing short of incredible, and it’s so meaningful to be able to contribute to that.”

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“The work this family is doing to honor her short life and help other kids and families have a better outcome is nothing short of incredible, and it’s so meaningful to be able to contribute to that.”

— Dr. Michael Gaies, pediatric cardiologist at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital

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Shortly after Cami’s passing, Sam and Mel used the proceeds from shirts that were sold bearing the #CamiStrong logo to donate 100 copies of the book Zipline (written specifically for kids who have undergone open heart surgery to help them feel comfortable with themselves and their surgical scar) and almost 400 stuffed animals to the hospital for current and future heart patients. In addition, a Comprehensive Single Ventricle Clinic was created at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Cami’s honor. The clinic provides support for patients and families leading up to and after open-heart surgery. “Thirty years ago, kids born with single ventricle heart conditions like HLHS didn’t have much in terms of treatment options,” says Dr. Gaies. Now, he explains, kids are generally expected to survive through childhood. Though Cami had other complications that made that impossible, Dr. Gaies says this clinic was established to help other pediatric heart patients deal with the unique medical and behavioral needs they’ll face over the long-term. 

The second annual Cameron Steinberg Foundation Charity Golf Classic will be held on May 23, 2022 at Tartan Field Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. Gaies describes how he chatted with Cami’s family about golf on many occasions throughout her stay at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and how it was a natural progression to using the sport to raise money for the Cameron Steinberg Foundation. “Golf is an easy way to rally support for a great cause,” he says. He admires the Steinbergs’ commitment to making a direct impact on families grappling with the challenges of congenital heart conditions with every dollar raised through the Foundation.

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“Golf is an easy way to rally support for a great cause.”

— Dr. Michael Gaies, pediatric cardiologist at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital

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“I couldn’t be more thrilled to help this family,” says Dr. Gaies. “This donation is going to help them do great things!”

Mel and Sam Steinberg pose with Dr. Michael Gaies at the Cameron Steinberg Foundation’s first annual golf fundraiser.

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ABOUT THE CAMERON STEINBERG FOUNDATION

The Cameron Steinberg Foundation was established in memory of Cameron Steinberg, who lost her battle with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) as an infant in 2018. In honor of Cameron and other families that have lived through similar pain, her parents established the Foundation to increase awareness for all congenital heart defects and raise money that makes a difference for HLHS patients and their families.

Fun was at the heart of Pat Neal’s personality. A natural jokester and all-around personable guy, Pat loved playing in golf tournaments or playing a round of golf with his buddies whenever he could. “He had a good short game,” says Katie Little, Pat’s youngest daughter. Mostly, she says, he played golf for fun.

In early 2017, Pat was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive, incurable form of brain cancer. He was treated by Dr. Nicole Shonka at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, who was researching new therapies for brain tumors. Because of the nature of this type of cancer, treatment is often difficult, and more research is needed into new and better treatment methods and advances in early detection. 

Pat Neal

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dollars raised for brain cancer research

$24,000

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After battling glioblastoma for 16 months, Pat passed away in 2018 at the age of 67. The family chose the Brain Cancer Research Fund at the University of Nebraska, which helps fund Dr. Shonka’s work, as the beneficiary of memorial gifts—not only to remember Pat and celebrate his life, but to help further this important research for other glioblastoma patients. Dr. Shonka’s research into glioblastoma continued while she was treating Pat, which made the Neal family’s connection to her work even stronger. 

Yet the family wanted to do even more. According to Katie, the Neal family likes any reason to get together—whether it’s a birthday, helping with a project on a house, a barbecue, or a round of golf. “We all show up for each other,” she says. So when Pat’s nephew, Frank, threw out the idea of a golf tournament to raise money for brain cancer research, the family was all in.

Pat’s family in Hawaii in 2017

Getting a Tournament Off the Ground

In just a few short weeks, and thanks to some heavy lifting from GolfStatus’s golf event management platform, the first annual Pat Neal Memorial Golf Tournament was held in October of 2020. A friend of the family created the tournament’s logo based on a photo of Pat mowing the lawn in his bucket hat. 

The event sold out almost immediately. “So many people loved my dad and wanted to play for him,” Katie says. But with such a short time to plan due to golf course availability, Katie credits GolfStatus with making the event a reality. “It was crazy, but somehow it all came together and worked because of GolfStatus.” 

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“So many people loved my dad and wanted to play for him.”

— Katie Little, Pat’s youngest daughter

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With one year under their belts, planning for the second annual tournament was much smoother. Because they knew what to expect, Katie and the other family members helping to plan the tournament had a better idea of how to prepare for their July 2021 event, when things needed to be done, and how to make the event run smoothly. And above all, to keep fun as the focus of the tournament. 

Katie says that in its second year, people who didn’t even know her dad played in the tournament. “They saw it on GolfStatus,” Katie says, referring to the tournament’s listing in the GolfStatus mobile app and on events.golfstatus.com, a website that lists upcoming golf events in the user’s area. “It was great that so many more people heard about my dad and learned about glioblastoma.”

In its first two years, the memorial tournament raised more than $24,000 for brain cancer research. Beyond a sold out tournament field, the tournament benefited from the involvement of so many extended family members and family friends who personally knew Pat. Family members reached out to local businesses they had connections with to solicit sponsorships and donations to glioblastoma research. “We love being able to support research into this specific type of cancer,” says Tara Neal, Pat’s wife of 32 years.

Simple Technology Keeps Everything Organized

Katie’s first exposure to GolfStatus came through the mobile app, which she used when she played golf. The app not only provides live-scoring capabilities for fundraisers and other tournaments, but lets golfers record their scores for rounds played at any golf facility, track advanced statistics, and use GPS to gauge distances to the front, back, and center of every green. The app also lists tournaments in the user’s area, which makes it an especially easy avenue to reach avid golfers looking to play in a tournament. Golfers and sponsors can also register for tournaments right in the app.

For folks who want to start a fundraiser or are already charged with planning one, GolfStatus offers a program called Golf for Good that provides access to its golf event management and fundraising platform to events raising money for a nonprofit or cause at no cost. The web-based software makes it easy to plan an event, streamlining some of the most time-consuming tasks of golf fundraisers. “The best part of GolfStatus was how simple it made everything. We just shared the link to the website where people could sign up, and it was great to keep track of everything in one place,” Katie says. “It couldn’t have been easier!” She notes how they used their free event website not only for registrations and sponsorship recognition, but to share some information about glioblastoma and her dad, and where the money raised was going.

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“The best part of GolfStatus was how simple it made everything. We just shared the link to the website where people could sign up, and it was great to keep track of everything in one place. It couldn’t have been easier!”

— Katie Little, Pat’s youngest daughter

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The tournament also took advantage of GolfStatus’s mobile scoring capabilities. Each team in the four-person scramble recorded their score via the GolfStatus mobile app, which automatically synced to the tournament’s overall leaderboard. Not only can anyone follow along with the tournament’s progress, but donations to the cause can be made directly from the live leaderboard. “The mobile scoring was so great,” Katie says. “People really liked seeing how their scores stacked up against everyone else throughout the day.” She heard from golfers how it added even more fun to the day, and because the scores were already calculated, there was no waiting around at the conclusion of the round to announce the winners—it was all handled in real-time by the software.

Pat’s three kids, from left: Hank, Katie, and Emily

A Legacy of Fun & Generosity 

The focus of the Pat Neal Memorial Golf Tournament is simple—to have fun. “That’s exactly how he always played golf, just for fun,” Katie says. The tournament was a scramble, which is the most common format used for charity golf tournaments. A scramble is ideal for tournaments looking to attract a wide range of abilities and golfers who just want to have a good time. In a scramble, each player on a team (typically of four) has a chance to hit the ball; the team then determines which ball was hit in the best position. The team then plays the ball from that spot, and so on until the ball is holed. One person then submits the team’s score to the GolfStatus leaderboard through its live-scoring app for each hole with a few simple taps. 

“I know Pat would be the first one out there having a good time!” says Tara, noting how thankful they are that the tournament has a bigger purpose for a cause that’s so important to the entire family. “Dr. Shonka was so amazing to my dad, and the whole family is grateful to be able to contribute to her work,” says Katie.

As for the future, the golf tournament is another excuse to get the close-knit family together. “I think we’ll definitely keep this an annual tradition,” Katie says. “It’s too much fun not to!”

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“Dr. Shonka was so amazing to my dad, and the whole family is grateful to be able to contribute to her work.”

— Katie Little, Pat’s youngest daughter

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Want to Launch a Memorial Golf Tournament?

GolfStatus can help! Its event management platform is built specifically for golf, and streamlines prep and planning. Events that raise money for a charity or cause can qualify for GolfStatus.org’s Golf for Good program, which includes a free event website and access to GolfStatus’s golf event management and fundraising platform at no cost. Click below to get qualified or email [email protected].

When there are golf ball cannons, giant dartboards, air guns, and other crazy games in addition to a round of golf, it’s not your typical tournament. The annual Credit Unions for Kids Golf Classic in Nashville, which over its 12-year tenure has raised almost a half million dollars for Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, has always tried to add extra fun. “We want to embody the spirit of the kids we’re supporting,” says JR Jernigan, AVP of Special Projects at US Community Credit Union. The tournament is a joint effort between US Community Credit Union and Enbright Credit Union.

Credit unions are not-for-profit financial institutions, with a motto of “People helping people.” JR says there’s really no better way to live out their purpose than to help kids through Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals. “Kids deserve the best medical care and we want to be a part of what CMN Hospitals is doing,” he says. CMN Hospitals, which encompasses 170 member hospitals across the U.S., including Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, are equipped to handle any issue a child may face, from the simple to the complex, and maintain the lowest cost ratio possible to help families that need care but are struggling financially. 

“As a financial institution, we see how money can impact people’s lives,” JR says of credit unions. He says that in raising money for the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, where both of his own kids have received care, they’re truly impacting the community where they live and work. In the past six years, funds raised by the tournament have gone to hospital expansion, including a children’s cancer wing.

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Dollars Raised

$45,000

Sponsors

43

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The CMN Hospitals Connection

Credit Unions for Kids (CU4Kids) is part of a broader partnership between credit unions nationwide and CMN Hospitals, fulfilling the industry’s charge to connect with and give back to communities. In fact, over 1,500 credit unions across the country are part of the cooperative fundraising effort that has raised $195 million in aggregate over the past 25 years.

CMN Hospitals’ work with CU4Kids is unique in that it’s a partnership with the entire industry. While it’s common for larger nonprofit organizations to forge relationships with major corporations and individual businesses, CU4Kids represents broader support from credit unions as a whole. The partnership grew organically from local efforts spearheaded by credit unions in San Antonio and Portland over 30 years ago, notes Nick Coleman, Director of Corporate Partnerships at CMN Hospitals. The idea started to spread across the country and in 1996, the CU4Kids brand was created and a formal partnership established. “The industry motto of credit unions is ‘people helping people’ and it's remarkable to see how they care about making a difference in their community,” says Nick.

Nick notes that one of the credit union industry principles is “cooperation among cooperatives” and that golf tournaments held as part of the CU4Kids initiative are a way for them to fulfill this charter. “Credit unions really love this opportunity because golf is a fun way to make a difference in the community,” he says, noting that credit unions often collaborate with other credit unions on shared goals and objectives, as was the case with the Credit Unions for Kids Golf Classic.

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“Credit unions really love this opportunity because golf is a fun way to make a difference in the community.”

— Nick Coleman, Director of Corporate Partnerships at CMN Hospitals

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The Challenge

Over the year, JR has always looked for ways to enhance and grow the annual Credit Unions for Kids Golf Classic, and provide an even better experience for players and sponsors. This year, tapping into the national CU4Kids and CMN Hospitals brands allowed him to reap the benefits of a partnership with golf technology company GolfStatus and its social impact division, GolfStatus.org. The partnership provides individuals, businesses, and major partners such as CU4Kids with access to event management technology that helps credit unions harness the charitable giving power of golf. “The golf tournament is my favorite day to go to work every year,” says JR. “It’s hard not to find purpose in what we’re doing to give back to the community and kids.”

The Solution

CMN Hospitals’ partnership with GolfStatus, the leading event management and fundraising platform for golf fundraisers, makes it easy for programs like CU4Kids and third parties like individual credit unions to launch a first-year golf fundraiser or enhance and streamline an existing tournament. Its web-based software is incredibly powerful but easy to use, helping tournament organizers like JR save time, and providing tools and avenues to simplify registration for players and sponsors, seamlessly spread the word about the event, professionally brand and co-brand the tournament, and ultimately raise more money for children’s hospitals. More broadly, it’s a tool that ultimately makes it easier for CMN Hospitals to empower its existing supporters to grow the success of annual events in addition to making it extremely easy to grow the Play Yellow program as a whole by assisting new supporters in their endeavors to launch a first-year event. The result is a growing network or third parties large and small who hold golf fundraisers all over the country that benefit their local children’s hospital or CMN Hospitals at the national level.

To get started, JR worked with Ben Parker, Senior Director of Play Yellow at CMN Hospitals, to connect with GolfStatus’s in-house support team and build a professional event website ahead of the tournament. As an event benefiting CMN Hospitals, the Credit Unions for Kids Golf Classic was listed alongside Play Yellow tournaments and other major golf fundraisers benefiting CMN Hospitals happening all over the country and hosted and supported by third-party individuals and corporate entities, including the likes of Costco, Ace Hardware, and Marriott.

The Results

The GolfStatus platform paid dividends right away, helping JR and his team raise additional dollars by selling the premium technology sponsorship, which provides sponsor recognition on the event website and through the mobile scoring and live leaderboards the day of the tournament. A built-in donation feature opened the door for golfers, spectators, and other supporters to support the tournament via monetary donations to the hospital before, during, and after the event directly from the website and leaderboards, which JR says was a great addition to the fundraiser. In total, the event was able to reach its goal of raising $45,000 for the local children’s hospital!

Highlighted GolfStatus Features:

• Event website

• Secure online registration for players and sponsors 

• Mobile scoring with sponsor exposure 

• Live leaderboards with premium sponsor exposure 

• Additional fundraising revenue from sale of technology sponsorship

Online Registration & Secure Payment Processing

“We had never taken card payments online before, but it really saved time and made it easy for people,” JR says. What’s more, everything was organized in one place in the software’s web-based backend, making it easy to keep track of teams and sponsors without having to pull information out of one system and into another. Since the tournament attracts credit unions from around the state and vendors from all over the region, the ability to securely and responsibly collect golfer and sponsor information is important to the continued growth of the tournament. It also allows for a simpler, more modern registration experience for players and sponsors, who can browse available support opportunities and reserve their spot in the tournament with a few quick clicks or taps.

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“We had never taken card payments online before, but it really saved time and made it easy for people.”

— JR Jernigan, AVP of Special Projects at US Community Credit Union

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Easing the Administrative Burden

Switching to a central, web-based, golf-specific event management platform saved JR and the planning team a ton of time and effort by automating and streamlining most of the administrative tasks associated with the golf tournament. When it came time to print cart signs, scorecards, and alpha lists for example, JR simply used the pre-formatted professional printouts in GolfStatus. “It was really nice to hit a button and be done with it,” he says. He points out that online card payments, auto-generated receipts, and the ability to manage paid registrants in one place also eliminated the need for a lot of the usual administrative paperwork and follow up. “It was all taken care of in the GolfStatus platform,” JR says.

Sponsorships & Recognition

One major benefit of using GolfStatus is the ability to sell a technology sponsorship, a premium sponsorship opportunity that offers exposure in multiple areas, including the event website, within the live-scoring app, on the event’s live leaderboards, and on the event’s cart signs, scorecards, and other printouts. This premium exposure opportunity was an immediate draw for the state’s credit union trade association. “From a visibility standpoint, the tech sponsorship was a great way for the Tennessee Credit Union League to show that they’re standing behind what credit unions are doing across the state to support children’s hospitals,” JR says.

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“From a visibility standpoint, the tech sponsorship was a great way for the Tennessee Credit Union League to show that they’re standing behind what credit unions are doing across the state to support children’s hospitals.”

— JR Jernigan, AVP of Special Projects at US Community Credit Union

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The steady outpouring of sponsor support for Vanderbilt Children’s from vendors has been especially rewarding for JR and the planning team. “Most of our sponsors have been with us since the tournament’s beginning,” he says. He explains that in many cases, a credit union new to the event comes on board, has a great experience, and the next year gets another involved, creating a snowball effect of support. What’s more, sponsors loved the digital exposure they saw on the event website and mobile scoring app. JR and the planning team were also able to send push notifications with sponsor messages throughout the tournament, which added an extra layer of exposure to sponsorship packages.

Sponsors of the Credit Unions for Kids Golf Classic were listed on the sponsorships page of the event website, giving them digital exposure before, during, and after the tournament.

Mobile Scoring & Live Leaderboards

This was the first year the tournament had used mobile scoring or live leaderboards, and from the feedback JR and his team received, it was a hit. “Everybody thought it was really cool,” he says, pointing out that the ability to see what folks were shooting also gave him an opportunity to kickstart conversations with golfers as he made the rounds throughout the course. Wrapping up the tournament and finalizing the results was also much simpler with the majority of the field using the app to score. Because scores automatically populate the live leaderboards, there’s no need to wait around for scorecards to be turned in or golf staff to tabulate final results.

Matching Dollars

The Credit Union for Kids Golf Classic raised even more money as a result of the Miracle Match program from CO-OP Financial Services. The program encourages credit unions and others to create and participate in fundraisers for local CMN Hospitals and supplements the dollars raised with additional funds. “CO-OP matched $10,000 of what we raised,” says JR, noting that they’ve donated at least $100,000 in total over the tournament’s 12-year tenure.

Tournament Extras & Cause Connection

One of JR’s goals for the tournament has always been to have fun and keep people coming back because of it. The event has grown from just 12 teams in its first year to 35 total teams, thanks in part to the event’s memorable games and extras. “We do what we can to be a different golf tournament and people love it,” says JR. In fact, 17 of the tournament’s 18 holes include some type of additional activity, like teeing off on a toilet or amid noisemakers, kicking velcro soccer balls on a giant inflatable dart board, and using an extra-long or extra-short driver. Prior to COVID-19, patients from Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital also attended the fundraiser, which created a powerful cause connection for golfers and sponsors. Hospital staff and leadership teams have also been in attendance to share the impact that the tournament has helped make.

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Nonprofits and charities—as well as individuals and businesses holding golf fundraisers that benefit them—can qualify for an event website and no-cost access to GolfStatus’s event management and fundraising technology through the Golf for Good program. Learn more and get qualified here or email [email protected].

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Golf may be the medium, but the mission of First Tee extends far beyond the sport itself. Its approach uses golf as a metaphor for life—a game with unexpected challenges and ups and downs that help build strengths beyond the technical skills to play the game. “That’s what sets us apart from someone just offering junior golf lessons,” says Jeff Porter, PGA, First Tee Omaha’s Executive Director.

Part of the larger First Tee network with chapters in all 50 states, First Tee Omaha focuses on resiliency, building self-confidence, and a sense of belonging through golf. Its nine core values of honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, and judgment serve kids well beyond the golf course. 

The Steve Hogan Memorial Golf outing is held annually to raise money for the First Tee of Omaha’s Golf and Life Skills youth development programming, but also to remember the contributions of founder Steve Hogan. A passionate advocate for junior golf in the area, Steve was the first African American PGA professional in the Nebraska Section and had a vision of using golf as a way to instill the values of being a good person, citizen, and student in kids from all walks of life. He founded Hogan’s Heroes Junior Golf Heroes, which later became First Tee Omaha.

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Sponsor contributions

20% increase

Revenue

30% increase

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Elevating the Event and Maximizing Fundraising

The 11th annual Steve Hogan Memorial Golf Outing was originally planned for July 2020, but precautions related to COVID-19 prompted it to be rescheduled for September. Jeff had already signed on to use the GolfStatus platform for the event, but credits the technology with helping them quickly adapt. “Like everybody else, we rolled with the punches and made the best of the situation that we couldn’t control,” says Jeff.

Like many other nonprofits, First Tee Omaha’s golf event is a huge part of its fundraising portfolio. One of Jeff’s goals for upgrading the outing with technology was to be more efficient while still offering the best possible experience for golfers and sponsors. “We want to honor Steve’s legacy with a great event,” he says. “That meant looking at what we have been doing for years and what we can do differently and do better.” 

As a nonprofit organization, First Tee Omaha qualified for a free event registration website, along with no-cost access to the GolfStatus platform through the Golf for Good program. The GolfStatus team built the site and worked with Jeff to set custom team and sponsor packages. The built-in online registration capabilities saved the planning team a ton of time. Instead of dealing with piles of mailed in registration forms, checks, and hand-written credit card numbers, folks registered online where their information was securely captured and stored in the software’s back-end. “It was great not to have to deal with checks, processing credit cards, and handling receipts for those that registered online,” Jeff says. “This was just another way to maximize the technology to make things easier and more efficient.”

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“This was just another way to maximize the technology to make things easier and more efficient.”

— Jeff Porter, PGA, First Tee Omaha’s Executive Director

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Jeff notes that the simple, attractive website made it easier for sponsors to want to sign on to support the event, and digital exposure added even more value to their investment. “For sponsors and potential sponsors to see their options and purchase them right there on the website was huge,” he says. The 2020 event saw an increase in sponsor contributions by 20% over previous years, much of which Jeff credits to the broad digital exposure provided by GolfStatus.

Organizations can build custom sponsorship packages and sell them right on the event website.

Saving Everyone Time

Jeff has been in the golf business for years. He spent 10 years as a golf course general manager before becoming First Tee Omaha’s Executive Director. His years of experience running golf events from the facility side makes him uniquely qualified to understand the work that goes into running a successful golf tournament. He points out that golf staff often have to do tedious, time-consuming tasks leading up to a golf event. But GolfStatus automates much of that work, freeing up staff to assist event organizers and golfers the day of the tournament. “GolfStatus is basically another pair of hands to help with event prep and execution,” he says, noting that the software eases their burden. Instead of having to enter golfer information for cart signs, tee sheets, and alpha lists, the pre-formatted printouts in the software were ready to go. “Really, there’s no downside to using it. It saves everybody time and manpower, elevates the event, and provides a great experience.”

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“It (GolfStatus) saves everybody time and manpower, elevates the event, and provides a great experience.”

— Jeff Porter, PGA, First Tee Omaha’s Executive Director

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The outing used GolfStatus’s reliable live-scoring feature to not only reduce the touchpoint of paper scorecards, but provide real-time standings throughout the day. “Having the standings ready to go on the live leaderboards literally cut an hour off the end of the day,” Jeff points out. Teams used the GolfStatus mobile app to record their score with a few simple taps, which automatically synced to the live leaderboards that anyone could follow on the event website.

Not only did live scoring and leaderboards provide digital sponsorship exposure during the tournament, but they saved golf facility staff, event organizers, and even golfers time when the event was wrapping up. “People are anxious to get to the outing and play, but they’re also anxious to go home,” Jeff says. He points out that thanks to the live scoring functionality, the results were available as soon as the last group finished their round. “This is just one more way we can streamline the process to be most efficient, and people liked checking the standings over the course of the day,” Jeff says.

Better Outcomes Thanks to Better Tech

Jeff credits GolfStatus’s premium features with elevating the overall professionalism of the annual outing. “GolfStatus did everything that we wanted it to as far as elevating the product and experience that we are offering,” says Jeff.

What’s more, the event saw an impressive increase in revenue—up 30% from previous years. “The overall workload on the fundraiser went down and our revenue went up. That’s a win-win!” Jeff says. “We were really excited that we saw an increase in proceeds from the golf event and I credit that to GolfStatus.”

To learn more about First Tee Omaha, visit firstteeomaha.org.

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“The overall workload on the fundraiser went down and our revenue went up. That’s a win-win!”

— Jeff Porter, PGA, First Tee Omaha’s Executive Director

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Planning a memorial tournament or other golf tournament fundraiser? Get qualified for our Golf for Good program and get a free website and no-cost access to GolfStatus’s golf event management technology.

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Howell’s Mill Christian Assembly is a scenic year-round camp and retreat center located in Cabell County, West Virginia. Founded in the late 1940s, the assembly’s 25 acres come alive as spring wakes its landscape and the camp prepares to host thousands. Its Christian camps, retreat programs, outreach events, acts of service, and partnerships with other local parachurch missions and organizations impact the lives of teens and adults alike. And while its massive campus is equipped to host up to 188 guests, this year has been quite unlike any before it.

Like other camps and retreat centers nationwide, Howell’s Mill struggled through early spring with empty facilities and lost revenue amid COVID-19. By April, the camp's executive director, Tim Yankey, was faced with another challenge: What to do with the annual golf fundraiser at a time when resources and budgets were squeezed especially tight. With mounting uncertainty, Tim set out to determine if and how he could safely move forward.

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A Crucial Time to Fundraise 

COVID-19’s impact on Howell’s Mill and other area camps has been substantial. “I’m close with a number of other camp directors and some have been hit harder than others,” says Tim, citing an organization that was forced to cancel all of its summer programming, and another that, by the onset of Spring, had already lost close to $200,000. “By that time, we had only lost about $15,000, so we were in better shape than other camps, but we really did not want to have to cancel our golf fundraiser.” 

In addition to helping raise mission-critical funds, the annual event is a way for Howell’s Mill to engage with the more than 35 churches that send volunteers and campers to the facility each summer—helping to develop relationships that are central to the assembly’s mission and ongoing work. “We’ve run the golf fundraiser for the last 17 years as a way for us to keep those volunteers in the tri-state area connected, but also as a fundraiser,” explains Tim. Proceeds from the event are typically funneled into designated capital campaigns, aimed at renovation projects and other clearly outlined needs like replacing mattresses or remodeling showers. “We try to do something tangible so we can show participants exactly how their support has helped us,” notes Tim. This year, however, with the assembly in dire need, the outing’s revenue was designated to general funds. 

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Adapting for Safety

For the last six years, Howell’s Mill’s golf scramble has been held at Sugarwood Golf Club in nearby Lavalette. Owner Ed Allen was especially flexible amid this year’s challenges, working with Tim on modifications and waiving contracts to help the organization avoid risk amid the uncertainty. “Ed has a heart for our ministry,” says Tim. “He’s really great to work with and we’re grateful for his flexibility and accommodations.” 

To safely host this year’s event, Tim worked with Ed to make some important modifications, starting with upgrades to the registration process that moved it online through GolfStatus.org’s event management platform. “We hadn’t made any changes to our registration process for the last 17 years,” explains Tim, noting that for as long as he could remember, Howell’s Mill had sent paper registration forms and asked participants to mail in checks. “It’s funny—every other event we do has an online registration option to make things easier, but I had never considered looking for an option for our golf event,” explains Tim, who worked with GolfStatus to quickly and easily launch a custom event website for the event. 

“It’s funny—every other event we do has an online registration option to make things easier, but I had never considered looking for an option for our golf event.”

— Tim Yankey, Executive Director at Howell's Mill

The process is simple: Event organizers connect with a member of GolfStatus’s in-house customer success team to set up a registration website that includes all the information pertinent to the event: Event description and cause information, event date, facility location and scorecard, tournament format, available sponsorships, and more. Event organizers like Tim work with that specific member of the GolfStatus team (in this case, customer success rep Nick White) to put together specifics on sponsorship packages, including add-ons like mulligans, raffle tickets, and additional donations. GolfStatus’s technology also makes a number of digital sponsorship packages available to event organizers to list as part of existing packages of separately—providing additional opportunities for sponsor revenue. These include but are not limited to exposure on the event website, digital in-app hole sponsorships, live leaderboard sponsorships, and sponsored in-app communications during the outing.

Contact-Free is Just the Beginning 

The event website makes promoting the outing easy and cost effective, notes Tim: “Instead of printing the paperwork, putting it in the mail, hoping they got it, and then processing it after waiting for everyone to return the form with a check—I just sent everyone a link and they registered and paid online.” Once linked to the event website, players and sponsors can purchase teams, choose from a variety of custom sponsorship packages, and purchase add-ons, securely submitting payment quickly and easily. Player and sponsor information drops instantly into GolfStatus’s back-end event management software, where organizers and golf facility staff can manage teams, drag and drop hole assignments, organize flights, do handicapping, and automate other time-consuming logistical tasks. At any time, event organizers and course staff can call on their GolfStatus customer success rep when they need a hand. “The support is second to none,” adds Tim. “Nick was absolutely great to work with. Quick to respond and help with anything we needed. It was great to have someone there to lend a hand when we needed it.” 

In the age of social distancing, online registration is more than a convenience—it’s a necessity. Online registration enabled Tim to avoid the traditional physical touchpoints of registration, payment, and check-in the day of the event. “We let people know that we would not allow pay at course this year with COVID-19,” notes Tim. “I didn’t want my staff out there working at the course in close contact with players and we didn’t want a line or people congregating to pay ahead of the round. The golf club also doesn’t have very strong WiFi, so it was easier to not have to process the transactions onsite and keep people waiting,” he explains, noting that the value of online registration certainly extends beyond these peculiar times. “This is something we plan to take advantage of from here on out.” 

The Advantage of Live Leaderboards 

Tim skipped a hosted lunch, tee gifts, and merchandise giveaways in an effort to rally through these challenging times, but also to keep participants safe. Players also skipped pencils and paper scorecards, avoiding the need to collect them at the end and tally scores by taking advantage of contact-free live scoring via the GolfStatus mobile app. Once players arrived at the course, they simply downloaded the free GolfStatus app, which automatically prompts users to check into the course and enter their unique team code. After each hole, one person per team uses the app to quickly enter the score, which is then displayed on the live leaderboard for the event. Importantly, the live leaderboards make it possible for tournament organizers like Tim to extend play over multiple days—another feature he plans to take advantage in the years ahead. “People have always told us that they’d play if we held the event on a Friday or if it were on a Saturday,” explains Tim. “GolfStatus’s technology opens us up to extend next year’s tournament to multiple days, maximizing our profit and allowing people who couldn’t play based on work, family, or sports schedules to still participate. I could foresee doubling our fundraising revenue if our event spanned two or three days!” 

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Results that Speak Volumes 

With a little technology in place, Howell’s Mill’s 2020 golf fundraiser went off safely and without a hitch. The event fielded 15 teams—60 golfers in total—and attracted 12 sponsors at various levels of support, including a national sporting goods store, a car dealership, two banks, an insurance agency, a financial service provider, and a number of area businesses. “We typically have closer to 18 or 24 sponsors, but we expected those to be down with so many businesses on pause,” notes Tim. “Our prizes were donated, and the only real overhead expense was paying the golf course.” 

Best of all, Howell’s Mill was able to meet its fundraising goals for the event, which it originally expected to have to cancel—effectively salvaging the spring golf fundraiser at a time when its funds are badly needed. “We were extremely impressed with GolfStatus! We would have had to cancel our event, but this technology allowed us to salvage our golf fundraiser while also providing some useful and exciting features that we’ll definitely use in the future.”

“We would have had to cancel, but this technology allowed us to salvage our golf fundraiser.”

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GolfStatus’s golf fundraising and event management software is available to nonprofits at no cost through our Golf for Good program. To learn more or get started, submit an inquiry online or email us directly at:

[email protected].

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Interested in supporting Howell's Mill Christian Assembly?
View the final results for the golf scramble and donate directly to the cause.