Golf tournaments are an especially great option for third parties looking to raise money for an organization or cause they care about. The sport has seen its popularity grow over the past years and its capacity as a fundraising tool is unmatched. What’s more, people tend to be passionate about golf, and when given the opportunity to marry two of their passions—golf and a good cause—they tend to jump at the chance.

Perhaps more than any other fundraising events, golf tournaments have unique advantages for the benefiting nonprofit as well as for the organizer. Nonprofits gain a passive income stream that doesn’t require a dedicated staff member or line item in the budget, while also increasing visibility for the organization, mission, and programs. Event organizers, particularly corporate entities, get a strong brand lift from being associated with a good cause and broad exposure to an affluent demographic.

Nonprofits of all types and sizes can activate passionate supporters, corporate partners, volunteers, and others to hold a golf fundraiser that benefits them. Here’s how:

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1. Reach Out To Your Networks

Your best bet is to start with the lowest-hanging fruit—your organization’s past supporters and partners. If your organization has run golf tournaments before, consider creating a campaign to target folks who have played in and sponsored those events, whether it’s by email, a survey, a direct mail appeal, individual phone calls, or a combination of these (which will depend on your organization’s staff capacity). Social media is another great option to engage people simply by asking if they like to golf or like organizing events. You may want to include information in your annual giving appeals or even create a dedicated page on your organization’s website that outlines the process of holding a golf tournament on your behalf.

Do some pre-planning before you reach out so you have some pieces and resources already in place to provide to people who are interested. Beyond just making the process easy (see #2 below) you want to set these golf tournaments up for success, so make sure you’re prepared to be a partner in the process.

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Pro Tip:

GolfStatus’s online resource library is packed with guides, templates, checklists, and other free downloadables with information on how to plan a charity golf tournament. Share these with current and potential event organizers to help set them up for success.

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2. Make It Easy

Even when someone is dedicated to your organization or cause, putting on a golf tournament is no small task. Having tools in place to streamline and simplify the process for organizers means they’re more likely to move forward and keep these events running—and raising money for your cause—year after year.

Golf tournament software can automate time-consuming administrative tasks so organizers can focus on the fun parts of the golf tournament, with built-in fundraising features to help them raise more money for your cause. You might also consider putting together a media kit with logos, messaging, and brand standards to provide to tournament organizers to help your brand stay consistent. When it’s easy, it’s more fun, more rewarding, and more likely that they’ll keep the effort going.

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PRO
TIP:

Pro Tip: Say thank you, whenever and wherever you can, to these third party organizers. Public shoutouts are great—on social media, in newsletters or blogs, on your organization’s website, etc.—but a personal touch will go a long way in expressing your gratitude. Send a handwritten note and follow it up with a phone call.

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3. Use a Common Technology Platform

There are a ton of options out there to manage fundraising events, but these don’t help organizers manage the unique components of a golf tournament. Employing technology that’s specifically built for golf tournament fundraisers is a huge part of #2 above. Any golf tournament software platform should offer an attractive event website with built-in online registration (which saves a ton of time and duplicative labor), plus easy access for multiple members of your team to work together and keep all your event information organized and accessible in one place. A dedicated landing page listing all events that benefit your organizations is a great way to easily promote events to your networks. A platform designed just for golf means you can quickly make hole assignments and pairings and auto generate scorecards, cart signs, and alpha lists—all without having to work across multiple spreadsheets or tools.

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PRO
TIP:

Pro Tip: Standardizing the tech across all your third party events means your donor data will be uniformly collected (see #4 below) and reported. This data should be added to your CRM for additional donor stewardship, using source codes, tags or other batch notations to track who participated in these golf events and how.

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With GolfStatus’s golf event management and fundraising platform, every golf event benefiting your organization is listed on a dedicated landing page.

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4. Capture & Manage Data

Donor data is invaluable, particularly when it comes to golf events planned by someone outside your organization. You can’t use the information you don’t have! Seamlessly collecting and managing this information is crucial to understanding who is supporting your organization through golf—planning, playing in, donating to, and sponsoring these tournaments. Having this information in aggregate lets you see the entire picture, across each and every event held to benefit your organization, and make data-driven fundraising decisions. Golf event management technology makes this process super simple and efficient.

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PRO
TIP:

Pro Tip: Your event management platform should be intuitive enough to collect this vital information without frustrating or overwhelming registrants (which may make them abandon their cart instead of completing their registration) and include robust reporting capabilities to get the data you need.

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No Cost Technology Built Just for Golf

GolfStatus is the industry leader in technology for golf fundraisers and charity golf tournaments. The user-friendly software makes it easy to onboard third party events, manage donor data, and provide resources to event organizers. Plus, through the Golf for Good program, 501(c) organizations and those holding events that benefit them are eligible for no-cost access to the platform. Ready to get started? Click the button below or email [email protected].

In his first six weeks on the job as Director of Development at Brazos Christian School (BCS) in Bryan, Texas, Clay Jackson settled into a new job, battled COVID-19, was appointed varsity golf coach, and even welcomed a new baby to his family. He also planned and executed a lucrative golf fundraiser from start to finish—for the first time.

Though it’s not ideal to plan a golf tournament in a matter of weeks, with the help of GolfStatus’s golf event management platform, the event went off without a hitch and raised over $47,000 for the school’s Thomas Scott Moore Memorial Scholarship Fund.

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DOLLARS RAISED

$47,000

SPONSORS

25

FIELD SIZE

17 TEAMS

TECH SPONSORSHIP SELLING PRICE

$7,500

Organization Snapshot

BCS is a non-denominational school that serves roughly 450 students in preschool through 12th grade. Since 1981, BCS has provided families with the same academics, activities, and opportunities as public school, but with a Christian focus. 

The longstanding annual golf tournament had traditionally been held in the fall over its 17 year tenure, but after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, it was moved to February. The event raises money specifically for the Thomas Scott Moore Memorial Scholarship Fund, which honors a 4th grade student who tragically passed away in 2010 and provides financial assistance to families to attend BCS. The fund has grown from $50,000 to an endowment of $1.2 million, thanks to the proceeds of the golf tournament. “We really want folks to understand that the tournament is raising money for a great cause,” says Clay.

The Challenge

When Clay started on at BCS in January, he found a long list of things undone for the golf fundraiser. First and foremost, he locked in the date with the Traditions Club at Texas A&M. Once the date was finalized, Clay turned his attention to promoting the tournament. He knew he needed a place to send folks to register and pay online. “Our school didn’t have any means of online payment processing,” Clay says. The tournament had previously relied on paper mailers and registration forms, but with the tournament just weeks away, there simply wouldn’t be enough time to go this route.

The Solution

Clay first started exploring generic event management platforms, not thinking that a solution existed specifically for golf tournaments. He stumbled onto Nonprofit Tech for Good’s website and came across a guest post by GolfStatus. “I thought, here’s everything I need to make this golf tournament happen!” Clay says. What’s more, because BCS is a nonprofit, the tournament qualified for GolfStatus’s Golf for Good program, which gave Clay access to the entire golf event management and fundraising platform at no cost.

Clay reached out to GolfStatus and in less than 48 hours had an attractive, fully-functioning, live event website ready to accept registrations and sell sponsorships. The GolfStatus team worked closely with Clay to walk him through the software and make sure he was comfortable navigating the software’s back end. “GolfStatus literally took ¾ of what I was worried about off my plate and made it work,” Clay says.

An attractive event website with online registration saved Clay a ton of time and made it easy to promote the event to golfers and sponsors.

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“GolfStatus literally took ¾ of what I was worried about off my plate and made it work.”

— Clay Jackson, Director of Development at Brazos Christian School

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The Results

Event Website & Online Registration

The online platform saved time and money almost immediately. Historically, the school spent around $1000 to print and mail flyers and registration forms (and as a result, was forced to track down payments and send receipts weeks or even months after the tournament). Clay simply included a QR code with a link to the event website on flyers that were sent home in students’ backpacks and a direct link in emails, social media, and on the school’s website where people could purchase team and sponsorship packages instantly. “It’s so much easier to send folks to a website!” Clay says. 

When golfers and sponsors registered through the website, their information automatically populated the software’s back end, where Clay could see who had registered, which sponsorships had been sold, and the sponsor logos uploaded. “Online registration was awesome—it was exactly what I was looking for and more,” Clay says.

Sponsorship Success

The additional digital exposure provided through the GolfStatus platform—on the event website and the mobile app—allowed Clay to raise the price of hole sponsorships from $200 to $400. Hole sponsorships sold out, leading to an extra $3,600 raised without any additional costs to the school. What’s more, the presenting sponsorship (which included GolfStatus’s exclusive technology sponsorship plus additional recognition) sold for $7,500. The tournament also added a hole-in-one contest with a $10,000 cash prize and sold a sponsorship for $3,000.

Live Scoring

Clay and his wife welcomed a new baby the day before the golf tournament. He had wisely connected a co-worker with the GolfStatus team the week before, who walked her through starting the tournament and the basics of the software so everything would run smoothly. The tournament utilized live scoring for the event—golfers entered their scores via the free GolfStatus mobile app, which synced to live leaderboards so Clay (and others) could follow along with the round’s progress and even solicit additional donations. “It was a great way for me to follow along, and let staff on site know when they should prep for the awards ceremony,” Clay says. He heard from golfers who loved being able to track other teams on the live leaderboards and trash talk across the golf course.

Teams submitted scores on the GolfStatus mobile app, which automatically synced to live leaderboards where golfers and spectators could follow along.

Responsive Support

GolfStatus’s responsive, in-house customer success team was there every step of the way, answering questions from golfers trying to register and addressing any issues. A snafu with the golf course’s updated course layout meant a last minute panic on incorrect scorecards. “I reached out via the support chat during the Super Bowl!” Clay laughs, and says that by halftime, everything was fixed and new scorecards ready to go. “I was blown away by the customer success team and their amazing response time,” he says.

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“I don’t know how I could have successfully pulled off this event at the level we did without using GolfStatus.”

— Clay Jackson, Director of Development at Brazos Christian School

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“I don’t know how I could have successfully pulled off this event at the level we did without using GolfStatus,” Clay says. “The short turnaround meant there wasn’t enough time to do it the way that it had always been done. GolfStatus made my life a million times easier.”

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Planning a Golf Fundraiser?

Leverage GolfStatus’s robust event management platform built just for golf, with built-in fundraising tools to help you raise more money for your organization or cause. Qualifying 501(c) organizations and those holding events that benefit one can get access to GolfStatus’s golf tournament management software at no cost, including a free event website, online registration, 24/7 support, and features to handle all the golf logistics that save you a ton of time. Click the link below to get qualified or email [email protected].

Until recently, live scoring was something only the highest caliber golf tournaments enjoyed. But thanks to golf-specific event management technology, charity golf tournaments can employ live scoring, where players plug in their scores to a central leaderboard similar to those displayed for pro-Tour events. Live scoring lets players track and share scores in real time via a mobile app that syncs with live leaderboards, keeping players and spectators engaged, both in person and online. Organizations can leverage this tech for another premium sponsorship opportunity, and live scoring expedites finalizing the tournament’s results while increasing the event’s professionalism.

Here are six best practices for live scoring at your golf fundraiser, plus what to look for in a live scoring platform and other tips to help you maximize live leaderboards to engage supporters and drive fundraising revenue.

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1. A User-Friendly Platform is a Must.

Any mobile scoring option should have a super easy-to-use interface for players, without glitches or complications. When it’s easy to enter scores, players actually do it and aren’t distracted by having to fuss with technology. They simply enter scores with a few taps and can remain focused on their golf game and enjoying the outing. The last thing you want to do is frustrate players with a complicated platform—or worse, an unreliable one.

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2. Sell a Leaderboard Sponsorship.

The live leaderboard is the cream of the crop when it comes to sponsorships. It captures the attention of players, sponsors, and spectators during and after your tournament, making it the ideal display medium for top-tier sponsors. If your live scoring platform doesn’t accommodate a leaderboard sponsorship, you’re leaving substantial dollars on the table and missing out on a crucial opportunity for a high-capacity donor.

3. Use Live Leaderboards to Engage Spectators and Solicit Donations.

A platform with a sleek, professional leaderboard lets spectators track the overall event or even specific players online via your event website. And when these leaderboards are displayed on your website, sharing them with supporters in the context of your event is as easy as sharing a link in your organization’s newsletter, website, and social media channels. Leaderboards are also a key touchpoint and opportunity to make donation asks, so be sure your live scoring platform has a donation function built in.

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4. Add a Virtual Round or a Virtual Only Event.

Live scoring and leaderboards make it possible to hold virtual events—either a virtual only tournament or an additional round for supporters that aren’t able to participate in the in-person event—where play is extended over a period of a few days or even a month or more. Since a virtual round or tournament is held across several golf courses, you’ll need a platform that provides live scoring plus aggregate and individual leaderboards. You’ll also need the ability to post and share those leaderboards online, so you can keep participants and sponsors engaged despite the non-traditional format.

5. Share the Tournament’s Final Results.

It’s a good practice to recap your event with folks who support and are connected to your organization and its mission. Leverage the ability to post the tournament’s final results in your organization’s newsletter, website, social channels, and more. It’s also a great way to make a final donation ask from participants—send each player their score with a link to the final leaderboard along with an ask for them to match their score (or the winning team’s score) with a gift. When it comes time to send save-the-dates for next year’s event, you can also use historical results to easily re-engage participants.

6. Employ Golf-Specific Event Management Tech

Live scoring is great on its own, but when it’s combined with tools and tech that can easily handle the specific nuances of a golf event, the tournament runs seamlessly. The event’s live leaderboard lives within an event website, where folks can register for the event or purchase a sponsorship before the event and check in on the standings or even make a donation during or after the tournament. What’s more, you’ll elevate the overall event experience for golfers and sponsors so not only will they have a great time, they’ll want to come back year after year.

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Get Started—No Cost, No Risk

Ready to add live scoring to your golf outing? GolfStatus.org makes it easy with sleek, simple live scoring technology and everything you need to get the most out of it. Best of all, it’s available at no cost—along with GolfStatus’s full suite of golf event management and fundraising tools—to qualifying nonprofits through the Golf for Good program. Get qualified by clicking the button below or email us directly at [email protected].

Originally published June 2020

LINCOLN, Neb., April 9, 2022 /Nonprofit Tech for Good/ --

Organization Snapshot

Habitat for Humanity partners with communities all over the globe to help build homes, with the vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Globally, Habitat for Humanity has worked in more than 70 countries and helped more than 39 million people with improved living conditions since 1976. On the local level, affiliate organizations work with trusted partners and residents to improve communities and build strong neighborhoods. In Chicago, Habitat’s commitment is to local families to achieve strength, stability, and self-reliance through housing and development projects. Four in 10 Chicagoans live in declining conditions, making Habitat’s work critical to helping the city thrive.

Chris Johnson, a Real Estate Broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago, serves as the President of the chapter’s Associate Board, whose charge is to raise funds for the organization’s work. He’s worked in Chicago’s real estate market for nine years and is intimately familiar with the city’s need for denser, more affordable housing options. Chris says Habitat is helping address these issues, not only through physically building homes and neighborhoods, but by educating people and helping them navigate what can be an overwhelming and complicated process. “It’s not about giving away homes, it’s about creating generational change, a steady and safe environment for families, and building wealth in their home,” Chris says. “There are only so many homes that can be built, but when we’re able to help prepare people for homeownership through education, financial literacy, and sound advice, we can help even more.”

The Challenge

One of Habitat for Humanity of Chicago’s flagship programs is HomeBuyer University, a pilot effort that began in 2019 to break down barriers to becoming a homeowner by helping prospective homeowners understand the process and how to prepare for applying for a mortgage. Funds raised by the Associate Board help underwrite the costs of this program, which is a key part of fulfilling the local chapter’s mission.

After COVID-19 forced the cancellation of an annual yacht party fundraiser, Chris wanted to shift gears and establish a golf event as the board’s main fundraiser. “Folks were exhausted with virtual events and wanted a way to gather safely, and I’ve loved golf since I was a kid,” Chris says, so he dove headfirst into planning a golf event. He knew launching a brand new tournament was going to be challenging, but also knew that they needed to move forward. “I presented a golf tournament to the rest of the board as a feasible way to get a fundraising event done and established.”

Chris, with the help of Associate Board member Brian Doyle of BMO Harris in Chicago and the rest of the planning team, set a conservative goal to raise about $8,000 for the tournament’s first year. Several board members had played in charity tournaments in the past, but no one had experience planning an event.

The Solution

Chris knew there had to be an option for live scoring and easy registration for golf tournaments. A little online research led him straight to GolfStatus. “To take on an event like this in its first year without any experience was a little daunting, but having a tool like GolfStatus that took things off my plate and made the logistics easier to handle was so great,” Chris explains. He wanted one centralized place to keep things organized, take payments, manage sponsor assets, and print cart signs. “GolfStatus had all this and more,” he says.

The Results

The first-year tournament surpassed its fundraising goal, taking in $13,000. It attracted 19 teams for the four-person scramble. Teams live-scored via the free GolfStatus mobile app, which made confirming the final results much quicker and more efficient than relying on paper scorecards. Nine sponsorships were sold through the GolfStatus platform, including the premium technology sponsorship, which boasts premium visibility on the event website’s homepage, live leaderboards, and across the mobile app.

Massive Time Savings

Chris says the time savings the platform provided was invaluable. Every GolfStatus event website includes online registration with secure payment processing, allowing golfers and sponsors to purchase packages directly on the event website, eliminating the need to manually process paper registration forms, handle checks or take credit card information, or track information in multiple spreadsheets. Chris, Brian, or anyone on the planning team could log into GolfStatus and see who had registered or purchased a sponsorship with a few clicks. “Having everything in one place really made my life easier,” he says. “I could focus on the experience and day of things that needed to be handled.” Plus, sponsors can upload graphics and links directly through the event website, saving a ton of time. “Going back and forth with sponsors to get logos and such can really be a time suck,” Chris points out.

Connecting to the Cause

While many people are familiar with Habitat for Humanity, they often have misconceptions about what Habitat does. “People think we give away houses!” Chris says. In fact, families that are selected for a Habitat home are part of the building process and pay a 0% mortgage. “People think it’s a lottery, but it’s a long-term commitment to the neighborhood and community,” Chris says. At the start of the tournament, Chris made a point to speak about what Habitat for Humanity Chicago does and passed out educational materials as folks checked in for the tournament so they had a better understanding of what they were supporting.

Second-to-None Support & Resources

Chris and Brian worked closely with the GolfStatus team to build out the event website, which was provided at no cost as part of the Golf for Good program. Qualifying 501(c) organizations, like Habitat for Humanity, and those holding golf tournaments on their behalf, get access to the entire suite of GolfStatus’s tournament management and fundraising solution, in addition to an in-house support team. “The support team was great,” Chris says. “I had a question early on a Saturday morning and someone answered by chat almost immediately.”

Looking to the Future

Having one year of tournament planning experience under their belts has led to a number of things to improve on for next year’s event. First and foremost, Chris, Brian, and the rest of the team plan to get the event website up and running in the spring for the September event. “Chicago starts to thaw out in April and people are thinking about getting outside,” he says. They also plan to rethink the day of the week of the tournament, which was held on a Saturday in its inaugural year. “Saturday is a great day to play golf, but it was harder to get sponsors to commit to sending a team on a weekend or consider entertaining clients on a weekend,” Chris points out.

He hopes the annual golf tournament will become the board’s marquee fundraising event for Habitat for Humanity Chicago. “I love Habitat. I love being on a job site and watching homes come together,” Chris says. “It’s a lot like what they say about golf—a bad day golfing is better than a good day doing something else. Well, volunteering for Habitat is the same. You’ll work hard but the impact is worth it.”

Golf for Good

Through GolfStatus and the Golf for Good initiative, qualifying 501(c) organizations and those holding events that raise money for one can get access to GolfStatus’s full-featured golf event management and fundraising platform at no cost. Get started at golfstatus.com/demo or email [email protected].

Source: Nonprofit Tech for Good

LINCOLN, Neb., March 28, 2022 /The Chronicle of Philanthropy/ -- Fundraising for nonprofits boils down to two simple things: finding new donors and keeping existing ones. Both are critical to a nonprofit’s fundraising success—and to the overall success of the organization. Golf tournament fundraisers, when planned and executed properly, are avenues to successfully do both. Here’s what you need to know about using your golf fundraiser to attract new donors and make sure they (and your other longtime supporters) keep coming back to support your mission.

Why Are New Donors Important?

New donors are crucial to moving your organization’s cause forward. Just as a for-profit business must attract new customers or clients to grow market share, a nonprofit must raise awareness about the organization, the cause, and its work to grow its donor base. While some level of donor attrition is natural, without onboarding new donors to replace those that have lapsed, your network begins to stagnate and your organization ends up with an increasingly narrow donor pool. Indeed, the golf fundraiser presents an opportunity to raise awareness and bring in dollars while simultaneously attracting new donors.

Why Is It Important to Retain Donors?

While new donors are certainly important and more than worthwhile to pursue, retaining donors is equally, if not more, important. Returning donors already care about your cause and believe in how your organization is addressing the issue. They’re more likely to make larger gifts, and are already on the road to being long term donors. What’s more, the costs associated with onboarding new donors—both in terms of dollars and staff time—are significantly higher than with simply retaining existing supporters. You’ve likely invested time and effort in stewarding donors, which means attrition essentially undoes all the good that new donors bring to your organization.

How Does the Golf Event Do Both?

Golf fundraisers present tremendous opportunities for nonprofits—not only to raise funds to fulfill your mission, but to attract new and steward existing donors.

People Want to Golf

The golf industry saw unprecedented growth during 2020 and 2021, and while the National Golf Foundation reports that the sport’s growth has cooled slightly, golf is still more popular now than it was pre-pandemic. Many golfers actively look for golf tournaments to play in because they enjoy the game. And it’s not just the die-hard golfers—more casual players than ever are getting involved in the game and are eager to play in tournaments, which opens the door for even more donors to steward. The best part about a golf fundraiser is that when your event is focused on something people really want to do and enjoy—like golf—they’re bound to come back year after year.

Players Tap Their Network to Field a Team

Golf may be an individual sport, but charity golf tournaments tend to be scrambles, which means that folks must field a team to participate and tap into their personal and professional networks to do so. One of your supporters registers for the fundraiser, then brings three others who aren’t necessarily familiar with your cause, but will be once they play in the tournament. This instantly multiplies your donor outreach. And when you retain these new donors, your network snowballs. What’s more, these new donors are likely to return in future years and even bring others.

Golf Attracts a Particular Demographic

Golfers typically represent an affluent and influential demographic, with an average net worth of nearly $740,000 and an average household income double the national average. Over half of golfers are between the ages of 25 and 55 (the age group with the most spending power), and one in three are top-level managers. In short, these are folks you want in your organization’s donor database.

It’s an Important Networking Opportunity

Many golfers use charity golf tournaments—especially higher-grossing events held at prestigious golf courses—to network and do business. With four focused hours on the course, golfers can entertain clients, connect with prospects, build professional relationships, and network. This makes golf tournaments uniquely positioned to attract new high-capacity and connected donors that are often invited to fill a team.

You Can Reconnect With Lapsed Donors

Golf events let you reconnect with supporters who have contributed in the past but may have missed a year or more. Perhaps they played in a golf tournament years ago but haven’t returned, joined as a member but didn’t renew, made a year-end gift but didn’t respond to additional asks, or participated in a program and subsequently fell dormant. No matter what the cause, an invitation to a golf tournament is a low-pressure opportunity for lapsed donors to reconnect with your organization through an activity they enjoy—and for you to steward these relationships.

Capture Donor Data & Take the Next Step

In order to truly maximize your golf fundraiser as an outreach opportunity, you need to know who is playing in the event. This is an exercise in capturing donor data, getting it into your donor database, and effectively using it to attract folks to future events (like your golf tournament) and get them engaged in your mission.

Technology can help. Upgrading to online registration has a number of time-saving advantages and allows for thorough, real-time collection of donor data. Using a professional event website with online registration geared specifically toward the golf tournament allows you to capture each player and sponsor’s information. You’ll want to couple online registration with a platform that makes it easy for one player to purchase a team without necessarily knowing who they’ll tap to play with, and the ability to add that information later.

If you’re a nonprofit or planning an event that benefits one, you likely qualify for a free event website and no-cost access to GolfStatus, a golf event management platform that allows event organizers to effortlessly collect valuable donor data while streamlining the planning process. The result is an easier way to plan a golf outing that attracts new and stewards existing donors through an all-around great experience.

Ready to hit the easy button on a first-year golf event or streamline an existing tournament? Click here to get qualified or email us directly at [email protected].

Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Organization Snapshot

Habitat for Humanity partners with communities all over the globe to help build homes, with the vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Globally, Habitat for Humanity has worked in more than 70 countries and helped more than 39 million people with improved living conditions since 1976. On the local level, affiliate organizations work with trusted partners and residents to improve communities and build strong neighborhoods. In Chicago, Habitat’s commitment is to local families to achieve strength, stability, and self-reliance through housing and development projects. Four in 10 Chicagoans live in declining conditions, making Habitat’s work critical to helping the city thrive.

Chris Johnson, a Real Estate Broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago, serves as the President of the chapter’s Associate Board, whose charge is to raise funds for the organization’s work. He’s worked in Chicago’s real estate market for nine years and is intimately familiar with the city’s need for denser, more affordable housing options. Chris says Habitat is helping address these issues, not only through physically building homes and neighborhoods, but by educating people and helping them navigate what can be an overwhelming and complicated process. “It’s not about giving away homes, it’s about creating generational change, a steady and safe environment for families, and building wealth in their home,” Chris says. “There’s only so many homes that can be built, but when we’re able to help prepare people for homeownership through education, financial literacy, and sound advice, we can help even more.”

Chris Johnson, far left, Associate Board President for Habitat for Humanity of Chicago, helped spearhead the inaugural golf fundraiser.

The Challenge

One of Habitat for Humanity of Chicago’s flagship programs is HomeBuyer University, a pilot effort that began in 2019 to break down barriers to becoming a homeowner by helping prospective homeowners understand the process and how to prepare for applying for a mortgage. Funds raised by the Associate Board help underwrite the costs of this program, which is a key part of fulfilling the local chapter’s mission.

After COVID-19 forced the cancellation of an annual yacht party fundraiser, Chris wanted to shift gears and establish a golf event as the board’s main fundraiser. “Folks were exhausted with virtual events and wanted a way to gather safely, and I’ve loved golf since I was a kid,” Chris says, so he dove headfirst into planning a golf event. He knew launching a brand new tournament was going to be challenging, but also knew that they needed to move forward. “I presented a golf tournament to the rest of the board as a feasible way to get a fundraising event done and established.”

Chris, with the help of Associate Board member Brian Doyle of BMO Harris in Chicago and the rest of the planning team, set a conservative goal to raise about $8,000 for the tournament’s first year. Several board members had played in charity tournaments in the past, but no one had experience planning an event.

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dollars raised

$13,000

newly-established

annual golf fundraiser

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The Solution

Chris knew there had to be an option for live scoring and easy registration for golf tournaments. A little online research led him straight to GolfStatus. “To take on an event like this in its first year without any experience was a little daunting, but having a tool like GolfStatus that took things off my plate and made the logistics easier to handle was so great,” Chris explains. He wanted one centralized place to keep things organized, take payments, manage sponsor assets, and print cart signs. “GolfStatus had all this and more,” he says.

“To take on an event like this in its first year without any experience was a little daunting, but having a tool like GolfStatus that took things off my plate and made the logistics easier to handle was so great.”

— Chris Johnson, Associate Board President at Habitat for Humanity of Chicago

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The golf outing’s event website was built and hosted by GolfStatus as part of the Golf for Good giveback initiative.

The Results

The first-year tournament surpassed its fundraising goal, taking in $13,000. It attracted 19 teams for the four-person scramble. Teams live-scored via the free GolfStatus mobile app, which made confirming the final results much quicker and more efficient than relying on paper scorecards. Nine sponsorships were sold through the GolfStatus platform, including the premium technology sponsorship, which boasts premium visibility on the event website’s homepage, live leaderboards, and across the mobile app.

Golfers listen to instructions before teeing off.

massive time savings

Chris says the time savings the platform provided was invaluable. Every GolfStatus event website includes online registration with secure payment processing, allowing golfers and sponsors to purchase packages directly on the event website, eliminating the need to manually process paper registration forms, handle checks or take credit card information, or track information in multiple spreadsheets. Chris, Brian, or anyone on the planning team could log into GolfStatus and see who had registered or purchased a sponsorship with a few clicks. “Having everything in one place really made my life easier,” he says. “I could focus on the experience and day of things that needed to be handled.” Plus, sponsors can upload graphics and links directly through the event website, saving a ton of time. “Going back and forth with sponsors to get logos and such can really be a time suck,” Chris points out.

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“Having everything in one place really made my life easier. I could focus on the experience and day-of things that needed to be handled.”

— Chris Johnson, Associate Board President at Habitat for Humanity of Chicago

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connecting to the cause

While many people are familiar with Habitat for Humanity, they often have misconceptions about what Habitat does. “People think we give away houses!” Chris says. In fact, families that are selected for a Habitat home are part of the building process and pay a 0% mortgage. “People think it’s a lottery, but it’s a long-term commitment to the neighborhood and community,” Chris says. At the start of the tournament, Chris made a point to speak about what Habitat for Humanity Chicago does and passed out educational materials as folks checked in for the tournament so they had a better understanding of what they were supporting.

Habitat for Humanity of Chicago volunteers help build homes and strengthen neighborhoods across the city.

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second-to-none support & resources

Chris worked closely with the GolfStatus team to build out the event website, which was provided at no cost as part of the Golf for Good program. Qualifying 501(c) organizations, like Habitat for Humanity, and those holding golf tournaments on their behalf, get access to the entire suite of GolfStatus’s tournament management and fundraising solution, in addition to an in-house support team. “The support team was great,” Chris says. “I had a question early on a Saturday morning and someone answered by chat almost immediately.”

Looking to the Future

Having one year of tournament planning experience under their belts has led to a number of things to improve on for next year’s event. First and foremost, Chris, Brian, and the rest of the team plan to get the event website up and running in the spring for the September event. “Chicago starts to thaw out in April and people are thinking about getting outside,” he says. They also plan to rethink the day of the week of the tournament, which was held on a Saturday in its inaugural year. “Saturday is a great day to play golf, but it was harder to get sponsors to commit to sending a team on a weekend or consider entertaining clients on a weekend,” Chris points out.

He hopes the annual golf tournament will become the board’s marquee fundraising event for Habitat for Humanity Chicago. “I love Habitat. I love being on a job site and watching homes come together,” Chris says. “It’s a lot like what they say about golf—a bad day golfing is better than a good day doing something else. Well, volunteering for Habitat is the same. You’ll work hard but the impact is worth it.”

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Golf for Good

GolfStatus’s Golf for Good giveback initiative through GolfStatus.org helps nonprofits and those holding events benefiting them streamline their golf events to save time and raise more money. It starts with a free event website and no-cost access to GolfStatus’s event management and fundraising platform for qualifying organizations and events. Get qualified here or email [email protected].

Let’s be honest—golf fundraisers are a lot of work. There are lots of balls in the air starting months ahead of time, plus committees, volunteers, and sponsors to manage. Maybe you’re tracking everything by hand, working across multiple spreadsheets, or even trying to make a standard event management platform work for your golf event (when it’s designed for a gala or auction). Or maybe you’re looking at a mountain of work and wondering if there’s a way to make your golf event simpler and more efficient. 

Whatever the case may be, now is a great time to re-evaluate the systems and processes behind your golf tournament. Whether you’re in the thick of planning your tournament or just getting started, it’s worth a deep dive into your fundraiser’s systems and processes to find ways to save time, improve coordination, and improve outcomes. Here are key questions and considerations to get you started.

Registration

Key questions: Are you still relying on hard copy, mail-in registrations? How much time do you (or your volunteers) spend processing these forms and payments? How does that information get transferred to your donor database?

The easier it is for people to find and register for your event, the more likely they are to do so. Processing paper registration forms and handling checks, cash, and receipts are time-consuming and cumbersome to track and manage. This inherently makes the event more work, not only by creating duplicative work but a call to action that puts the onus on the registrant or sponsor to remember to print off a registration form, fill it out, write a check, find a stamp, and mail it in. An online, mobile-friendly registration process is much easier for participants and sponsors to complete with a few clicks or taps. It’s also simpler for staff to process and manage, saves a ton of time, and leads to a seamless hand off to the golf facility. What’s more, online registration allows you to collect important donor data for inclusion in your organization’s donor management system to steward for future support.

Promotion

Key questions: How easy is it for staff, volunteers, and board members to spread the word about the tournament? Is there one place folks can find more details about the event, the cause it supports, sponsorship packages and pricing information, and logistical info (date, time, course, etc.)? Can players and sponsors register quickly and easily on the site? 

With an event website, spreading the word about your event is as simple as sharing a link with past supporters and casting a wide digital net to attract new golfers and sponsors. Folks can find the information they need in a clean, sleek, and easy-to-find place, plus the call to action is clear so players and sponsors can commit right then and there. Golfers often tap into their personal and professional networks to field a team for charity tournaments, so you automatically raise awareness about your cause and expand your donor base. This is amplified even further by connecting with potential sponsors and businesses interested in getting their brand in front of the golfer demographic.

Sponsorship Management

Key questions: How do you reach out to new sponsors to share sponsorship opportunities? How are sponsors handled once they transition from prospects to committed supporters? How are logos and assets collected and shared? Do your sponsorship packages align with the types of sponsors you want to attract and retain?

Sponsors are looking for opportunities to align their brand with well-run events that support great causes and community efforts, so it’s important to consider the professionalism of your event and whether it shines supporters in a positive light. Higher end events quickly become an opportunity for sponsors to entertain clients, vendors, and other business associates—ensuring that you’re able to retain existing sponsorships while attracting new ones at increasingly higher levels. However, where professionalism is crucial, systems and processes must ensure timely service and organized communications so sponsors’ expectations are always met and exceeded. The most successful golf outings offer title sponsors and top-tier supporters exposure through digital avenues like live leaderboards and mobile apps, pin flags, and other premium opportunities specific to golf. Consider where and how you can incorporate these offerings to align your event with the best and what tools you have in place to sell and manage sponsorships.

Delegation & Coordination

Key questions: Is everyone able to access the information they need? Is that information up to date? Can registrations, sponsor information, event specifics (flights, hole assignments, handicaps, et cetera), and other key information be accessed in a central system? How easy is it to delegate tasks (especially the tedious ones)? How easy is it to check on a specific detail like a certain donor’s registration or a specific hole sponsorship?  

Between committee chairs, board members, staff, volunteers, vendors, sponsors, and golf facility staff, golf fundraisers require easy coordination. Organizers need to be able to automate tedious tasks and delegate them so every member of the team is able to contribute as effectively as possible. From calling on and engaging previous supporters and leveraging networks to spread the word to managing teams and sponsors and coordinating with the golf facility, it’s important to leverage tools that keep everyone organized. A platform that’s accessible to everyone that needs it and contains current and accurate event information makes handling the details so much simpler.

Coordination with the Golf Facility

Key questions: How do you facilitate the handoff of information to golf staff? Are club staff scrambling the day before and the day of the event? How free are they to assist players and provide the kind of high-end service experience that makes donors feel acknowledged and attended to? How would the outing improve if you could streamline this coordination and reduce it from days and weeks of work to under an hour? 

Depending on the systems and processes in place at the golf facility, coordinating a golf event with an event organizer can be a substantial amount of work for staff there. The head professional must coordinate with food and beverage, grounds staff, and event staff to get everything in order ahead of the event. They must also work with your organization (and any planning teams or volunteer committees) to prepare teams, hole assignments, tee sheets, cart signs, and other day-of documents. This can require hours or even days of work. What’s more, when course staff are stuck in a back office somewhere the morning of the event, they’re unable to provide great service and attention to detail that wows your players and sponsors. The bottom line is this: The easier it is to coordinate information and automate logistics between your staff and the golf facility’s staff, the smoother things go for everyone. A common technology platform ensures a seamless handoff.

Time Savings & better Outcomes

At the end of the day, it’s about measuring outcomes against inputs. There’s no doubting the positive impact a golf outing can provide, but if outcomes are negated by huge time and resource requirements, it’s probably time to consider better systems and processes. GolfStatus’s event management platform designed specifically for golf outings makes information available and accessible in one centrally-accessible location (with access permissions where you need them) so you can automate and streamline the tricky, time-consuming logistics so your team can focus on donor outreach, sponsorship sales, promotion, press, and more.

Want to learn more about streamlining your golf outing and how you can qualify for no-cost access to GolfStatus’s tech? Click the button below or email us directly at [email protected].

Originally published October 2019

The benefits of a golf fundraiser are many, including being ripe with opportunities to make additional donation asks of participants, spectators, and other supporters before, during, and after the event. While teams and sponsorships will bring in the majority of the fundraiser’s revenue, there are multiple ways to bring in additional dollars by leveraging the generosity of golfers. You certainly don’t want to interrupt the fun of the day, so your asks should be strategic, well-timed, and not intrude on the golfer’s round. The key is to be equipped with a mobile-friendly event website with a simple and easy way to make a donation to the event. 

Here are six things to consider when making a donation ask at your golf tournament.

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1. Connect Attendees to Your Cause

While some attendees may be loyal supporters of your organization, they often tap into their personal and professional networks to fill a team for the golf tournament, and these folks may not know much about your organization or what you do. Share an impact story at the tournament’s kickoff or post-event gathering, have a beneficiary on site to share their experiences, and/or set up banners or posters that describe the impact of what your organization does. Follow these up with an ask that helps attendees understand how their donation makes a difference.

Pro tip: Use your event website to tell your organization’s story with text and imagery. GolfStatus event websites include donation buttons right on the site’s home page (and on live leaderboards).

2. Use Email, In-App & Push Notifications

You need an easy way to get in touch with donors at the right moment during the fundraiser. The right event management technology will have built-in communication tools that let you quickly and easily communicate with event registrants without having to use multiple platforms. Determine when you will send messages and set a schedule for the day. At events powered by GolfStatus, a free live-scoring mobile app is used to track each team’s round. When golfers use their phone to enter their score, they’ll see the in-app and push notifications.

Pro tip: Be strategic about when you send messages. Don’t inundate golfers with emails or notifications or they’ll tune them out. Space them out and consider coupling them with important information and announcements.

3. Set a Day-of Fundraising Goal & Keep People Updated

A day-of fundraising goal can motivate donors to make an additional contribution to your cause. A well-timed update on the progress towards this goal reminds folks what they’re playing for. What’s more, when the overall event experience is top-notch, they’re even more likely to chip in to help you reach the day’s goal.

Pro tip: Make the goal something tangible that donors can connect with. For example, set a goal to raise an extra $2000 the day of the tournament, which will provide 10 underserved schools with new books or feed 200 shelter dogs for two months.

4. Have a Donation Station

Set up a donation station at one or more locations at the golf tournament. It’s a good idea to have one in a visible (but unobtrusive) location near the registration area. Have volunteers at the station ready to talk about your organization and its mission, and help folks make a donation via the event website if they need it. You could also have a station at the turn or somewhere on the golf course. A par three hole that’s likely to get backed up is a great option—you’ll have a captive audience! If your event has a post-golf gathering, set up an additional station in the event space (near the bar is a good idea!).

Pro tip: Include a QR code on any flyers, posters, or handouts that links directly to the event’s donation page so folks can quickly make a contribution without hassle.

5. Leverage Live Leaderboards

Anyone, anywhere can follow along with a tournament via GolfStatus live leaderboards. Share these links in the days leading up to the event via email and social media and challenge spectators to make a donation. Be creative and have fun with this! If folks are following a certain team, you could ask them to donate if there’s a birdie, eagle, or even a bogey on a specific hole or offer a prize drawing specifically for online donors.

Pro tip: Give social media shoutouts to those following along that make a donation, and be sure to follow up after the tournament with a thank you.

6. Ask Golfers to Donate Their Final Score

A common appeal at the end of each team’s round is to ask for a donation that equals their final score. So if they shot a 72, they would donate $72. Another option after the scores are finalized is to ask golfers to donate an amount equal to the winning team’s score—or even the last place team’s score.

Pro tip: If your event includes an awards ceremony, it’s a great time to make this particular ask. When you announce the winning team and score (or multiple teams and scores, if your event includes different flights or divisions), challenge attendees to get out their phones and donate the amount of the winning team’s score via the leaderboard.

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Raise More Money With Your Golf Event

It’s easy to collect donations when you have the right technology for your golf fundraiser. GolfStatus’s intuitive, full-service golf event management and fundraising platform streamlines the process. Its attractive event websites include online registration, the ability to collect donations, and secure payment processing. Qualifying 501(c) organizations and those holding golf tournaments that benefit one can get full access to GolfStatus’s tech—at no cost through the Golf for Good program. Click the button below to get qualified or email [email protected].

LINCOLN, Neb., Jan. 28, 2022 /The NonProfit Times/ -- Marriott Business Councils bring together hotel management and employees from across a region to network and work together to give back to the larger community. The Colorado Marriott Business Council has been active for over two decades, with a strong presence in the Denver area and beyond that engages Marriott hotel brands, its employees, and the community at-large.

Chad Conrad is the current chair of the Colorado Council and has been involved in its work for over two decades. “Marriott believes in taking care of its employees while also taking care of its community,” Chad says. At the national level, Marriott has been a banner sponsor of Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals for over 30 years. This support has trickled down to local and regional Marriott groups, including business councils.

For over 20 years, the Council has hosted an annual golf tournament to raise money for Children’s Hospital Colorado, the local CMN hospital. For Chad and Marriott employees from across the state, this support of Children’s Hospital Colorado has resulted in a meaningful tie to the community. He has been involved in the golf tournament since its inception and has seen it grow and flourish.

But as COVID-19 hit the tourism industry hard, hotels were short-staffed and the golf event was forced to be pared down. The Council lost several members due to layoffs and hotel closures, including those who helped Chad head up the golf tournament. “It fell 100% on my plate to make it happen,” Chad says. Though he didn’t necessarily want to learn a new platform or system, he knew in order to keep the event going, he needed to employ some type of technology to save time, automate processes, and make planning simple and efficient.

Turning to Technology

Chad turned to GolfStatus, the official management platform for golf events benefiting CMN Hospitals, to get the event back on its feet. “Since it’s been around for over 20 years, it was important to me to keep it alive,” Chad says. The switch to GolfStatus couldn’t have come at a better time—it gave Chad an easy-to-use, all-in-one solution to promote the event, register golfers, onboard and recognize sponsors, and collect funds.

GolfStatus’s partnership with CMN Hospitals helps event organizers—passionate supporters, hospitals or hospital foundations, corporate partners, businesses, or other volunteers—put on a golf tournament to benefit member hospitals. Because these events benefit a nonprofit, they qualify for GolfStatus’s Golf for Good program, which provides access to its full-featured golf event management and fundraising platform at no cost.

The GolfStatus team worked with Chad to build an event website where people could purchase team and sponsorship packages or make a donation with just a few clicks. When the tournament was organized by a larger planning team, one person handled all the money, processing paper registration forms and checks, sending receipts, and tracking payments. With a one-man show for this year’s event, Chad says the online registration and secure payment processing features were priceless. “I barely had to do anything with it,” he says, as the platform sends automated receipts upon registration and he could quickly and easily see who had registered in the software’s back end.

Chad used the platform’s built-in messaging feature to send emails directly to registrants, alerting them of updates and specifics about the event. He used it to share information about the day’s timeline, where folks should check in, and the included breakfast. Since all registration information is stored in the platform, there was no need for him to export email addresses into another service to send a simple email—it could all be handled within GolfStatus. “I don’t know that I can ever go back to how I used to do it!” Chad says.

The Impact of Golf Fundraising

Chad has seen the impact the golf tournament has had for over 20 years, not only for Children’s Hospital Colorado but for participating hotels. “So much business is done on the golf course,” he points out. “Whether you’re a good golfer or not, you can still make connections and do business while raising money and having fun.”

Chad has worked with a core group of vendors and partners to support the golf event over its tenure, but has continued to explore new sponsor support. “When we partner with a new hotel through the Council, it opens doors to a new set of sponsors,” Chad explains. The golf event’s website and accompanying free GolfStatus mobile app gives sponsors a ton of digital exposure for their investment, before, during, and after the tournament.

While the tournament attracted about half of its historical attendees, it still hit its benchmark goal of around $35,000 for the hospital, thanks in part to the time savings GolfStatus provided that allowed Chad to pursue new sponsorships. “We were thrilled about that,” he says. Chad says his number one focus is to bring the hotels together to raise awareness and funds for the hospital. “We could throw a dinner party or do something different but we wouldn’t have the success of a golf tournament,” he says. “A golf tournament has staying power.”

Golf for Good

GolfStatus’s Golf for Good giveback initiative helps nonprofits and those holding events benefiting them streamline their golf events to save time and raise more money. It starts with a free event website and no-cost access to GolfStatus’s platform for qualifying organizations and events. Get qualified here or email [email protected].

Source: The NonProfit Times