This is a blog by GolfStatus.
Golf tournaments are not only a fun way to engage supporters, but also an excellent opportunity to build relationships and raise significant funds for your mission. Whether your nonprofit already has a golf event or you’re considering adding one to your fundraising portfolio, completing these six tasks at the start of planning sets you up for a successful golf fundraiser.
1. Book the Golf Facility as Soon as Possible
Golf facilities tend to book well in advance, so locking in your host venue early is essential—especially if you’re eyeing a high-demand course or a facility with limited availability for charity events. Start by reaching out to your preferred venue as soon as possible to secure your desired date. This gives you and your planning team ample time to market your tournament, sell teams and sponsorships, and iron out tournament-day logistics.
2. Choose the Right Event Management Tech
Nonprofits rely on specialized technology to efficiently manage day-to-day operations, fundraising, donor relations, and programming. Choosing the right tech to plan, manage, and execute a golf event is no different. Golf tournaments have unique details—like player handicaps, flighting, hole assignments, and live scoring—that can’t typically be handled by standard CRM or ticketing platforms without time-consuming and clunky workarounds.
Look for an event management software designed specifically for golf events to save your team significant time and effort. The right platform will handle golf’s complex details while offering additional solutions, like custom sponsorship packages, online registration, and live scoring. Getting your tech in place sooner rather than later allows you to focus on engaging participants and sponsors rather than dealing with manual processes and troubleshooting adaptations.
3. Go Live With an Event Website
An event website is the cornerstone of your golf fundraiser’s marketing efforts. It serves as the central hub for all event-related information and makes the process of registering players, collecting donations, and onboarding sponsors easy. Ideally, you should send a save-the-date to your supporters as soon as your event site is up and running. This lets potential golfers and sponsors commit to your tournament as soon as they hear about it.
A great golf tournament website includes:
Attractive design. The site should have a sleek, professional design with opportunities to tell your nonprofit’s story through text and imagery.
Important information. Feature key tournament details, such as the event’s date, time, location, and format (scramble, shotgun start, etc.).
Online registration. It should include secure payment processing and a user-friendly interface.
Sponsor exposure and onboarding. The site should feature sponsor logos, share information about sponsorship opportunities, and offer an easy process to become a sponsor.
Live leaderboards. This allows participants and spectators to track the tournament’s standings throughout the round. Live leaderboards should also come with sponsor exposure.
The event website should be powered by your tournament management platform, so registration information is easily accessible in the software’s backend. It should also come with a responsive support team to answer questions and provide feedback.
4. Start Marketing Right Away
Golf fundraisers need strong participation to be successful, so it’s crucial to promote your event early and often. Begin marketing your tournament at least four to six months in advance to maximize awareness and secure commitments from players and sponsors.
Start by reaching out to past tournament participants and donors who have supported your organization or other events in the past. Include the link to your event website on all communications, including email campaigns, social media posts and campaigns, flyers (use a QR code to link directly to the site), and save-the-dates, making it easy for them to register or learn more about the tournament. It’s also important to target sponsors early. Many businesses plan their budgets at the end of the year, so getting on their radar sooner rather than later can increase your chances of securing financial or in-kind contributions.
5. Use Your Networks
Your organization’s networks are valuable resources for building support for your golf fundraiser. Mobilize your planning committee, board members, staff, volunteers, and loyal donors to tap into their personal and professional connections to:
Identify local or national businesses or individuals who may be interested in sponsoring the tournament
Invite friends, family, colleagues, or peers to register a team to play in the tournament
Secure in-kind donations for raffle prizes, auction items, pin prizes, giveaways, or other event-day needs like food and beverages
You might provide sample email or social media verbiage or talking points to these groups to help them feel comfortable reaching out to their networks on behalf of your golf tournament. Give yourself—and your teams—plenty of time to make these connections and follow up as needed.
6. Plan Add-Ons & Extras
As you begin planning, think about what will make your golf tournament stand out and memorable for everyone involved. From unique on-course games to exclusive prizes, special add-ons and extras can elevate your event and encourage folks to come back time and time again.
Here are a few ideas to consider incorporating into your tournament:
Contests. Hole-in-one contests are great options to build up excitement for the event and give players the chance to win a valuable prize. You might also consider putting, longest drive, and closest to the pin contests.
On-course games or challenges. These involve activities on one or more holes on the golf course that golfers pay to participate in. These games can have a variety of outcomes, like improving the team’s score, providing a better tee off location, removing an obstacle, or winning a prize.
Themed activities: Incorporate entertainment before, during, or after the round to enhance the event-day experience. These might include a long driver, live music, or appearances by local celebrities.
Fundraising boosters. Sell raffle tickets or mulligans, hold a live or silent auction, or sell merchandise to raise additional funds.
Add-ons not only enhance the participant experience but also offer additional branding opportunities for sponsors and more revenue for your nonprofit. Start planning out these extras well in advance so you have plenty of time to promote them, coordinate details, and secure sponsorships to offset costs.
Next Steps
Golf fundraisers are highly rewarding, but require careful planning to succeed. By addressing key details early in planning—like securing a venue, leveraging technology, and engaging your network—you’ll ensure your event runs smoothly and maximizes its fundraising potential.
Nonprofits can qualify to use GolfStatus’ golf event management platform at no upfront cost! Get a free event website, exclusive sponsorships and add-ons, built-in fundraising tools, and an in-house support team available seven days a week. Find out more and get started!