Here is Corporate DJ Entertainer Bill Lovelace with NFL legend and future Hall of Famer, Tim Brown. At The annual AT&T Tim Brown / Jim Hill 911 Celebrity-Am Golf Tournament.
Golf Tournament Fundraiser
Call 562-595-5995 or 714-494-7475
Are you looking for a big money maker that will also give you big returns on public relations? If you are, then a Golf Tournament may be right for you, but be prepared to put in some hard work to make it happen.
Just how much can you raise you may ask? A golf tournament can bring home as little as $20,000 all the way to $100,000 or more if done right.
Do a little investigation first. Contact your local Chamber of Commerce and scan last years' newspapers to determine if there are too many Golf Tournaments already being played in your area. Over saturation of too many golf fundraisers will possibly lead to failure of your event.
Let's work through a few of the basics that you need to get started. It is highly suggested that you get knowledgeable golfers involved on your committee to put this event on. They may not know about fundraising, but they've been to enough of these tournaments to know what to build on.
The Course
This is a critical first step in setting up your golf tournament. You want to tag the most exclusive and highly rated course in your area. This will give you instant credibility with the golf community, sponsors, and guest pros that attend.
Do not get a local community course just because it fits within your schedule. If it is for "members only", you may want to find out who is on their board and determine if you have any contacts to call on these members to allow participation by your organization.
There are some courses that may cost over $15,000 per day to rent. Unless you're an expert at predicting the outcome of the money you'll raise I would do everything possible to avoid this method of securing a course. If all else fails and you still have to pay, get a corporate sponsor to pick up the tab.
The Committee
As mentioned previously, secure golfers
from your organization since they will
ensure that rules are followed and know
who might sponsor your event.
You should select a Chairman, Co-Chair,
and possibly one or more Honorary Chairs.
Plan on 8 to 10 people serving on the Tournament Committee. You will need the following sub-committees:
* Public Relations Committee -- this includes contacting the media with news on the event, contacting corporate and business PR office (ask them to alert the company executives and owners about attending your worthy cause). This group should arrange to take pictures of individuals or foursomes and obtain their names, addresses and phone numbers. This makes a terrific gesture to golfers.
Bonus Tip: Include some of these pictures in your next newsletter. Be sure to send to all attendees. That way you start to get them comfortable with knowing about your group. I think that you'll be surprised that some will give again throughout the year as long as you keep sending out your monthly newsletter.
* Prize Committee -- this should be a couple of individuals that will find "door prize" items and promotional items to give to each golfer. The goody bags can include golf balls, tees, or other promotional items. You may want to contact an advertisement promotional company to engrave corporate names on these items (of course you sell the rights to place sponsor names on these items -- since these are advertisements, they do not qualify for tax incentives).
* Judging Panel -- recruit several Marshals to help you keep order on your course.
* Welcome Committee -- includes registration of the incoming golfers as they arrive, handing out scorecards and incentives like T-shirts, customized shirts, caps and arranging for catering of meals, snacks and drinks as appropriate.
* Corporate Sponsorship -- includes contacting corporations and businesses for sponsorships. These are the big dollars. This could be one individual within your PR Committee.
* Printing Committee -- includes printing of tickets, cards, programs and signs that will be placed at the course.
Be sure to be have all of your Tees in a row before your actual tournament. This will make everyone think of you as a pro. See more information on starting your own Golf Tournament at Part II -- Playing The Tournament And After.
Volunteer Participation
One of the keys to success is volunteer committment and participation. It is advisable to recruit at least a handful of helpers for each of the committees above and have them on hand at the event.
Each of these volunteers must be kept constantly informed on the progress leading up to the event. Use a Golf Event Management Software to make your operations as smooth as possible.
Send out a weekly newsletter or send a weekly e-mail on the progress and to announce top achievers. This is crucial to keep the momentum going through the last moment before the tournament.
Ask that each one duplicate the efforts by the various committees to be personally responsible for recruiting golfers to participate.
Have a contest and give prizes to the volunteer that Recruits The Most Sponsors, Raises The Most In Sponsorship Monies, Puts In The Most Hours, Recruits The Most Golf Participants, The Most Prizes And Gifts Secured, and so on. Come up with your own categories. You may decide to give a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category.
This will make your event fun and memorable for a long time to come. Your volunteers will readily look forward to help at next years golf tournament to make it even better.
Call 562-595-5995 or 714-494-7475
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