How to Organize a Charity Golf Tournament

Golf Tournament Fundraising Ideas

There are a lot of ways to raise funds for charity during golf tournaments. If you’re lost on where to start, here are some easy and effective fundraising ideas that will surely spice up your next annual golf tournament:

1. Player Registration Fees

Imposing a registration fee is one of the standard ways you can raise funds from charitable events. Besides, golfing events usually have registration fees to cover the “green fees” or the cost of playing a session on the golf course. You can offer online and offline registration for both guests and participants. There are a lot of online services that can help you automate your registration process for a small fee.

You can also offer discounted packages for foursome registrations. This will encourage golfers to invite their friends to join the tournament. The more players you have, the more people will attend the event.

2. Mulligan

Golf can be tricky, especially for newbies. An extra stroke, not counted on the scorecards, will surely increase their chances – and their confidence too! This is why many people would pay for mulligans in these types of events.

You can bundle it as part of a package or as a separate offering. Just make sure to include it in your emails and social media posts.

3. Sponsorships

Sponsorships are probably the oldest trick in the book of nonprofit fundraising ideas. Talk to the businesses in your community and offer opportunities for corporate sponsorship. Getting corporate sponsors for these types of events isn’t usually that hard. Most of the time, they’re also eager for their brands to be seen at events like this.

You can also offer sponsorships for every hole. With 18 holes, you can collect a fair amount – especially if the community knows it’s for charity.

4. Merchandise Sales

Big sporting events wouldn’t be complete without merchandise sales. It adds to the enthusiasm of the crowd and makes a great souvenir too.

There’s a wide variety of merchandise you can sell at a charity golf event. Aside from the usual button pins and hats, you can also offer golf-themed items such as:

• golf balls
• golf headcovers
• towels
• ball markers

5. Golf Marathons

Golf marathons or golf-a-thons are becoming increasingly popular in charity golf tournaments. It allows you to raise more funds by involving non-golf enthusiasts.

Instead of collecting registration fees from players, encourage them to do peer-to-peer fundraising. Let them solicit donations from their colleagues, friends, and family through email and social media. They can complete their registration once they’ve completed the minimum donation amount. You can also turn it into a contest to see who can raise the most amount of donations from their peers.

6. Donation Appeal

Aside from making donation appeals on your social media, you can also make an appeal on the golf course. Station a volunteer at every hole and have them ask each golfer to donate on the spot. They’ll be more willing to donate if you educate them about your cause and where the money will go.

7. Fundraising Raffle

If you have donations in kind, you can offer them as prizes for a fundraising raffle. You can sell the raffle tickets on your website or during the event.

8. Cash-bar Golf Cart

It’s inevitable for golfers to go thirsty or hungry on the golf course. You can cash in on this by turning a golf cart into a cash bar. Fill it up with drinks and small snacks that you think will interest them. You can also offer mobile payment options for hassle-free transactions.

9. Helicopter Drop

Another way to make your golf tournament more interesting is by selling colored, numbered golf balls before and after the event. Then during the tournament, a helicopter will fly around the golf course and drop the ball at designated targets. 

10. Rent a Caddie

Some golfers find it bothersome to bring their own bag and golf club. You can offer volunteers as caddies for rent either as part of the registration package or during the event.

11. Charity Dinner and Banquet

A charity dinner and banquet is the perfect way to cap off a successful golf tournament. For golfers, it’s a way to celebrate and socialize. For you, it’s an opportunity to raise money for charity.

Make sure to provide good food, drinks, and a great ambiance so the diners won’t hesitate to attend next year’s tournament. You can also do a charity auction while at it.

12. Matching Gift Request

Corporate gift matching is a type of charitable giving where employers match, double, or even triple their employee’s donations. It’s a great opportunity to double or triple your donations without having to acquire new donors. 

Though this type of fundraising is gaining popularity nowadays, it’s still an unfamiliar concept for many people. This is mostly because most employees aren’t really aware of their employer’s philanthropy programs.

So to successfully implement this fundraising idea, you need to help your donors inform their employers about your charity event. You can put the guidelines on your site or send out matching gift requests to their employers. You can also include this request in the donor’s thank you email so they can forward it to their employers.

13. Beat the Pro

This will only work if you can invite a pro-golfer to your event. And no, I’m not talking about Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson (though it would be infinitely better if you can invite them!). A local golf celebrity should work just fine.

The game goes like this: individual players will place a bet against the pro-golfer on who can get the ball closest to the pin. If they win, they’ll get double their bet amount. But if the pro-golfer wins, their bets will obviously be forfeited. You can just imagine how many amateur golfers will jump at the chance of beating a pro-golfer.

If possible, you can also ask the pro-golfer to provide one-on-one coaching with the winners. That will definitely drive your audience’s interest (and your ticket sales) up a notch.

14. Stream the Tournament Online

Not all people who want to watch the tournament or support your fundraiser will be available on the day of the event itself. Some might have a trip that they can’t cancel while others have work on that day. Whatever the case might be, the bottomline is they can’t attend your event. But if your stream the tournament online, they might still be able to donate to your cause.

There are multiple ways to raise funds for online events. You can sell tickets to the live stream or play your sponsor’s ads. You can also ask for donations during your live stream by directing your viewers to your site or to a secure donation link.

Promoting Your Charity Golf Tournament

There are a lot of ways to promote your charity golf tournament. But the important thing to remember here is not to stick with just one promotional strategy. When promoting your event, you need to cover all fonts to gain as much exposure as you can.

That said, here are some of the best ways to promote fundraisers like a charity golf tournament:

Humanize Your Fundraising Activity

Putting a face and a story to your fundraising is very essential when promoting the tournament. Pick a cause or a charitable organization beforehand. Feature their story and highlight how the money will help them. People are more generous when they understand where the donations will go. They might even promote your event themselves.

Promote Your Event Online and Offline

A winning email marketing strategy helps a lot. Don’t forget to make your event visible on relevant social media platforms. Your charity partner should also promote it on their website or social media pages. The people who already support them are more likely to support the golf tournament too.

Partner With Sponsors

If you have a major sponsor, make sure that their company logo is visible in all your promotional materials. They might be supporting your event for the sake of charity but, of course, they’ll also want to promote their brand. If they’re not satisfied, they might not be as willing to support your next fundraising activity.