Therapeutic Riding Program Builds On Its Golf Fundraiser’s Success
Organization Snapshot
Sarah Valentine’s vision for Riverside Ranch was simple—combine her love of horses with her innate desire to help people with special needs. She grew up riding horses, but after her grandfather passed away, she discovered therapeutic riding and felt called to create a nonprofit dedicated to using this medium to help people coping with challenging circumstances in their lives.
After intensely fundraising for over a year and a half, and a postponement due to COVID-19, Sarah opened the Ranch’s doors in July 2020. “We literally built this from the ground up, with dirt and a dream!” Sarah says. She’s grateful for the strong community support and dedicated volunteers who help empower clients dealing with autism, Down syndrome, vision impairment, cancer treatment, grief, and other conditions through therapeutic riding. Most of their riders aren’t able to participate in traditional recreational activities, so therapeutic riding not only lets them have fun, but helps with muscle strength, cognitive skills, and confidence. “At Riverside Ranch we empower different abilities and give them an opportunity to shine,” Sarah says. “When they ride, they build strength and belief in themselves and walk away feeling celebrated.”
Riverside Ranch empowers kids and adults coping with autism, Down syndrome, vision impairment, cancer treatment, grief, and other conditions through therapeutic riding.
The Challenge
Because Riverside Ranch opened during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarah knew her options for traditional fundraising events would be limited. The idea for a golf fundraiser came simply from observing the golfers that flocked to the golf course near where Sarah lives. “The golf course never closed,” she says, leading her to team up with the organization’s board president to explore launching a new charity golf tournament. Beyond raising mission-critical funds, Sarah says the idea for a golf tournament meant they could spread the word about what the Ranch does and who it serves.
Neither had planned a golf fundraiser before, and though both were concerned about COVID-related restrictions, they felt confident moving forward with a golf event. Unsure of where to start or how to make the process less cumbersome, they initially tried setting up registration through Riverside Ranch’s website. “That ended up making things way too complicated and not at all user-friendly,” Sarah says. They decided to seek out simpler, more efficient options.
The Solution
A Google search led them to GolfStatus as the solution to online registration and streamlining planning. “We saw GolfStatus and knew it was just what we needed,” Sarah says. In the golf tournament’s first year, the software helped give the tournament some structure and saved hours of time on administrative tasks. As a nonprofit organization, Riverside Ranch qualified for GolfStatus’s Golf for Good program, which allowed them to use the platform at no cost, which was a huge selling point for Sarah and her team.
“We saw GolfStatus and knew it was just what we needed.”
The Results
In the tournament’s first two years, Riverside Ranch raised over $40,000. These funds help support the Ranch as a whole and add a third horse to its stable, allowing them to serve even more riders. Over 40 teams and sponsors supported the tournament in its two year tenure.
Tournament format
Four Person Scramble
Dollars raised
$40,000
Additional fundraising
Mulligans, red tees, silent auction
Managing Registrations & Sponsorships
The event website was the home base for the golf fundraiser, and where all promotional materials sent golfers and sponsors. With just a few clicks, folks could purchase teams and sponsorship packages right on the spot. Sarah says creating custom sponsorship packages and being able to carry those over from year to year was super helpful, and the software made it easy to manage sponsor logos and assets. Sarah approached local businesses and contacts from families and friends as sponsors and sent them directly to the event website. “When people hear about our mission and what we’re doing at the Ranch, they want to be a part of it!” she says. The tournament involved 40 sponsors over two years
What’s more, online registration meant no dealing with multiple platforms, spreadsheets, checks, or receipts. “Online registration was so great,” Sarah says. “It’s the expectation for events anymore and made everything so easy.” She could log into the tournament management system’s back end and see who had registered, which sponsorships had been sold, and manage all the details in one easy-to-access place.
“Online registration was so great. It’s the expectation for events anymore and made everything so easy.”
An event website makes it easy to promote the tournament, share information about the event, and sell team and sponsor packages.
An Easier Year Two
The first year of the golf tournament came with building the event’s infrastructure, including processes, sponsorship and team packages, pricing, designs, and promotional materials. Because Sarah employed GolfStatus from the get go, she didn’t have to manage multiple spreadsheets, process a ton of checks and receipts, and spend hours and hours doing administrative busywork. Instead, she could focus on promoting the event to attract teams and sponsors and making the tournament experience top-notch.
In year two, Sarah says the entire process was easier from start to finish. She worked with the GolfStatus team to simply copy the 2021 event for 2022, so there was no need to start from scratch. A few quick updates to the event date, course information, team and sponsorship packages, and the event website was up and running and ready to accept registrations.
GolfStatus and Dormie Network
After Sarah signed on to use GolfStatus for the tournament’s first year, she discovered the connection between GolfStatus and its sister company, Dormie Network, where her husband, Matt, and several of his friends are members. Dormie Network is a network of private destination golf clubs across the U.S. The Dormie Network Foundation donated a Stay and Play Package for the golf tournament’s auction, which helped raise several thousand dollars both years.
Connecting to the Cause
Though Riverside Ranch already had deep, meaningful connections with the community, the golf fundraiser was another opportunity to share its mission, attract new volunteers, and steward new donors and supporters. “I’m truly in awe of the positive impact therapeutic riding makes on the amazing individuals we serve. We want to share that excitement with our supporters,” Sarah says.
To help make this connection, a father of one of the riders, Addy, spoke at the tournament’s luncheon and shared what the Ranch meant to his family. He described how riding has helped Addy gain confidence and the joy she experiences while on her favorite horse, JaRule.
The Riverside Ranch Charity Golf Tournament was listed on GolfStatus’s master event listing, where avid golfers go to find and play in tournaments in their area. Sarah was pleasantly surprised at several teams finding the fundraiser in this way. “That meant some brand new people learned about and supported Riverside Ranch!” Sarah says.
Tournament volunteers were able to chat with golfers and sponsors about Riverside Ranch’s mission.
Get Started With Golf for Good
Through the Golf for Good program, GolfStatus serves nonprofits and provides access to its entire golf event management and fundraising platform at no cost. Qualifying nonprofits get an event website, with online registration and secure payment processing, plus golf-specific tools, robust reporting, and the ability to collect donations to save organizers a ton of time and raise even more money for organizations’ missions. Want to learn more and get qualified? Click the button below or email events@golfstatus.org.