GolfStatus caught up with Rita Tateel, President at The Celebrity Source, a full-service celebrity sourcing agency and new GolfStatus partner, to talk about the value that having a celebrity at a golf fundraiser brings to the event and cause.

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Q: First off, what exactly do you mean when you say “celebrity”?

A: Really, who is deemed a “celebrity” is defined by the audience. It’s not necessarily an actor or sports figure; it’s anyone in the public eye within their field or discipline. So it’s a very broad definition—anyone from a famous scientist, writer, or astronaut to a reality television star, football player, YouTube star, performer, or movie actor.

Q: What does having a celebrity at a golf fundraiser bring to the event?

A: Everyone, whether they admit it or not, gets excited about meeting someone famous. There’s an excitement that a celebrity brings to an event that simply can’t be duplicated. Celebrities raise visibility, not only for the event itself, but for the cause it’s connected to. There’s also the credibility factor—people see that if a celebrity is participating, they assume the tournament must be worthwhile. You’re likely to see more press interested in covering the tournament (and you should definitely alert the media about the event) because a celebrity is attending, which means even more exposure for sponsors, the benefiting organization, and/or cause. What’s more, a celebrity presence opens the door to new, lucrative sponsorships as well as attracting more teams with the option of charging a higher registration package price.

Q: What should an event organizer consider when determining whether or not to pursue having a celebrity participate in their golf fundraiser?

A: There are a number of questions organizers should ask themselves before going down this road. First and foremost, what do I hope to accomplish by having the celebrity there—media coverage? Credibility? Increased awareness? Higher income potential? Next, can I cover the standard expenses (or do I have a sponsor I know will cover the costs)? Third, what do I want a celebrity to do at my golf event and what are the highest priorities? Determining the “why” will help organizers decide if it’s something worthwhile to pursue.

Budget is perhaps the main consideration. If an event is hoping to secure a celebrity, expenses need to be covered, even if the celebrity isn’t being paid to attend. At a minimum, they’ll need to cover two first-class airfares, ground transportation to and from the airport to the event, first-class hotel accommodations, and a per diem to cover meals. Oftentimes these costs can be covered by a sponsor.

Q: How can organizers make the most out of having a celebrity attend their golf fundraiser?

A: Really think broadly about all of the ways a celebrity might be involved. It could be anything from a meet and greet on a specific hole of the golf course, emceeing or performing at the after party, or golfing with a specific sponsor’s foursome. It’s also key to have someone in charge of PR to get the most exposure possible for the celebrity’s participation and, in turn, for the nonprofit or charity. Organizers can solicit a volunteer or volunteers, pay a PR firm (or request pro bono services as part of a sponsorship or donation), or even reach out to PR students at a nearby college or university. And when marketing the event, include the celebrity’s participation everywhere possible—on the event website, promotional emails, social media posts, flyers, postcards, and the organization’s website.

Q: How do you help nonprofits find the right celebrity for a fundraising event like a golf tournament?

A: The Celebrity Source looks at a variety of factors that will get a celebrity to say “yes” to an event. For example, a personal association with a particular cause or the location of the event (e.g. near their hometown or favorite city), what perks/gifts are being offered for the celebrity’s participation, how passionate the celebrity is about golf, and any obvious connections to the event. Being a golfer is often a key factor, but keep in mind that there are different roles the celeb can play at the event, so they don’t have to play golf to still be a good match. The audience’s demographic also needs to be taken into account—both who it is trying to attract to play in the event as well as sponsor it. Our process takes all these factors into account to find the best match.

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Technology For Your Golf Fundraiser

GolfStatus’s industry-leading golf event management and fundraising technology streamlines planning to save time and raise more money. Through GolfStatus.org and the company’s Golf for Good giveback initiative, qualifying 501(c) organizations and those holding events that benefit them can qualify for no cost access to the platform. Get started here or email events@golfstatus.org.

The Celebrity Source

The Celebrity Source has been in business over 30 years and has access to thousands of celebs from film, TV, music, sports, fashion, digital stars and influencers. Among the company’s specialties is cause-related celebrity outreach and coordination whereby the celebrities may not be paid—The Celebrity Source knows what it takes to get a celebrity to say yes apart from money. The Celebrity Source has helped hundreds of corporate and non-profit clients find authentic celebrity matches for events (live and virtual), PR/marketing/advertising campaigns, corporate meetings and cause-marketing strategies. Learn more about Celebrity Source by visiting thecelebritysource.com, emailing info@thecelebritysource.com, or calling 917-626-8368.

The past nearly two years have tested nonprofits’ ability to rapidly pivot everything from programs and priorities to events and fundraising. The sector is still recovering in many ways as organizations look ahead to 2022 fundraising events. As the world slowly returns to varying levels of normalcy, organizations are beginning to reignite strategic fundraising events and longer-term donor stewardship—both of which golf can help accomplish. Here are nine predictions for golf fundraisers in 2022.

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1. Golf’s popularity will level off but remain steady.

Golf grew exponentially during 2020 and into 2021, but the National Golf Foundation reports that the sport’s growth has cooled slightly in the second and third quarters of 2021. That being said, golf is still more popular now than it was pre-pandemic, and after a winter of being indoors, folks will be eager to golf and play in tournaments that support worthwhile causes. Keep in mind that golf fundraisers traditionally use the scramble format, which means golfers don’t need to be highly skilled to participate in a charity tournament, which gives your event an even larger pool of participants. 

2. Expect to see second- and third-year events gain momentum.

Nonprofits of all types and sizes saw the value of the golf fundraiser during 2020 and 2021, as golf events provided a safe, in-person fundraising option amid hit-or-miss online and virtual events. Many first-time golf events were launched out of necessity during this time, which in turn have become annual events. This means more golf tournaments on the calendar, so planning ahead is crucial. Get save-the-dates out as early as possible so your event is on players’ radars sooner rather than later and your tournament is included in sponsors’ budgets. It’s also a good idea to get an event website for your golf outing launched so you can list available team and sponsor packages so supporters can commit to your event as soon as they hear about it.

3. Tournaments will be business as usual.

Golf tournaments were able to be held during the height of the pandemic, thanks to technology and creative modifications and adaptations that either eliminated or significantly reduced touchpoints and large groups of people gathering in one place at one time. In 2021, many tournaments were able to safely resume some or most of their usual activities—tee time starts, on-course games and contests, pre- and post-golf gatherings, and awards ceremonies. This is likely to continue across the board in 2022, with golf tournaments returning to pre-pandemic protocols. That being said, the technology that helped nonprofits proceed with golf fundraisers proved to be helpful beyond COVID-19, providing time and resource savings, additional sponsor exposure and options, and an elevated tournament experience.

4. Golf events will continue to provide Fundraising options and flexibility.

Though normalcy is inching closer, if COVID-19 taught us anything it’s that staying nimble is key. Local situations and circumstances can change rapidly, which means organizations may need to once again adapt events on the fly. Golf fundraisers are unique in that any modifications made, whether it’s switching to tee time starts instead of a shotgun start, eliminating banquets or cocktail hours, or even going virtual, don’t affect the heart of the event—the golf and the fundraising it drives. It will continue to be important for organizers to have the right technology in place to make the adaptations, as well as communicating them to golfers and sponsors, easy and seamless. 

5. More organizations will rally third parties to hold events that benefit them.

Corporate partners, businesses, passionate supporters, volunteers, avid golfers or other third parties often plan golf events that benefit a nonprofit or cause. Organizations benefit from the passive fundraising and, if done correctly, collect the information of the golfers and sponsors participating in these golf tournaments for further donor stewardship. It’s important for organizations to make it as easy as possible for third parties to hold these events, so using a common technology platform that simplifies planning and seamlessly and uniformly collects donor data is crucial.

6. Live scoring will become the norm.

Scoring via mobile app eliminated the touchpoint of paper scorecards at golf fundraisers, but came with a plethora of other benefits that make organizations unlikely to want to go back. Mobile scoring is linked to live leaderboards, which allow tournament participants to score their round in real-time, letting golfers, spectators, and other supporters see current standings at any time. Live leaderboards make the event more competitive and allow for virtual rounds and even completely virtual events that are connected by a common leaderboard. What’s more, they open the door for additional sponsor exposure which can be sold at a premium and a place to collect online donations from event participants as well as those following along.

7. Sponsors will be eager to support golf fundraisers.

The adoption of technology to plan and manage golf fundraisers has led to additional sponsorship offerings and, in turn, more dollars raised for organizations. Digital exposure is mutually beneficial for the organizer and the sponsor. For organizers, they’re easy to manage (you simply upload a logo to an event website, mobile app, or event leaderboards), can be sold at a premium, and often have little to no overhead costs compared to signage or branded merchandise. For the sponsor, this digital exposure provides high visibility among your tournament’s golfers, getting their brand in front of an affluent audience of potential clients and customers. Indeed, over the last nearly two years, sponsoring businesses have also shown a propensity to support the technology that helps nonprofits run more effectively and efficiently, making digital sponsorships a key opportunity for organizations evolving to leverage technology.

8. Responsibly collecting event & donor data will continue to be crucial. 

Data has been a buzz word in the nonprofit sector for years, but some events and programming still seem to escape data capture and tracking mechanisms. The golf tournament has historically been one of those events, but there’s no reason it should be. Statistically, the golfer demographic is affluent and influential, so golfers tap into their personal and professional networks to field a team, particularly with a scramble format that can involve all golf skill levels. Even more importantly, golf events can open the door to corporate sponsors and long-term partners. But unless you know who’s playing in and supporting your golf tournament at what level and during what year or years, this information can’t be leveraged by your organization. The easy fix here is to make the switch to an event website with online registration and built-in payment processing, which makes it easy to capture this critical information and seamlessly export it for inclusion in your organization’s donor CRM. For third party events, this becomes even more important and is a huge missed opportunity if this information isn’t being collected.

9. Time & resource savings will be vitally important. 

Much of the nonprofit sector is still recovering from reduced revenue, fewer fundraising opportunities, budget cuts, and a labor shortage caused by the pandemic. Remaining staff have more on their plates than ever and are looking for ways to save time and reduce costs on things like fundraising events. Event organizers need to be able to seamlessly collaborate with volunteers and planning committees using tools that provide efficiency and are easy to use. What’s more, with budgets stretched thin, organizations have to get creative to adopt technology to save time without adding more line-item expenses. 

Holding a Golf Event in 2022?

GolfStatus’s all-in-one golf event management and fundraising platform streamlines the details of a golf fundraiser, letting organizers focus less on the minutiae of the tournament and more on connecting with donors and sponsors. Through the company’s Golf for Good initiative, nonprofits and those holding events that benefit them can qualify for no-cost access to the platform to save time and raise more money. Get started here or email events@golfstatus.org. 

Nonprofit event organizers are used to finding ways to squeeze every cent out of limited budgets. When it comes to your golf fundraiser, whether you’re planning an event for the first time or looking to level up an event that’s been going on for years, there are a number of tools available at no cost that help make planning, prep, and promotion easier and more impactful. Best of all, these tools won’t affect your budget or event’s bottom line.

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1. Golf Event registration website

An event registration website is one of the simplest—and most impactful—tools you can have for your golf tournament. A event website makes it easy to promote your event and collect player and sponsor information, saving you a ton of time and effort. You can use it to share more information about your organization’s mission, what the golf tournament is raising money for, and keeps golfers and spectators involved before, during, and after your event. (Through the Golf for Good program, qualifying nonprofits can get a free website for their golf fundraiser built by the GolfStatus team.)

golfstatus.org

2. Social Media

If your organization isn’t already on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to engage with constituents, recognize donors and sponsors, and raise awareness for your mission. Promote your golf fundraiser (with a link to your event website where folks can purchase teams or sponsor packages) in the months and weeks leading up to your event and invite your constituents to share with their personal networks. It’s a good practice to give sponsors shoutouts on social media, providing additional exposure and a bigger return on their investment. You can also share pictures, impact stories, results, and donation appeals from your golf event.

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

3. Canva

Canva is an online design and publishing tool. The free version has a number of built-in templates and features that make it easy for anyone—even if you don’t have any graphic design experience—to create attractive imagery for your golf tournament. Use it to design a tournament graphic, resize logos, or create promotional images to share on social media. Canva also has learning opportunities and resources on design, marketing, and branding.

canva.com

4. GIF Maker

This no frills, simple tool lets you create animated gifs, slideshows, and video animations for your event’s website, social media, or organizational website with just a few clicks. Upload images, set the size and animation speed, determine if the slideshow should loop, and even add music.

gifmaker.me

5. QR Code Maker

A QR (quick response) code makes it easy for people to use their phone’s camera function (or other QR code reader) to quickly get to your event website. Simply include the code on all printed tournament materials likeflyers, personal invitations, save the date postcards, and sponsorship requests for easy access to purchase team and sponsorship packages and make a donation to your organization. Customize the appearance of your QR code with frames, color, and even your organization or event logo.

qr-code-generator.com

6. Any Video Converter

This free tool helps you use video effectively on your event website, organization website, and social media. Need to download a video you own from YouTube? Check. Reduce the size of a video file? Check. Convert a video to a different format? Check.

Any-video-converter.com

7. Golf Event Management Software

Most event management technology isn’t built to handle the nitty gritty details of a golf fundraiser. Organizers need one specifically designed for golf events, with features that help spread the word, collect registrations and payment, recognize sponsors and offer premium sponsor exposure, coordinate with the golf facility, communicate with golfers, avoid hours of duplicative data entry, and keep everything organized in one space. GolfStatus provides all this and more, plus, qualifying 501(c) organizations and those holding events that benefit them can get access to GolfStatus’s golf event management platform at no cost through the Golf for Good program.

golfstatus.org

Get Started With Golf for Good

Through Golf for Good and GolfStatus.org, the social impact division of golf technology company GolfStatus, nonprofits and organizations doing social good can qualify for no-cost access to GolfStatus’s full-featured golf event management software. Get a free event website built by the GolfStatus team plus features that save time, keep you organized, and help you handle all the golf-specific details. 

If your organization isn’t using an event website for your golf fundraiser, you’re missing out on an opportunity to save time, increase your event’s professionalism, and attract more players and sponsors. Here are six advantages of an event website, how to get the most out of one, and where nonprofits can get a website for their golf fundraiser at no cost.

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1. Event Promotion is Quick, Easy & Effective.

With an event website, you simply include the link on all communications and marketing surrounding the event, including emails, social media posts, and even printed pieces. This links players and sponsors directly to an attractive, professional website where they can find more information about your event and purchase teams and sponsorship packages. The right website provider will be mobile-friendly, so it looks great and functions well on any device. You’ll also want something built for golf—that is, able to collect golf-specific info like team members, player handicaps, and other key details.

Pro Tip: Ask each of your organization’s board members, planning team members, and staff members to email or text a link to the event website to five people who might be interested in either playing or sponsoring your golf event.

2. Your Event & Organization Are Cast in a Professional Light.

A clean, professional event website for your golf tournament keeps information organized and lets you tell the story behind the event, your organization, and the cause it benefits. It’s a good idea to link your event website to your organization’s existing website, so visitors can find out more about the tournament and register to participate with a few clicks. Sponsors also appreciate the added professionalism of an attractive event website, which provides solid exposure.

Pro Tip: Make sure the website provider offers customization features so you can use pictures, videos, and text to tell the story of the event in a compelling way.

3. Online Registration Makes it easier to commit.

People are accustomed to online transactions, including donations and event registrations. The simple convenience of letting golfers and sponsors commit to your event the moment they hear about it, whether through word of mouth, online promo, or an email blast, means they’re substantially more likely to do so. Collecting registrations through your event website streamlines everything—there’s no need to take registrations over the phone; process and track down mailed-in forms, checks, and receipts; enter and re-enter data or manage information across multiple spreadsheets or lists; or hunt down payments the day of the tournament. Instead, registrant information (i.e. donor and sponsor data) is collected in an online platform in real-time. Your organization collects valuable donor data and ensures sustainers and potential supporters are added to your donor database and properly stewarded.

Pro Tip: Be sure the website provider/event platform you use includes built-in, secure payment processing and robust reporting.

4. Sponsors Get Premium Exposure.

An event website provides an easy way to display and sell sponsorship packages customized to the event and your organization’s needs. Sponsors benefit from broad exposure before, during, and after the event to an audience of potential clients and customers as folks visit the website to register, check hole assignments, and get other additional event details. When it comes to the golf tournament specifically, the event management platform you use should automatically display sponsorship logos, and provide options for sponsors to get recognition on leaderboards.

Pro Tip: Make a final push for sponsors and players a few weeks ahead of the tournament by giving current sponsors a shout out through social media posts and a simple email blast to your database. This provides sponsors added recognition, shows your appreciation, and garners additional support from others.

5. Track Everything in One Place & save time.

With online registration, you don’t have to manually process every registration, eliminating the time-consuming practice of processing cash and checks, and providing receipts. You simply direct players and sponsors to your golf event website, where they can purchase teams, packages, and add-ons like mulligans and raffle tickets (or simply make a donation to the event) quickly and easily. While it’s a huge time savings and certainly a best practice to have golfers and sponsors register themselves on your website, you can still accommodate folks who prefer to contact you directly to register by simply entering their info. Online registration ensures that player and team information is complete and organized, and event organizers, volunteers, and even staff at the golf facility can access and update details as needed. Coordinating with the golf course in the days leading up to the day of the event on last minute logistics—team pairings, hole assignments, tee sheets, and cart signs—becomes super simple when everyone has access to up-to-the-minute information.

Pro Tip: Make sure the website platform you choose is part of a robust event management system that makes handling the details easy and efficient.

6. It’s Easy to update & Communicate info.

It’s easy to make updates to your event website, so you don’t have to necessarily have every single detail of your event hammered out before you launch your site. It can be as simple as listing the date and time, with a note that more details will follow. This lets you get on the radars of donors and sponsors as early as possible. And if you need to make any last minute details or adaptations, you can communicate them very easily. When you use a platform designed specifically for golf, you’re also able to integrate live scoring and make adaptations like virtual formats and remote participation if you need to.

Pro Tip: Add a virtual round to your existing event to involve and engage more supporters and sponsors and raise more money for your mission.

Get a Free Event Website

Qualifying 501(c) organizations, or events that benefit one, can get qualified for a free event website and no-cost access to GolfStatus’s full-featured golf event management technology as part of our Golf for Good give-back initiative. Our in-house customer success team can get your website up and running with a few simple questions (or show you how to do it on your own) and is here to help with anything you need. Get qualified here or email event@golfstatus.org.

Spring may have just sprung, but it’s already time to start looking ahead to fall. While restrictions on gatherings are beginning to loosen, social distancing is likely to linger. This puts nonprofit event organizers looking to plan fall fundraising events in a bit of a conundrum when it comes to gathering safely to hold a lucrative fundraiser. The answer? A golf tournament.

In general, fall is a great time for golf. Favorable weather, appealing course conditions, and lower facility costs make it an attractive time of year for a golf tournament fundraiser. Throughout the pandemic, golf has provided a reprieve for folks looking to get outdoors and safely participate in an activity they enjoy. And given the lingering uncertainty of the months ahead, the golf outing—with its outdoor setting and built-in social distancing—provides easy adaptability and flexibility. Here’s why a golf tournament is the best option for a fundraising event this fall (and how to get started at no cost).

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the Flexibility to Change Course

Golf fundraisers proved their flexibility and adaptability over and over throughout the challenges of 2020. A few simple modifications, along with technology, made it possible to hold contact-free in-person gatherings and even virtual and hybrid tournaments. As we move closer to fall of 2021, event organizers continue to need options that let them swiftly and easily change course last minute if needed.

One type of golf tournament in particular has seen a great deal of success among nonprofits—a hybrid event. With a hybrid outing, a traditional in-person tournament is held with social distancing and contact-free protocols built in to keep everyone safe with a virtual round that runs in tandem. The virtual option can be held over an extended period (the whole month of the in-person tournament, for example). This approach is advantageous for several reasons. First, it gives folks who may not feel comfortable gathering in a group, albeit safely, the opportunity to participate and golf a round in support of a nonprofit or cause. Second, technology makes it easy, low or no-cost, and risk-free. Since people play on their own time, you don’t incur the expense of renting a facility for the entire day. Live scoring technology is crucial; you’ll need a reliable platform that can aggregate scores from an extended outing at one or more golf courses.

Third, it’s a built in backup plan. If things go sideways when the date arrives for your fall fundraiser and the in-person tournament has to be canceled, the virtual round can go on without missing a beat. Finally, a hybrid event lets you grow your fundraiser. If yours is a tournament that typically sells out or if teams are tied to sponsors, adding the virtual round lets more supporters, staff, and board members support your mission through golf.

Great Weather & Course Conditions

A fall golf tournament is a nice alternative to the summer months. Fall typically brings favorable weather conditions—the heat of the summer has passed, which means cooler temps that are perfect for golf. Add in excellent playing conditions—in some cases the best of the entire year—and golfers get a great day on the course at your tournament. You’ll want to keep the shorter days fall brings in mind when it comes to setting the tournament’s schedule and format to maximize playable hours, but this can easily be addressed with a shotgun start, a shorter nine-hole event, or nontraditional format. Golf-specific event management technology will be able to accommodate these factors, making them a non-issue for holding a fall event.

Book a Great Golf Facility

You’ll want to try to hit the sweet spot of the “shoulder season,” that is, the time period between peak and off-peak times of year for the golf industry. This time period varies from region to region, but in general, courses are less crowded in the fall than they are during the height of the summer months. You typically won’t have to pay the high costs that come with events during prime golf season, and because courses aren’t as busy (including high-end courses), they’re more likely to give you a good deal to host your tournament as they try to bridge the gap between summer and winter. Golfers jump at the chance to play at a top-tier golf course, which helps attract new donors for your organization.

What’s more, fall presents the opportunity to approach sponsors who may have funds left in their sponsorship and donation budgets for the year. You’ll want to highlight the broad exposure and brand lift they’ll gain by sponsoring such an event. The right golf event management technology has premium digital sponsorship exposure built in—from the event website to live leaderboards and mobile scoring, they’ll glean impressions throughout the tournament. If you opt for a hybrid event, sponsors will get the benefit of this digital exposure in addition to any on-course signage and traditional exposure from the in-person side of the overall event.

Add a Second Golf Event

Adding a fall golf tournament to your organization’s event lineup is a good chance to bookend the fundraising year. It doesn’t have to be on the same scale as a spring or summer tournament, but opens the door to more supporters getting involved to champion your cause.

It’s easy to add a second event when you use the right technology that lets you simply copy a previous event so it’s basically set up and ready to go. A second event is also the chance to try out a hybrid format and add a virtual option. You’ll be able to see how your constituency and sponsors respond to the concept and if they’re willing to jump on board for this type of unconventional tournament for your main spring or summer golf fundraiser.

Start Planning

If you haven’t already, now is the time to start planning your fall golf event. GolfStatus’s golf event management technology makes the process simple and straightforward, with tons of time-saving and fundraising features.

Nonprofit organizations (or those holding a fundraiser that benefits one) can qualify for no-cost access to GolfStatus’s software through the Golf for Good program. Click the button below to get qualified or email us directly at events@golfstatus.org.

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Uncertainty has many nonprofits wondering what to do with in-person fundraisers in the upcoming event season. Golf events have proven to be especially important amid COVID-19, giving organizations the flexibility to quickly adapt to local circumstances and comfort levels to hold a successful fundraiser. Socially distanced in-person events as well as virtual and hybrid tournaments provide event organizers with options and the flexibility they need to move forward one way or another. Here’s how they work and what you need to know to start planning.

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WHAT’S A VIRTUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT?

A virtual golf tournament isn’t a video game, Zoom call, or online experience—it’s real golf that’s played remotely and leverages technology to collect registrations, scores, and digital sponsorships. Rather than gathering at the same golf facility at a specific date and time, golfers or teams play when it’s convenient for them and essentially donate their round to a good cause.

Virtual golf events have several innate advantages, safety and social distancing being key in the age of COVID-19. But the appeal of virtual events goes well beyond the pandemic. They present substantial fundraising opportunities, they attract more supporters, there are little to no overhead costs, and there’s essentially no limit to the number of people who can golf in support of your organization’s mission. With the right technology, virtual golf tournaments are easy, lucrative, and fun.

how a virtual event works:

1. One or more courses are chosen for the event and a duration is set (typically a weekend, week, or month).

2. Players and teams register online. Their registration is essentially a donation directly to your cause, and you collect their information to add to your donor database. 

3. Sponsors purchase packages online and get broad digital exposure, all through the event website.

4. Golfers book their tee time directly with the course and play when convenient.

5. Players and teams check in to the tournament via a mobile app and submit their scores using the app’s scorecard. Aggregate leaderboards appear on the event website, which can be shared through your organization’s digital channels to keep supporters engaged throughout the event.

6. Winners are announced. Use this opportunity to thank players and sponsors and perhaps even make an additional ask.

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WHAT’S A HYBRID GOLF tournament?

A hybrid event gives you the best of both worlds. It’s as simple as running a virtual round alongside your in-person event, perhaps the week or weeks before or after the tournament or over the whole month. The hybrid option gives golfers who would rather support your organization by playing a round on their own, have a scheduling conflict, or missed registering for the on-site event before it sold out the chance to participate. 

The hybrid approach also gives your organization a built-in backup plan. Best case scenario—both events move forward and you attract even more players and sponsors than a traditional one-day outing. But if the in-person event needs to be canceled or modified, the virtual round can proceed without interruption. Further, adding a virtual round to a traditional event gives you another way to grow your golf fundraiser. If your event typically sells out, adding a virtual round lets more supporters play for your cause without having to add a second day to the traditional fundraiser and incur additional costs.

Here’s how a hybrid event works:

1. One or more courses (including the course being used for the traditional event) are chosen for the event and a duration is set (typically the weekend or week before or after the event, or the whole month in which it occurs).

2. Players and teams register online. When the field for the traditional event sells out, players and sponsors can still support the event via the virtual round. Those interested in only the virtual round also register online.

3. Sponsors purchase packages in support of the traditional event, virtual round, or both with broad exposure. 

4. Virtual round golfers book their tee time directly with the golf course and play when convenient. 

5. Those participating in the traditional event play their round on the specified date with social distancing protocols in place. Folks registered for the virtual round play on their own time and submit their score via mobile app to the aggregate leaderboard.

6. Winners are announced for both the traditional event and virtual round, keeping the overall event fair and competitive.

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WHY SHOULD MY ORGANIZATION CONSIDER A VIRTUAL OR HYBRID EVENT?

If 2020 taught event organizers anything, it’s that they need to be able to seamlessly pivot events and that backup plans are more valuable than ever. The beauty of a virtual round, whether it’s the primary focus of the tournament or held in tandem with an in-person outing, is that it gives you options, flexibility, and the ability to quickly change formats if it becomes necessary. 

A virtual event is also low risk, with the potential for high reward. Golf is more popular than ever, and a virtual round allows you to engage more supporters over an extended period of time. The ability to offer broad digital exposure makes sponsorships attractive to a wide variety of companies who want to get their brands in front of an affluent demographic of golfers. What’s more, the costs of a virtual round are minimal because there is often no need to rent the entire golf facility and incur green fees.

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

Technology is crucial to a successful virtual or hybrid event. It all starts with a professional event website, where you can collect registrations, list and sell digital sponsorships, and easily communicate information and updates to supporters. You’ll also need live scoring functionality, online leaderboards, and the ability for supporters to make donations before, during, and after the event. 

With golf event management technology available to qualifying nonprofits through GolfStatus.org’s Golf for Good program at no cost, it’s simple and low-cost to add a virtual option or go completely virtual. Get qualified for Golf for Good by clicking below or email us at events@golfstatus.org to get started.

Corporate support is key to moving the needle for nonprofits of all sizes. From development staff seeking national program sponsors to local organizations looking for an in at businesses in their communities, these relationships are vital to increasing exposure—and funding—for nonprofits’ missions. The introduction to these relationships is often the hardest part, but the golf event presents an especially attractive entry point to corporate entities. Indeed, the golf fundraiser often opens the door to high-level donor relationships that can be stewarded to secure support for programs and future events and developed into strategic long-term partnerships. It’s a snowball effect quite unlike any other.

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Why the Golf Event is Attractive 

There are many factors that make golf tournaments especially popular among sponsors. Golf offers people the chance to be outdoors and participate in an activity they genuinely enjoy while supporting a worthy cause, making the golf outing a fun community event with a ton of brand lift for corporate sponsors. Charity golf tournaments, particularly longstanding events that benefit a well-known organization, also tend to attract press coverage, giving sponsors even more mileage for their investment in your golf event, and subsequently, your cause.

It’s also no secret that business gets done on the golf course. Business professionals are keenly aware of how much can be accomplished in the four hours they have with potential partners and clients on the golf course. These opportunities are priceless from a networking standpoint, so be mindful when assigning teams to holes for the event. You might, for example, pair a board member from your organization with an executive from a business that is a potential corporate sponsor to help advance the relationship.

Soliciting Event Sponsors

Businesses are looking for a win-win when it comes to sponsoring events. They want to get in front of potential clients and customers with premium brand exposure. What makes golf events unique is their demographic: golfers are generally affluent and influential members of the community. Target businesses in industries like food and beverage, healthcare, sports and fitness, business and financial services, home services, luxury brands and services, and travel. Start with existing relationships and lean on your volunteers and board members. Local businesses are great, but don’t be afraid to reach out to regional and national companies, particularly those that may be headquartered or have offices in your area.

While brand exposure is certainly important, it’s not always the driving factor in why a sponsor chooses to invest in your event. In many cases, they simply want to support a community event and a great cause. Keep this in mind when seeking sponsors. Look for organizations with a track record of community involvement or give-back initiatives. Use your network and contacts for a first contact if possible, but if you’re making a cold ask, look for individuals in public relations, communication, human resources, community engagement, or marketing positions at larger businesses.

Collect Donor & Sponsor Data

There is a great deal of power in the donor data that comes from players and sponsors supporting your golf event. The simple reality is this—you can’t onboard and steward the donors and sponsors that are introduced to your organization from your golf event if you don’t know who they are. Collecting this data is imperative, and luckily, doesn’t have to be a headache. Technology can make this simple and painless. An event website with online registration and secure payment processing makes capturing each golfer and sponsor’s information easy. Look for a platform that allows you to track and manage registrant and sponsor information in real-time, with an option to export data to your donor CRM and/or donor database. Consider using tags or notations to track the years donors and sponsors participated in your golf event and at what level. This background will be helpful in the future, when you return to these relationships to make asks for future events and steward them into larger corporate partnerships.

Event Follow-up & Stewardship

One of the best—and easiest—ways to steward corporate donors is through a genuine thank-you. Publicly thank your event sponsors on your event website, your organization’s social media, in promotional emails about the golf event, and at the event whenever possible. You can also express appreciation for sponsors in press releases and media interviews; be sure to mention them by name.

In the weeks following the event, be sure to send a sincere, personal thank you to your contact at the sponsoring business. Recruit board members, planning committee members, or other volunteers to hand-write thank you notes and make phone calls that also express the impact made by their support. This personal touch goes a long way in establishing a foundation for a longer-term relationship.

The next step is to follow up about working with the sponsor in other ways. Depending on the work your nonprofit does, this could include in-kind donations, employees volunteering with your organization, or exposure for your cause to employees and partners. Ask if they have a workplace giving program and if your organization could be designated as a recipient or if there are matching opportunities for donations. Aligning their business with your cause helps lift their brand, so be generous in sharing their contributions on social media, your website, in newsletters, and other appropriate places. Invite them to participate in other events, programming, and fundraisers, setting the stage for future commitments.

It All Starts With a great Golf Event

The foundation for long-term corporate relationships starts with a well-organized, professional outing that businesses want to put their name on, sponsorship tiers that encourage them to do so, and a process that’s easy, sleek, and professional.

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Get qualified for no-cost access to GolfStatus’s event management technology through the Golf for Good program.

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The calendar has flipped to 2021 and, while a return to normalcy looks to be on the horizon, social distancing and other safety requirements are likely to linger into spring and summer. Uncertainty makes it tough to know how to proceed with in-person fundraising events, but there’s good news on several fronts when it comes to golf fundraisers. With record interest and participation in golf (one of few pandemic-friendly activities) and the ability to seamlessly modify events for social distancing and virtual participation, golf fundraisers are more viable and more important than ever before. With all the uncertainty ahead, you’ll need flexibility and options. Here are four ways to approach a golf fundraiser in 2021 and what you’ll need to make it happen.

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1. Modify A Traditional Golf Tournament for social distancing.

Golf tournaments are surprisingly easy to adapt for social distancing and safety. Tournaments are, of course, largely held outdoors in an open environment that can be made almost entirely contact-free. Start by implementing online registration, which allows your organization to collect payment and registrations online ahead of the event (instead of by mail or the day of the outing). Be sure to leverage your event website to market your outing and spread the word, and also to provide sponsors with additional exposure.

Be aware of rule changes at your facility. You can expect clubhouse capacity limits, field size limits, rules like one person per cart and no touching the flag stick, additional sanitation efforts, mask mandates, and social distancing requirements. Implementing simple modifications like switching to a tee time format and skipping a banquet or other post-round gathering (or limiting capacity and holding it outdoors) can mitigate contact and provide a way to safely hold an event.

You’ll also want to implement mobile scoring to not only remove the touchpoint of paper scorecards, but to facilitate live leaderboards for another high-visibility sponsorship opportunity and the chance to prompt players and online spectators to donate before, during, and after the event.

2. Go Completely Virtual.

A virtual golf event is played over an extended period of time at one or more golf courses, using technology to collect scores and track them on live leaderboards. Golfers play on their own time (individually or on teams) and submit their scores via mobile app. Unlike traditional golf tournaments where golfers gather at a course at a specific date at a specific time, virtual events don’t typically require you to reserve an entire golf facility, eliminating green fees (typically the event’s most significant cost). The course also remains open for regular play.

To pull off a virtual golf event, you’ll need technology for a few key reasons. You’ll need to be able to collect registrations online over an extended period of time. Live scoring functionality is a must, not only to display scores in an aggregate leaderboard, but also keep golfers and spectators engaged over the course of a week- or month-long outing. Be sure to take advantage of website and leaderboard exposure by offering sponsors a Technology Sponsorship.

3. Add a virtual round to a traditional outing.

Adding a virtual round to an in-person event is another great option. If you go this route, you’ll plan a traditional in-person event (likely modified as advised above for social distancing), then simultaneously run a virtual event over the course of the weekend, week, or month that your event takes place.

When you add a virtual round to a traditional event, you still enjoy a traditional on-site event by capping the field size (i.e. limiting the number of participants) to stay safe without disappointing folks who didn’t register in time but still want to support the outing. Whether it’s a scheduling conflict or a sold-out event, it’s often the case that people who want to participant don’t get to do so. A virtual round gives them an opportunity to register and play on their own time and, because virtual rounds can include multiple courses and an extended period of time, there’s essentially no limit to the number of supporters they can add to your event.

It’s also worth noting that there are typically no green fees with virtual rounds, so the additional dollars raised are rarely offset by costs. If you’re using GolfStatus, a virtual round can be added to any tournament at no cost. You can also sell digital exposure for virtual rounds on the event website, through the live-scoring app, and on the virtual event’s leaderboard.

This is a great option for larger nonprofits with an established presence in the community and a long-standing event because it allows folks across the community to engage with the event, without forcing your organization to incur the costs and risks associated with renting the golf facility for another day to expand the event and having to fill an entire additional field. It’s also a great option for smaller, lesser-established nonprofits and first- or second-year fundraisers that are trying to gain more support, because it removes challenges and barriers to entry for participants, making the tournament easier and more convenient to play in for first-timers.

4. Hold a Traditional Tournament with a virtual back-up plan (just in case).

The beauty of a hybrid golf fundraiser—especially in an era of uncertainty—is that it lets event organizers adapt quickly and easily. If you’re hoping for an in-person event, but hesitant to put all your eggs in one basket, consider a virtual event as a back-up plan in case local restrictions change and the event has to be canceled or modified. GolfStatus makes it surprisingly easy to set this in motion. With a free event website and access to its golf management platform, you can update event details instantly. Use GolfStatus’s messaging functionality to email all registrants for a specific tournament to keep them up to date on plans to go virtual as needed. The ability to manage registrations and teams in real-time keeps you and your committee organized. If you decide to go virtual, you’ll simply issue teams and individuals a live-scoring code and ask them to submit their scores through the free GolfStatus app before the deadline you set for the event.

Get started

Even amid uncertainty, know that with the right technology, your organization has options. And, with GolfStatus’s Golf for Good program and top-rated in-house customer success team, you have all the tools, tips, and help you need—no matter which path you take.

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Planning a golf fundraiser that benefits a 501(c) organization? You likely qualify for no cost access to GolfStatus through our Golf for Good program. Email events@golfstatus.com or click the button below to learn more.

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Born largely out of necessity, virtual golf tournament fundraisers bring donors and sponsors together to enjoy a round of golf in support of a great cause—just not all at the same place at the same time. A virtual golf event is played over an extended timeframe at one or more golf courses, leveraging technology to give golfers the flexibility to play when it’s convenient for them while supporting a great cause. Indeed, virtual golf events have kept many tournaments from being forced to cancel. But the advantages of virtual golf events go well beyond social distancing. Event organizers have found that these virtual events—whether an entirely virtual outing or an additional virtual round added to a traditional golf tournament—hold tremendous possibilities for fundraising, connecting with supporters, and further expanding your organization’s donor base. The right technology makes them lucrative—and fun! Here are a six advantages of virtual golf events.

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1. You have more options—and opportunities.

Particularly in times of uncertainty, organizations need options. Virtual events give you more options to help meet your fundraising goals. You can choose to run a completely virtual event at one course, across multiple courses throughout your city, or even across regions. You can also add a virtual round to a traditional, one-day event—which lets you choose more than one golf facility, increase the field size to an almost unlimited number of players and teams, and extend the event’s duration. A virtual round that extends over the month in which the in-person tournament is held, for example, attracts the whole community to the course to play a round in support of your cause. The best part? This is all in addition to the support your organization receives the day of your traditional event.

2. Virtual events often come with lower overhead costs and more flexibility.

Most virtual golf event formats don’t require reserved use of the golf facility, which keeps costs low for event organizers and allows golf facilities to continue business as usual. Since golfers play on their own time, there are no food and beverage contracts to negotiate, banquets or awards ceremonies to plan, or day-of details to handle last minute. This makes virtual events a low-risk, high-reward option with the flexibility to change course if needed.

3. Live scoring keeps supporters engaged.

Virtual events powered by GolfStatus benefit from its robust golf event management technology, which includes live-scoring functionality. When golfers register for the virtual event, they receive a code to live-score their round via the GolfStatus mobile app to submit their scores to the event’s aggregate online leaderboard. Golfers and spectators love keeping up with the real-time leaderboard standings throughout the event’s duration, and sponsors love the extended digital exposure to an engaged audience of golfers.

Golfers and spectators follow live leaderboards throughout the event.

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4. You can Leverage leaderboards
to Raise more money.

You’ll want to promote your virtual event heavily once it goes live and players and teams can register and submit scores—not only to keep it in front of potential players and supporters, but to attract spectators who support your cause to donate through your online leaderboards. GolfStatus’s live leaderboards have the built-in ability to accept online donations before, during, and after any event, including virtual tournaments. Get creative and leverage this feature to raise additional funds. Challenge supporters to donate an amount equal to their score or ranking, match the winning team, or give another specified amount. In addition to targeted asks, it’s also a great idea to share live leaderboards on your organization’s social media accounts and encourage supporters to help spread the word.

5. Virtual events use Digital exposure
to bring in sponsorship dollars.

Sponsors appreciate meaningful exposure to an affluent, influential demographic and they especially appreciate when their brand looks good. GolfStatus’s virtual event options provide tons of digital exposure, through professional and prominent branding across multiple channels (including online and mobile). This means not only more sponsorship options, but options with minimal overhead and value for sponsors. Event organizers can include digital exposure as part of other sponsorship packages, or list it as a standalone technology sponsorship.

6. Technology makes virtual events easy, lucrative, and fun.

Virtual golf events powered by GolfStatus start with the buildout of a free custom event registration website and include access to its full-service golf event management platform. We make every detail—from live-scoring to digital sponsorships—easy and stress-free with user-friendly technology and full access to our top-rated, in-house customer success team. What’s more, GolfStatus is available at no cost to qualifying nonprofits through our Golf for Good program. Contact us at events@golfstatus.org to get qualified, or follow the link below.

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