The Best Golf Fundraising Ideas to Raise More
Golf tournaments can be very successful fundraising events when done right. Player registration fees provide a baseline for obtaining funds; however, there are plenty of opportunities to raise money before, during, and after the charity tournament. We’ve outlined some of the best golf fundraising ideas to provide you with interesting and creative ways to help your organization meet and exceed fundraising goals.
Golf Fundraising Ideas: Before the Tournament
By collecting money prior to the tournament, your organization will be able to cover all tee and tournament expenses early. Here are some golf fundraising ideas for raising funds before tournament day.
Online Player Registration Fees
Player and foursome registration fees provide the baseline to cover your tournament expenses. Make it easy for your golfers to register online, and you will receive more registrations and money before the tournament. Our software does it all for free, with optional tips from your golfers.
Sponsorship Sales
Sponsorships are a great way to start on the right financial footing. Reach out to local businesses for event sponsorships, offering a variety of monetary and in-kind sponsorship packages. Give tournament sponsors recognition and an opportunity to promote their business and watch the money come in. Sponsorship benefits can be outlined, and packages can be sold on our golf tournament platform.
Golf Merchandise Sales
Create custom apparel
for your golf tournament, including collared golf shirts, hats, visors, and golf balls. Include the title and other top sponsor logos. Organizations can sell fundraising merchandise from the golf tournament website and distribute it at tournament check-in. If you don’t have your own items to sell, see if the course gift shop can set up special pricing for tournament attendees and give a percentage of sales back to your group. If you send customers into their gift shop and encourage sales, they will likely be interested in giving you a small kickback.
Host a Golf Marathon
One great golf fundraising idea is to host a golf marathon or golf-a-thon – instead of a typical golf scramble. Golf marathons allow organizations to increase fundraising by having tournament participants collect donations for your organization. Golf marathons are peer-to-peer fundraisers that engage players to contact friends, colleagues, and family members via email and social media shares. Golfers solicit donations to participate in your tournament. Each golfer can easily raise $250 or $500 on their personal fundraising page by tapping into their network. Utilizing crowdfunding software is essential to your success in golf marathons.
Utilize Golf Tournament Software
Our industry-leading golf tournament software will help you manage all of the details above for your charity golf tournament, including:
- Online golfer and team registration, team pairings
- Process secure online donations
- Sponsorship and product sales management
- Detailed financial reporting
- Free text to donate and gamification tools
Golf Fundraising Ideas: On the Course
Once your golfers arrive, you have more opportunities to raise funds. Starting at check-in and continuing throughout the day, keep asking for donations with the following golf fundraising ideas.
Host Fundraising Raffles
One way to use in-kind donations and prizes is to host a fundraising raffle. Reach out to community businesses before the tournament to get a variety of prizes donated or host a 50/50 cash drawing. Showcase the items before the tournament starts so people can see the items they could win and sell the raffle tickets online and before they hit the course. Have raffle ticket sales also available at the awards ceremony following the tournament and draw the winners there. Our raffle software can even do a random drawing for you.
Use a Cash-Bar Golf Cart
A great way to raise additional dollars is by hitting up golfers while they are on the course. The best way to do this is with a stocked cash-bar cart. Load up the back of a golf cart with snacks, ice, and cold drinks, then drive the course and sell your golfers what they want. Cold beer and sodas are the best sellers, but don’t forget to include snack foods like pretzels and chips. You may also want to add items like small bottles of sunscreen or hats and visors in case people forget the essentials. And don’t forget to send extra raffle tickets, just in case someone is in the buying mood after a great drive.
Sell Mulligans
Mulligans offer golfers an extra chance at a shot – and cost your organization nothing. They also make the tournament more fun! Creating mulligan packages for sale at check-in nad on the course is a great golf fundraising idea utilized by many successful tournaments.
Run Golf Tournament Contests
You can also raise more money on the course and create a fun and exciting atmosphere for golfers by hosting golf tournament contests. Some popular contests include Closest to the Pin, Beat the Pro, Longest Drive, and Hole-in-One. The most popular are hole-in-one contests, but you’ll need to purchase insurance and offer a spectacular prize to pull this one off well.
Helicopter Ball Drops
Helicopter Ball Drops have become popular for fundraising golf tournaments. Here’s how it works: You sell golf balls for the drop on your website and at check-in. A helicopter company then takes numbered balls, flies over the golf course, and simultaneously drops the balls at your target hole. The grand prize winner is the golf ball that lands closest to the hole. You can also offer prizes for second place or furthest from the pin.
Golf Fundraising Ideas: After the Tournament
Many of your supporters are not golfers. The following golf tournament fundraising ideas allow your organization to raise money, even from the non-golfing crowd.
Host a Golf Tournament Dinner and Banquet
A banquet is a perfect time to wind down from a long day of playing golf. Golfers are hungry, thirsty, and happy. They will enjoy sharing their experiences with friends and co-workers while finding out the results of contests and raffle prizes.
For people not interested in the game of golf itself, the banquet provides another opportunity to raise additional funds. Sell tickets for this event and provide entertainment, excellent food, a silent auction, and an awards ceremony. This is also a great time to make announcements about your organization’s goals, which will help you spread awareness for your cause. Be sure to thank golfers, volunteers, and sponsors and highlight specific community members who made a difference.
Run a Silent Auction
One great way to raise additional funds is to host a silent auction after the golf tournament. With our auction consignment packages, you can include large-ticket items with no up-front costs to your organization.
Be sure to create an auction website with mobile bidding. Here people can view items and place online bids. This also gives supporters who cannot attend the golf tournament an opportunity to contribute to your cause. If you host a silent auction on-site at the tournament, you can use text to give or QR codes to continue auction bidding at the tournament. A charity auction is a very common golf fundraising idea (because it works!) and a great add-on to your post-tournament party.
Post Event Followup
Don’t assume that golfers know about your organization or have already donated. Many golfers may be part of a corporate team and haven’t paid anything to attend your tournament. You don’t want to bug your golfers, but you certainly want to give them every opportunity to make an additional donation.
Donation appeals can be made throughout your golf tournament. Post staff at one of your holes or back at the clubhouse, asking for additional contributions to be made on the spot. And follow up with thank-you notes to your golfers and sponsors and a link to your organization’s donation website.
Managing Your Fundraising Golf Tournament
Before you begin registering golfers and requesting online donations and sponsorship fees, you’ll want to create a plan of action for managing your charity golf tournament. We’re here to help with free golf tournament planning tools to make your tournament a success.
Whether you are planning a small or large fundraising golf tournament, we hope these golf fundraising ideas and our golf tournament software will assist you with the important tournament details, allowing you to focus on a more successful event that raises more money for your organization. Good Luck and let us know if we can help!
