Why You Should Organize a Charity Golf Tournament + 10 Tips
Step-by-Step Guide to Planning a Profitable Charity Golf Event
Insights from Liz Norton-Scanga, Director of Operations
Charity golf tournament at Ballyhack Golf Club
As a nonprofit professional, you know how important it is to leverage thriving markets and activities to craft attractive fundraising events. After all, successful fundraisers are essential for your organization to thrive.
With more than 28 million on-course golfers in the United States as of 2024, hosting a golf-themed fundraiser could be just the event you need to accomplish your nonprofit’s fundraising and donor stewardship goals.
While charity golf tournaments are a popular and effective way to fundraise, there are many moving parts of organizing charity golf tournaments that can seem daunting for first-time hosts. However, with proper preparation and resources, even the high-earning events can be easily managed.
In this guide, we’ll explore how to make your charity golf tournament a hole-in-one fundraising idea by covering the following topics:
How to Organize a Charity Golf Tournament
Benefits of Hosting a Charity Golf Tournament
Events require significant time and financial investment up front, but the potential payoff makes them worthwhile—especially when it comes to golf fundraisers. No matter your nonprofit’s mission, size, or fundraising goals, charity golf tournaments can be:
Lucrative. Golfers tend to have a high net worth (in fact, research shows that the average is over $768,000). Hosting a charity golf tournament can engage this valuable demographic and win more dollars for your cause.
Customizable. When you hear the term “charity golf tournament,” you might envision traditional gameplay with 18 holes. However, this doesn’t have to be the only activity at your charity golf tournament. Consider including additional on-course games to draw in new audiences, like a Marshmallow Drive to appeal to families with small children, or a hole-in-one contest for those who want to join the fun without competing in the whole tournament.
Easily manageable. If you’re new to hosting a charity golf tournament, you can leverage tools that are tailor-made for golf tournament management. For instance, the GolfStatus platform is built to ensure your golf tournament runs smoothly, featuring tools that streamline event registration, sponsorship management, and other key logistical elements.
Popular. According to the National Golf Foundation, over the past five years, the number of traditional golfers has risen by 16%, indicating consistent interest in the game—which can easily translate to your golf fundraisers.
Collaborative. The formats of charity golf tournaments (four person shamble, pro-AM, etc.) allow you to build relationships with supporters and help supporters connect with each other.
Appealing to sponsors. Between hole signage, pin flags, and your event website, there are many visible opportunities to circulate sponsor branding. This provides sponsors with free publicity and the potential to increase their customer base, while your nonprofit receives event support—it’s a win-win!
How to Organize a Charity Golf Tournament in 10 Steps
Now that you understand the benefits of hosting a charity golf tournament for your nonprofit, here are 10 key steps for organizing your own.
1. Begin Planning Early
Early planning is the single most important factor in achieving strong revenue and participation. Securing a desirable date, booking a facility, building your committee, and confirming sponsorships all take time—and the earlier you start, the smoother things will run.
2. Form Committees with Clear Roles
A successful tournament is always a team effort. Create a planning committee and break it into subcommittees with core responsibilities:
Planning. Define goals, establish the budget, and determine the tournament format, prizes, and gifts.
Marketing. Promote the event and clearly communicate its mission and purpose.
Auction. Recruit team members to solicit auction items, organize donations, and keep track of everything.
Volunteers. Coordinate volunteers who will assist with event-day tasks such as setup, check-in, and general support.
When selecting committee members, consider including:
Board members
Your most dedicated and recurring volunteers
Nonprofit leadership
Key nonprofit staff
Major donors or sponsors
Assign chairs for each subcommittee, use shared planning documents to stay organized, and set a recurring meeting cadence that accommodates everyone’s schedules and aligns with your preparation timeline.
3. Create an Event Plan
The foundation of any successful fundraising event is a well-informed plan. Establish the following core elements of your charity golf tournament in your plan:
Event purpose. Besides fundraising for your mission, you should envision what other purposes you want your event to achieve. For example, you might aim to create memorable experiences for donors via the event, which can help you build stronger relationships with them.
Success metrics. Key performance indicators (KPIs) allow you to gauge your event’s performance and identify areas for improvement in the future. Some common KPIs for charity golf tournaments are gross and net funds raised, total number of registrations, and total funds raised through sponsorships.
Timeline. The more time you allow for planning your event, the better. Determine a timeline that aligns with your team’s schedules and spreads out everyone’s workload efficiently.
As you create your plan, compile all of the essential details into one centralized planning document. That way, everyone can access detailed information about your event plan from a unified source of truth. Consider implementing these five winning golf tournament fundraising strategies to deepen donor engagement into your event plan.
4. Select a Course
Finding the right course for your charity golf tournament is critical.
Survey golfers. Ask potential golfers about course preferences, pros and cons.
Request bids. Get proposals from multiple courses to compare pricing, amenities, and availability.
Negotiate. The first price offered isn’t always final.
Consider your donor base: While private and high-end courses offer an exclusive experience, evaluate if your supporters are willing and able to pay the associated costs.
Aspirational venues. Although you might not conduct your first event at a high-end public or private course, you could move in that direction. Golfers enjoy visiting courses that they may not be able to play otherwise. Determine where the sweet spot is with your donor base and their appeal to high-end price points.
If you’re aiming for a premium experience, consider partnering with a member to host your event at a Dormie Network club or another private venue. These courses offer exclusivity, exceptional service, and a setting that can attract higher-level donors. Whatever you choose, whether a high-end private course or a public course with strong amenities, make sure it strikes the right balance between donor appeal and your budget.
5. Brainstorm Golf Tournament Fundraiser Ideas and Logistics
Once you’ve determined your broader fundraising plan, consider the more granular logistics to ensure your event runs smoothly. Remember, the biggest revenue often comes beyond entry fees. Be sure to build in high-value fundraising elements such as sponsorships, ad book sales, mulligans, raffles, on-course contests, and premium auction items to maximize your earnings. Do the following in the lead-up to the tournament:
Choose the event’s date and time.
Acquire management software made for managing golf tournaments.
Determine the main format and on-course games.
Source necessary components to your day like food and beverage via your sponsors, in-kind donation solicitations, and major donors.
Recruit volunteers to help with setup, check-in, tear-down, and other essential tasks.
6. Consider Using a Tournament Program and Other Software
The right golf tournament software facilitates your tournament planning from beginning to end. If you haven’t already determined it in the broader planning stage, finding your management software should be your top priority at this stage.
GolfStatus saves time and helps raise more money with simple, powerful technology that streamlines tournament management including registration and payment.
GroupMe or similar apps are helpful for scheduling volunteers in real time
Looking for software for your next golf fundraiser? Contact our partners at GolfStatus!
GolfStatus app
7. Launch Your Event Website
Your golf tournament’s website is the main source of truth for your guests, volunteers, and sponsors to stay informed about your event. The more effective your website is in providing information, the more likely it is that users will follow through and sign up to attend. Make sure your website is:
Accessible. Add alt text to image elements, subtitles to audio elements, and a user-friendly navigation interface so everyone can use your site, regardless of ability.
Branded to your nonprofit. Make your website feel custom by integrating branded elements into it, such as your logo, cause-connection videos, brand messaging.
Integrated with necessary tools. If you use a separate system for scheduling, relationship management, and fundraising progress, make sure they integrate seamlessly with the website to prevent data silos.
Comprehensive. Include different drop-down menus for donors, sponsors, and volunteers to find information pertinent to them.
At the end of the day, ensure that your website accurately represents your event and is up to date to communicate the exciting plans you are developing along the way.
Event website through GolfStatus
8. Create Marketing Materials
Effective marketing materials are critical for spreading the word about your event and boosting signups. Creating awareness through marketing materials should primarily be the function of the marketing subcommittee members. Supercharge your charity golf tournament marketing campaign by:
Making a content calendar for all of your marketing messages.
Developing custom branding for the event.
Using multiple channels, such as social media, email, direct mail, SMS, and asking businesses to hang flyers.
Creating video content to supplement various marketing materials.
Incorporating interactive elements like QR codes, quizzes, and surveys.
Partnering with local influencers or celebrities.
Offering early-bird discounts or other incentives for signing up ASAP.
Leaning on your committee members to spread the word and find participants.
Inviting non-golfers to any awards banquet or auctions to increase the number of individuals who may bid on items in the auction.
To track the effectiveness of your marketing materials, use quantitative and qualitative analytical approaches. For instance, compare current data with data from past campaigns and ask your loyal supporters for their opinions. These two approaches can give you a holistic view of how your marketing campaign is performing and why it’s performing at that level.
9. Prepare for the Tournament
In the immediate weeks and days leading up to the event, you’ll have the data you need to start putting the individual pieces of your event into motion. Once your registration windows have closed, start:
Training staff and volunteers.
Establishing a contingency plan in case of bad weather.
Creating hole assignments, seating charts, and sponsored materials like signs.
Organizing sponsorship placement for optimal networking opportunities with guests.
Creating a checklist for things that you may need. This could include:
Raffle tickets for 50/50
Note pad and pens to take notes throughout the day and create a list of people you want to thank
Tape and scissors
Baskets for auction items if not doing an online auction
Throughout this ramp-up period, clearly communicating with everyone is crucial to ensure everything goes smoothly. Use communication methods your guests, volunteers, and sponsors are most likely to check frequently. Internally, set communication expectations for staff so nothing slips through the cracks.
10. Follow Up After the Event
After your event ends, your work isn’t over. Use the post-event period to your advantage for gauging your success and planning for your next event. During this stage, you should:
Collect feedback from guests, volunteers, staff, and sponsors.
Thank guests, volunteers, staff, and sponsors. Consider handwritten notes, plaques, or hole flags as a gift.
Generate event-specific impact reports.
Analyze data to pinpoint opportunities for future events.
For more on donor retention after events, check out Post-Fundraising Event Strategy: Convert Donors Into Recurring Supporters.
Most importantly, celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of volunteers, guests, staff, and sponsors. Even if you didn’t hit your fundraising goal, show your gratitude by hosting small events, giving thank-you gifts, writing thank-you notes, and communicating the tournament's impact.
Understanding how to organize a charity golf tournament can open up a world of opportunities for future fundraising and donor stewardship efforts. Over time, you’ll expand upon these essential strategies to find what works best for your nonprofit and continue growing your impact.
Liz Norton-Scanga, Director of Operations at Dormie Network Foundation, brings nearly 30 years of golf industry experience to the table. She regularly applies these tournament best practices in her role with the First Tee Jersey Shore Industry Council.
