Nonprofits Use Technology to Leverage Golf Fundraisers amid Pandemic

With the pandemic lingering into spring and summer, many nonprofits are weighing the pros and cons of virtual and adapted fundraisers heading into event season. Meanwhile, the golf industry has seen a massive boon in participation due to the sport’s outdoor setting and innate social distancing. So while in-person fundraisers have been unable to safely and responsibly continue amid COVID-19, golf tournament fundraisers are on the rise, thanks in large part to technology. Nonprofits of all sizes have leaned on technology to conserve resources, capture crucial donor data, maximize sponsor support, and advance peer-to-peer initiatives.

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Golf tournaments are one of the few fundraising events that have been able to move forward without having to livestream or go online. Technology has helped facilitate this—eliminating touchpoints, providing tools to adapt and modify the event, and even offering a platform for virtual golf events—while giving supporters the opportunity to participate in a safe, in-person activity that they truly enjoy to benefit a good cause. With virtual golf events, golfers and teams register online to play a round in support of a cause, then play and score their round on their own time. Holding a virtual golf tournament reduces the number of people at a golf facility at a given date and time while opening the door for additional donations, sponsorships, and participation. Virtual rounds are also being seamlessly added to traditional tournaments, creating a hybrid event that offers the best of both worlds.

Organizations across the sector are facing painful budget cuts while the demand for nonprofit community services is soaring. At the same time, planning for uncertainty has added even more to the already-full plates of event planners, development directors, and fundraisers who (in many cases) are also readying back-up plans for each event in the year ahead. Conserving resources is more crucial than ever. Spending extra time collecting and managing registrations, payments, and sponsorships is simply not feasible. Fortunately, nonprofits are finding that technology can solve a range of challenges typically associated with planning a golf tournament fundraiser while at the same time helping them plan for uncertainty.

Tech that streamlines tasks like collecting registrations, listing and selling sponsorship packages, managing team pairings and hole assignments, and the overall planning and coordination of golf tournaments means nonprofits can avoid duplicative, time-consuming work.

Technology designed specifically for golf events also allows organizations to passively and securely collect donor and sponsor data through the registration process, building and expanding their donor database for future asks. It’s not uncommon for an existing supporter to tap several friends or colleagues to field a team for a charity scramble. Without technology in place, only one registrant’s contact information typically makes it into the nonprofit’s donor database. If the event is put on by a third party—say a business or passionate supporter—the odds of collecting participant and sponsor contact information are even lower.

For smaller nonprofits, the inability to connect with supporters who have come to the organization through the golf tournament is certainly a missed opportunity. For national nonprofits with strong peer-to-peer networks and individual and corporate supporters nationwide, the lack of information about who is playing in and donating to sometimes hundreds of events happening all year long is even further compounded.

With a handle on golf fundraisers—including those hosted by third parties—nonprofits are well positioned to leverage them to advance existing partnerships or garner additional corporate support. Indeed, the golfer demographic is an attractive one for many local and national brands, and the sport itself has a history of offering highly coveted exposure and brand lift through sponsorships. Technology is not only making this possible, but incredibly easy.

How? The right event management solution will have sponsorship exposure and fundraising tools built in so organizations can maximize their golf event’s potential. It will make it easy to collect and manage golfer and sponsor information, helping time-strapped event planners and fundraisers stay organized, conserve resources, and plan for the uncertainty of the months ahead. Whether it’s adapting a traditional golf tournament to keep participants safe, adding a virtual round, or going completely virtual, technology is helping nonprofits leverage golf tournaments during a time when fundraising revenue and donor relationships are perhaps more crucial than ever.

Find out more about GolfStatus.org and how it’s supporting nonprofits nationwide through its Golf for Good program, which gives qualifying nonprofits access to powerful golf event management tech at no cost. Learn more at www.golfstatus.org or contact events@golfstatus.org.

This content was paid for and created by GolfStatus.org. The editorial staff of The Chronicle had no role in its preparation. Find out more about paid content.