Planning to host a charity golf event? Here are some ideas that might help you in planning a successful one.
Organizing golf tournaments is a good way of raising funds for a charities. As golf is a widely popular game, you can get many registrations and paid participation. However, organizing such a grand event is a herculean task, and without proper planning, you may not get desired results. Marketing and publicity are the two aspects upon which charities usually focus on, as only they can hugely contribute towards fundraising.
The success of any event lies in the number of people participating in it. Even in a charity event, you have better chances of pulling it off successfully if you can attract scores of players. Here is how you can go about organizing a charity golf tournament.
Planning
Planning is the key to success of any event. For an event as big as this one, you need to start planning at least 3 to 4 months in advance. You can form a committee of members to take care of the various aspects of planning. Assign specific tasks to each committee so that workload is distributed. For example, one committee can look after enrollment of players, while others can handle food and beverages, and some can attract sponsors for the event.
Scout a Location
Scout for a location as soon as you decide on a tournament format. If your chosen time happens to be in the middle of peak golf season, then you might have to start your search well ahead of time. Think of all the golf courses you can book in advance.
Decide Name and Theme
Come up with catchy charity names that can invoke interest amongst people. It is a common trend to mix golf terms with other terms to come up with themes. A good example of this is 'Tea theme' in which various types of tea are served to players. A 'Guardian Angel' theme can also be apt for a charity event such as this. You can distribute angel wings for the coordinators and players to wear!
Publicity
As mentioned above, publicity is the most important aspect of planning a charity event. Make sure you advertise your event aggressively through local newspapers, media, flyers, billboards, etc. You should announce the event at least 3 months prior to the date of event, so that players can make changes to their schedules accordingly. Also, check if there are some other events or festivals coming up within a week's time, before or after your event. In such a case, it is best to reschedule your event, so that you don't need to share your audience with the other events.
Charity Pledges
As a part of fundraising, encourage players to pledge a certain amount of their winnings. Offer perks to players who get a good amount of donation. You can also set a participation fee for players, which can be anywhere between $50 - $250 depending on the magnitude of your event. If this is a team event, then a team of 4 golfers can seek corporate sponsorship. In return, sponsors can get free publicity at the event.
Coordinating the Event
On the day of the event make sure you have everything in place: the awards, incentives, food and drinks, etc. Assign volunteers for player registration, maintenance of scores, and entertainment. Do not forget to send thank you notes to sponsors and players after the event. Giving each of them a memento as a token of gratitude is also a nice idea.
A meticulously planned event will ensure that you witness a maximum player turnout and that there are no hassles during the event. This way an organization can raise maximum funds for a noble cause.
