From 1993 until 2007, Mel Lewis was the Golf Tournament Director at Braemar Country Club in Tarzana, California, a ClubCorp, Inc. facility. During that time he assisted dozens of charities raise millions of dollars. He also created and ran many seminars, taking charities and corporations through the steps required to run successful fundraiser golf tournaments. These seminars had such an impact that ClubCorp made it mandatory for all their clubs nationwide to hold at least one seminar every year, based on Mel’s presentations. In 2004 ClubCorp presented Mel with their “Super Star” award.

Before getting into all the details relating to Charity One-Day Fundraiser Tournaments, let’s address the Corporate Golf Tournament, which is usually hosted for a different purpose other than to raise money. This book will help you through the process.

Corporate Invitational Golf Outings and Tournaments
This book lays out step by step the tasks an organization needs to consider while setting up a charity fundraiser golf tournament. Much of the information relates to and will assist companies wishing to hold a corporate invitational golf tournament as well. Another interesting way a corporation can use golf to its advantage is by “renting a country club for a day”.

Often the company's staff members assigned the duty of putting a corporate golf outing together have never dealt with any event related to golf. This book will be of great assistance to them. The time required to put an event together could be as little as a few weeks.

Compared to a Charity Event
There are some tasks that can be overlooked in a corporate outing, they are:
1. Forming a committee. In all likelihood, the task will fall onto the plates of some lucky staff members, who will become for the most part, the committee.
2. As this is a corporate affair, there will be no need to find sponsors as the corporation will pay for the entire event.
3. Establishing mailing lists will not be necessary as invitations will be sent out using the corporation’s contact lists. Corporate Invitational Golf Tournaments are a wonderful way for a company to thank investors, clients, vendors, employee partners or anyone involved with its organization.

Once a corporation decides the number of people to be invited and sets a budget, deciding when and where the invitational event will take place can be decided. In a corporate tournament there’s the opportunity to mix people in an effort to have them connect. For example: A department manager, investor, client, and vendor, could all be teamed together. It’s often been said and it’s very true, that if you want to find out about people in a very short time, play a round of golf with them. It can be very revealing!

Setting Your Budget and Fundraising Goal for Your Charity Golf Tournament
If this is your first annual event, your committee might want to be conservative in the amount of profit you are looking to make when setting the fundraising dollar target for your tournament. Consider the first year as being a learning experience. There is no doubt that in this first year, especially if your group has very little golf or fundraising knowledge, you will face some challenges. Remember that the tournament and catering staff at your chosen Club will be there to make your task much easier. They want you to succeed. After you have gone through your first tournament day, you will realize that running your own fundraiser is not really so difficult. Everything is easy when you know how! With the first year’s knowledge gained, the second annual and future tournaments can be put together smoothly as improved versions of the preceding year. Set your goal high but realistic, knowing that you will build your tournament every year and continue to grow.

Basically, incoming revenue will come from three places:
1. Revenue from Sponsorships (See: Chapter 4 for all Sponsorship information)
2. Revenue from Player Entry Fees - set a target for the number of players you want.
3. Revenue from:
a. Player Competitions
b. Auctions - Silent and Live
c. Raffle Tickets
d. Donations
e. Awards Dinner Guests

Sponsors - Where Will They Come From?
There is an old saying in retail sales that most shop owners would agree with - it’s that the three most important factors in retail are: LOCATION … LOCATION … LOCATION. The same thinking should be adopted by organizations preparing to hold fundraising golf tournaments. The only difference being that the focus becomes: SPONSORSHIP … SPONSORSHIP … SPONSORSHIP.

Your Tournament Players - Where Will They Come From?
Players can come from many places and for different reasons. Think about all the companies, groups and individual people who might be excited to play in your tournament and are willing and eager to support your cause. Be innovative and think outside the box as you build your database and mailing lists. Involve all of your committee; team effort will bring results.

Tournament Marketing Materials
Marketing your tournament can be accomplished in a number of ways. From direct mail to email, traditional advertising and social networking sites, any and all avenues should be considered. When determining the methods to use, consider where your targeted market (your players) would most likely be found. Is it a young group that only texts and emails and uses social media? Is it a more traditional crowd that would respond to direct mail and newspaper advertising? You may find that a good mix of all methods works best.

Raising Money for Charity Through Golf
“Throughout my years at Braemar Country Club, I had so much pleasure meeting amazing people so dedicated to helping others less fortunate than themselves. It gave me great pride being able to assist them in raising millions of dollars for their charities. My wish is that this book may encourage more organizations to enter into the “wonderful world of charity golf tournaments”.”
--Mel Lewis