Organizing a Men’s Club Golf Event Fundraiser is a great way to have fun and raise funds for your Men’s Club or Synagogue. Golf is a family friendly, outdoor, team building activity and there any many Public Golf Courses and Country Clubs throughout Florida that will be happy to work with your Men’s Club and help you to organize a successful fundraiser Golf Event to remember. Golf courses are used to hosting golf tournaments and charity events so don’t be afraid to ask; you may be surprised how easy it is to take this idea from concept to execution.
If your Men’s Club Golf Event Fundraiser will incorporate a post-game festive Kosher meal, then consider whether if you want to “out-source” the food to a Golf Course affiliated Kosher Caterer or if you will host the food (and awards ceremony) at your Synagogue.
The goals of a Men’s Club Golf Event Fundraiser are fun and fundraising however don’t just rely on donations, sponsorships and program admission fees. This is your chance to up-sell your Men’s Club “brand”. Many of your members and supporters who don’t play golf may be happy to buy items to support your Men’s Club Golf Event Fundraiser. Whether it’s a reusable water bottle, Men’s Club branded golf balls or a souvenir “Men’s Club Golf Club” shirt, your members, supporters and volunteers will appreciate having a souvenir or two to take home.
Hosting a successful Golf Event Fundraiser takes money and your event sponsors are the key to covering costs and fundraising success, as each hole is an opening to another sponsorship. Promote your sponsors with a printed event program and promote your sponsors though your Men’s Club and Synagogue social media posts. Many businesses, especially smaller local businesses with limited advertising budgets, are looking for effective ways to promote their brand. If your Men’s Club or Synagogue has active social media accounts, explain to your sponsors how you plan to promote their brand through your Men’s Club or Synagogue social media. Tag your sponsors in your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat posts and create a sponsorship page on your Men’s Club webpage that links back to your sponsors’ websites. It’s easy to do and it adds value for your sponsors. Offer your sponsors media rights; many of the local businesses who will sponsor your event have their own websites and social media accounts. Granting sponsors the right to use event photos, videos, and graphics helps them create positive content for their audience and helps you to cast a wider net when marketing your event. Other alternative sponsorship options include a flag pin, golf cart or hole-in-one sponsorship. You can add another fundraising opportunity by offering a space for participants to add an extra donation in addition to their event registration fee.
Now that you have planned out the details of your Men’s Club Golf Event Fundraiser, it’s time to promote your event. Create a webpage on your Men’s Club or Synagogue Website to promote the event and provide registration details. Utilize your Men’s Club and Synagogue email distribution list and plan an email marketing campaign that starts with a save-the date and ends with a final thank-you email and a post-event survey. Email is a cost effective way to announce sponsors, send out teasers, promote any sale, raffle, or auction items and solicit volunteers for your event. Text marketing is another way to gain visibility for your event announcement, online registration form, to motivate volunteers and peer-to-peer recipients and increase overall donations during your event. Print materials like flyers, posters and banners are a great way to raise awareness of your event and offer more sponsorship opportunities. Perhaps a local printing or graphic design company would be willing to sponsor your event by providing your print materials. Create a Press Release to promote your event in local media and reach out to local bloggers and influencers and ask them to help promote your event. Promote your and share your event on Social Media; create a Facebook event page and use graphics and video to increase the buzz. Make sure your Men’s Club / Synagogue Facebook page settings allow social media sharing of your event registration page. Consider recording and/or streaming a video of your post-event awards banquet using Facebook Live or YouTube to increase visibility of your event.
It’s important to have a clear plan of what needs to happen during your Men’s Club Golf Fundraiser Event, from layout to volunteer assignments. Make sure you and all participants have a detailed schedule that lists everything from when the caterers arrive to what time you expect to be done with cleanup. Have a point person for each segment your event so that your participants, guests and volunteers know who to go to if something’s wrong. Keep your guests engaged during your event with a “leaderboard” that shows top participants, sponsor information and a fundraising thermometer. Be sure to have a contingency plan so that participants, guests and volunteers will know what to do in case of inclement weather or other unexpected circumstances.
After your event is concluded, thank all of your volunteers, participants, sponsors, donors and supporters. Let them know the results of your Men’s Club Golf Event Fundraiser and explain how those funds will be used. If your event raised funds for a bigger project like a new Synagogue building, then you can send periodic post-event progress reports so your participants can see the results of their efforts as time goes on. Include a Survey in your post-event email to solicit event feedback and suggestions for changes you may need to make to create a more engaging and successful fundraiser the next time. Review all of your Men’s Club Golf Fundraiser Event photos and videos and use these images to help promote your Men’s Club and Synagogue.
The best part of organizing a Men’s Club Golf Event Fundraiser is that you do not need to reinvent the wheel or do it alone. Other Men’s Clubs in Florida and across the country have previously organized Men’s Club Golf Event Fundraisers and will be happy to share their experience. This is an ideal opportunity for your Men’s Club to partner and coordinate with other nearby Men’s Clubs from day one in the planning process. The Florida Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs has Regional Consultants available to help your Men’s Club or Brotherhood plan, organize and execute a successful Men’s Club Golf Event Fundraiser.Get to know more about the FJMC Florida Region and our growing statewide network of dynamic Men’s Clubs at www.floridaregionfjmc.org and please visit and LIKE our Florida Region FJMC Facebook Group at: https://www.facebook.com/FloridaRegionFJMC.